Pacific Image Electronics' PrimeFilm PF1800U USB Film Scanner

For some reason all the images look as though it was a printer with the ink cartridge running out. I have tried every possible combination and it all looks the same. Stay away from this thing unless you are seriously desperate.

I bought this 1800u a few years ago, scanned about 5 slides, and put it away in a drawer for a few years. A couple days ago I again needed to use it, on a new iMac. First I had to contend with a nightmare of ancient PPC drivers from 2002 and 2003 (they seem only to update Windows software). The old mac software has to be run in emulation as Rosetta or something like that, and with a spinning beachball for about 10 minutes before the software starts. It never worked again. In the system profiler, it never showed up under the USB list as a film scanner. After the first or second try, the USB communication failed completely. Tech support wanted me to buy a new bulb... about the most stupid advice I can imagine for a device with failed USB circuitry. Tech support told me that it probably failed because it wasn't being used enough and that it was my fault that I didn't use it enough when it was under warranty.
I have a device that I paid over $200 for new that gave me a total of 5 scanned slides before it failed. I wasted almost an entire day trying to resurrect it. I experienced the most greedy and unhelpful technical support you can imagine. The scans from the few slides I scanned years ago were mediocre at best.
I just wish there had been more reviews of this product at the time I was looking for a scanner. I would surely have avoided this purchase mistake.
The scanner is so poorly build and undependable that I fail to see how they even stay in business. Couple that with a very lazy attitude about writing and updating software drivers, and you can be assured that anything you buy from them will be a brick in a short time. Don't expect their customer support to solve any of your problems, they will not make any effort to remedy a defective product, and won't even bother to ask a supervisor for permission to replace a completely defective unit.
If you have a recent Mac, please start by downloading the software and drivers from their website and look at the dates for the drivers and software. Almost all system 9 and old PPC OSX stuff and adobe plugins that no longer work with Tiger OSX 10.5. Basically, unless you have a legacy mac from 5 years ago, you won't be able to do much with this.
Run away from anything manufactured by this company, your are in for endless frustration and ultimate failure if you purchase one of their products.

This is not a bad item when you need to scan a couple, but its very slow and the resolution is not good. If you need it for your family photos it can be a good product, but you have to think you will need a lot of time, if I could I'll try to get one with autofeed.

After reading the many negative comments, I was pleasantly surprised at the results. Much better than the flatbed and transparency adapter that I'd been using. Good sharpness. Only 1800 dpi, but that's more than adequate for web-work. Tried it with both slides and negatives - color balance required only minor adjustment. No grinding sounds. For what it's worth, I'm using the current TWAIN driver from the website, and did not install anything from the CD. If you decide to buy one - just make sure that the price is favorable, because there is much better gear available.

Not the most practical to use. If you can save up to buy a more quality one then I would recommend you do that.