I "upgraded" from an Epson 3170 to Minolta Dimage Dual scan IV because a dedicated film scanner is much better right ?
The results so far have been disappointing. Even on new clean negs that produced pin-sharp prints on 9*6 the grain and artifacts are much worse on the Minolta. Scans at 2400 on both machines magnified show the Epson scans with nice clear skin tones and dark backgrounds whilst the minolta produces patchy grainy tones and plenty of noise in the dark areas.
I have seen reviews for Neatimage that appears reduce these affects at the cost of sharpness but why is it there in the first place ? could it be that Epson have incorporated similar software into their drivers so apparently producing better results ?
I will fiddle and read some more but at this point I am seriously considering rejecting the Minolta and swapping it back for a new Epson 3170.