Anyone used a Minolta dImage slide scanner?

[Xithras]

I was poking around eBay looking for a replacement pack camera today when I noticed that the older (~5 years) dImage 2900 scanners are selling cheap...presumably because they require you to dissassemble your computer and install a SCSI card to make them run, and most people today don't want anything that isn't USB or Firewire. Since I already have a SCSI card in my PC, I'm sensing an opportunity here.

It's a fairly high end scanner with 2800 DPI resolution, 12 bit resolution, and 16 bit output, but I don't like buying anything without first checking with someone else who's used one. Are they decent? Crap? All of the reviews on the web are circa 2000 and are from magazines...no real world opinions at all.

I have several boxes of slides and negatives that have been taken by myself and my family over the past 50-odd years that I would LOVE to digitize (including a box of 200+ combat slides that my uncle shot from his helicopter in Vietnam), but I can't afford to spend the $500-$1000 that a really good prosumer slide scanner will cost and I'm not impressed with the quality of any of the commercial services I've used so far.

If not, can anyone recommend a high quality slide and negative scanner that sells for a reasonable price?

[ConsAreLiars]

1. I got an older Dimage Dual

off ebay a few years ago - served me well although it was slow when scanning at highest res. Built a new computer to meet the demand but couldn't get XP software (or get to work, I forget) and replaced it with a current Dimage. The old one seemed quite hardy, but the new one went back for repair/replacement after a couple gentle months.

This review seems pretty positive: http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/DSE/DSEP.HTM

[NashVegas]

2. Just How High Quality You Want?

If you're willing to go with 'quality amateur' rather than pro, you can find something decent for under $200, easy.

I've got an Epson 1270 that does okay. Nothing to write home about, but it gets the job done. It was $130 when I bought it, now they're like $75.

If someone's photos are so good that an 'adequate' scanner doesn't do them justice, they should buy a pro model and make it pay for itself by selling their work.