Faster than lightning!
Written: Mar 16 '01 (Updated Sep 20 '01)
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Pros: Very quick!
Cons: ISA-slot required on your motherboard(see text for more details). Doesn't work right with Linux.
The Bottom Line: This scanner and her suspected sisters,the Agfa Snapscan 310 and Guillemot MaxiScan A4deluxe, are real speed demons! Good luck to you if you want to make them work with Linux.
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| isvikthere's Full Review: AcerScan 310S Flatbed Scanner |
At the time I am writing this review the 310S or maybe better known under its full name 'Vuego Scan Prisa (or is it Brisa ?)310S', no longer figures in the Acer catalogue. Certain sites have led me to believe that the Acer 310S is exactly the same device as the Agfa Snapscan 310 SCSI and the Guillemot MaxiScan A4 deluxe (SCSI). Don't you just hate this badge engineering ;-) ? So this opinion could be helpful for people looking for information on those too.
I also decided to write about this device for the use of people who acquire this scanner (or its Agfa and Guillemot relatives) either secondhand or in a clearance sale.
Because of its SCSI=Small Computer Systems Interface this scanner is very fast and runs rings around all parallel-port devices and even some other SCSI-scanners. I know for a fact that in sheer speed it ridicules the more recent HP 6000 series SCSI-scanners, we use here in the office. I think it's the proprietary HP scanning software which is to blame for that. The twain-interface of the Acer 310S is so much more quick and efficient, and the MiraScan driver has been updated regularly since I bought the scanner in 1998. This means that driver support from Acer is excellent, the latest driver was made available in the beginning of April 2000.
The 310S comes with its proprietary little ISA SCSI-card. Acer doesn't give any guarantee if you want to try and make the scanner work with any other SCSI controller. But I will try this out with an Adaptec PCI-card as soon as I find the right cable and I'll update my review accordingly. The card provided doesn't allow you to connect other devices to it, although on the scanner itself there is a port for connecting another external device. As the latest generations of motherboards no longer have the long black ISA-slots (it seems that the industry now has agreed on phasing out the whole ISA-architecture) this could become an important issue if you still want to use this scanner on the newest of PCs.
-------- [B] Update [/B] September 20th, 2001-------
I finally have gotten round to testing the scanner on another "real" and fullblown SCSI-controller card. For the occasion I borrowed an Adaptec 2940UW PCI-controller and the appropriate cable to connect the scanner to the controller card wich consists of a switch from old SCSI (25pins) to new. And the news is ..... it works! I haven't used a stopwatch but I have the impression that on the PCI bus it is faster still, although this could also be due to the fact that I recently did a system upgrade with more memory and a faster processor. But this means that you can take the scanner with you through your next system upgrade to a PC that comes with a motherboard without ISA slots, but this implicates dishing out considerable money for a real SCSI controller card, and they don't come that cheap, also you will need another SCSI cable to connect the scanner to the controller.
---------------------END OF UPDATE -------------------
Also the original SCSI cable provided with the scanner isn't very long so either you buy a longer one or you just have to install the scanner closely to the PC.
The scanner came with a real paper manual, some basic software, first and for all the indispensable Twain driver and its interface (called 'MiraScan') which once installed makes Windows95/98 detect the isa-card and the scanner attached to it. There was also a basic photo-editor - I never used it - and the slimline version of the Textbridge OCR(=Optical Character Recognition)-software. Once installed the scanner can be operated from within any Office application, clicking on the scanner button you find in the (sub)menu of these office programs launches the intuitive and well structured MiraScan interface which lets you adjust the scanner settings.
The sole setback on the scanner's MiraScan command window, is that it only opens up in a box which you can't run full screen making it sometimes difficult to define the surface limits if ever you only want to use parts or details of the pictures/documents you are scanning.
Although in a group test published in a Dutch magazine in 1999 this scanner didn't come out on top, it still was the fastest of the pack. But apparently the reviewers attached more importance to the image quality which in their opinion was lagging compared to the competitors. Also the native optical resolutions, which for this scanner is only 300x600 at 30bit, made it less popular for them compared to the others in the test.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 140
Interface: SCSI
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Epinions.com ID:
isvikthere
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Reviews written: 46
Trusted by: 14 members
About Me:
Amongst other things, a computer hardware enthusiast who writes only about things I know/own.
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