For high quality and fast bulk scanning of slides, an automated machine such as this Braun Multimag Slide Scanner 4000 is one of the best 35mm slide scanner choices for home use or smaller scale professional scanning jobs. This is a mid grade automatic scanner with a capacity of 100 slides. If you have more than 1000 slides to scan, I recommend this model as an entry level automatic slide scanner.
This Braun Multimag Slide Scanner 4000 review will cover the features and pros of this 35mm slide scanner, what I didn’t like about this slide scanner and optional upgrades and attachments.
First off, this is a versatile slide scanner that supports a variety of slide magazines including Braun, LKM, CS, and Universal Magazines. I tested this machine with a batch of 800 35mm slides that I was scanning for DVD conversion for my parents’ anniversary.
I will start off this Braun Multimag Slide Scanner 4000 review by going over some of the features. This 35mm slide scanner supports automatic batch scanning of up to 100 slides using 6 different magazine types. The Braun Multimag Slidescan 4000 supports Digital ICE, Digital ROC, and Digital GEM technology. The slide scanner has an optical resolution of 3600 dpi x 3600 dpi, a linear array color CCD image sensor, and scans in 48 bit mode. Without Digital ICE, scanning speed for color at 1800 dpi is 60 sec. , and color scans at 3600 dpi with digital ICE is 1 minute 20 seconds. The Braun Multimag Slide Scanner 4000 supports firewire and USB connections and supports both Mac and Windows operating systems.
What I liked about this 35 mm slide scanner is that while this is not the speediest of automatic slide scanners, the 100 35mm slide capacity was more than enough for my needs. I loaded my slides and could walk away for several hours once the initial settings were set up. The default magazine that comes with the Braun Multimag Slide Scanner 4000 supports slides up to 2mm thick. Typical of German engineering, the slide scanner by Braun is well built and sturdy. The Digital ICE worked well to remove excess dust and debris. Out of all my slides, I only had one jam and that was more due to a faulty slide with a warped mount.
Now what I didn’t like is that there is no stop button when a slide jams. In my case, I had to turn off the machine and restart the batch job over after removing the jammed slide. This is a minor complaint however. Also, the instructions that come with the Braun Multimag Slide Scanner 4000 is not very newbie friendly. This is a slide scanner that is geared more towards intermediate to professional users. However, if you are familiar with scanning 35mm slides to digital format, then setting up the machine and software should be a breeze.
I was pretty happy with the image quality from the Braun multimag 35 mm slide scanner. There is an optional round 100 slide tray that goes with this slide scanner, the Braun 160632 for glass mounts. I did not use the round slide tray, just the default loading arm that came with the slide scanner. For my scanning job, I chose to finish restoring my pictures in Adobe Photoshop, but the image quality pre photoshop is more than adequate for anything short of high quality professional needs.
I recommend this 35mm slide scanner in this Braun Multimag Slide Scanner 4000 review for small to medium sized slide scanning jobs. This is a sturdy machine that operates hands off and at a good pace for jobs up to about 10000 slides. The image quality is excellent, although you’ll want to brush up on image restoration from another manual or guide online instead of relying on the included manual from Braun.