Kaiser Baas PhotoMaker slide and negative scanner
If you have old slides hanging around in a bottom draw somewhere, you may be running out of time to preserve them for posterity.
Depending on how old they are and the conditions they have been stored in, it may already be too late to convert them into digital form, but even if they have deteriorated somewhat, the wonders of photo-editing software may be able to salvage them. So the sooner you bite the bullet, the better.
Help is at hand in the form of the Kaiser Baas PhotoMaker, which lets you scan your old slides and film negatives to your PC in digital format and enhance the resulting files via the bundled ArcSoft PhotoImpressions 6 software. You can use it to remove imperfections such as red-eye — when slides where in their heyday, there was no way to guard against the old ‘evil eye’ — and generally enhance it by sharpening the image and correcting colour, contrast and more.
The PhotoMaker comes with white cotton gloves for handling your slides so you don’t add finger prints to the challenge of getting a good scan, plus two tools for removing any dust that may have accumulated on your slides over time. Make sure to take advantage of these tools, as the cleaner the slide, the better the scan, and the less post-production work you’ll need to do.
You can scan four slides at a time via the supplied USB cable (no external power is required) and the process is dead easy. Make sure that you scan at the highest resolution to have the best chance for a good result — the more data you have to work with, the better the outcome.
Here’s a video demo of how the PhotoMaker works.
The PhotoMaker has a recommended retail price of $129.95 and is available in Australia from Harvey Norman and Dick Smith Electronics stores.
Comments (9)
Gail Lipscombe has worked for some of Australia's hottest tech magazines for over 10 years. In her blog, she focuses on demystifying technology, gadgets and the web for average consumers.
This does not seem to run on Windows 7 though there is no mention of compatability issues anywhere. The drivers for 64 bit were selected but thhe install message said “…will take several minutes” yet after half a minute says install complete. The only thing installed is the “delete” prgramme routine. The unit receives power from the usb cable yet the computer says “no device found”. The website has no mention of Windows 7 issues.
Hardware is Asus G71G laptop.
I tested the Photomaker on both a Windows XP and a Vista machine, as I received this product for review before I received and installed Windows 7. Unfortunately, the Photomaker has been returned to the vendor, but I will attempt to get a response from them in regards to the issues you’re experiencing.
Hi Kel, here is the reply to my inquiries regarding a solution to your problem from Kaiser Baas:
Please have a look at the following article -
http://kaiserbaas.helpserve.com/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=57&nav=0,14,14
If this does not work and you still see USB Camera under imaging devices then right click this and select update driver, pop the driver disc in the drive and select automatically scan for driver.
We have the ability to connect remotely to customers PCs so if these suggestions do not work you are welcome to call us on 1300 302 306 and we can troubleshoot the issue for you providing you have a broadband internet connection.
Hope this helps.
Title…
Very interesting post. I would like to link back to it….
Title…
Very interesting post. I would like to link back to it….
My dad just got this and we tried to run this on my windows 7 laptop, having issues with no driver for windows 7 and had trouple with xp on his pc … so feel like taking it back to the shop for refund.. tried the update device driver but its not highlighted etc.. so frustrated
hi,
i just purchased one, and i am having trouble with the exposure. It seems to be going way to bright and the imagine becomes unrecognizable… Any ideas?
Your best bet would be to contact the Kaiser Baas tech support team via its Web site. Here is the link: http://kaiserbaas.helpserve.com.
I used this product on an XP machine and had no problems, but different system configurations can cause incompatibility issues and not knowing yours, it’s hard to say.
Contact the Kaiser Baas Support Center at http://kaiserbaas.helpserve.com (make sure you supply as many details of the problem as possible and your system configuration) and if the situation isn’t resolved, take it back to the retailer. They may even be able to help you out there if you’re lucky (but don’t hold your breath, as technical training of sales staff can be sketchy at best).
If not, ask for a refund.