Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

The Kodak Scanza arrived well packaged and in an undamaged box, so I didn't anticipate a problem. I scanned several old 35mm slides and soon discovered that the method provided for capturing mounted slides is marginally useless. You can try to pry apart a plastic tray which is in turn inserted in the scanner (one up), or you can try to feed them in from the end of the mounted tray to minimize handling. Of course, the latter method works, assuming the paper slide holders are in pristine condition. I don't know about your 40 year old 35mm slides, but mine have gone through a number or Kodak carousel traumas and are anything but planar. Guess what. Every one hangs up on the tray requiring removal of the tray and starting from step 1. I figured I'd give this thing a chance (for the bucks) so I thought I'd try to view a captured image on my 60" wall mounted Sony via the HDMI interface. But to my dismay, the HDMI port on the back of the Scanza sported a miniature version of the standard connector I'd liberated from my Roku to view the scanned slides. So Kodak not only doesn't supply the required SanDisk memory card (I'd scrounged one up) but they don't supply a convenient adapter for the more common HDMI interface. Did I mention that my TV is wall mounted and weighs 100 lbs, obviating the use of the included adapter cable? But wait, there's more! While in the process of trying to give this cheap plastic contraption a fair chance, I couldn't help noticing that its power would wink out at random intervals. Being curious, I finally determined that the tiny USB connector on the back of the Scanza would only supply power reliably if I applied upward pressure. I'm sorry, Kodak, but this is beyond the pale. I have returned the Scanza (who the hell named this thing anyway, the same brilliant VP that runs the QC department?) and subsequently spent $25 more on an Epson Perfection V600, which is a flatbed scanner with good specs that will hopefully serve as a great general purpose scanner long after I've digitized my old slides. There were a couple of other options in the same price range on Amazon. So there it is, for what it's worth. Don't waste your time or your money.