(Approx 580 words)

Wolverine F2D Slide Scanner
By Joe Nuvolini, Pikes Peak Computer Application Society, Colorado
http://ppcompas.apcug.org
nuvo(at)juno.com

This article has been obtained from APCUG with the author’s permission for publication by APCUG member groups; all other uses require the permission of the author (see e-mail address above).

Over the years, I have amassed about 3,000 color slides. I have been wanting to scan them into my computer, but up to now, had not seen a scanning product that would allow me to get the job done in a reasonable time. One day I came across the Wolverine F2D 35mm Film to Digital Scanner while surfing the Internet. It looked like the answer I was looking for.

I read a number of reviews and found a wide variety of opinions. People seemed to love it or hate it but the positives were greater than the negatives so I decided to try it. I was not disappointed. The unit is self-contained, though you can connect it to a computer USB port for power. However, no computer is required to use it. In fact, I am using it on an island in my kitchen. The unit comes with two film holders; one for slides and one for color or black and white negatives. The unit saves the images to an SD card in JPG format. Before saving the images, they can be mirrored or rotated, if necessary.

The package includes the unit, the two film holders, an AC adapter you can plug the USB connector into for power, a brush to clean the internal screen, a 1-GB SD card, and a 19-page manual. The first thing I did was go to the Wolverine Website (http://wolverinedata.com/f2d). I downloaded a PDF copy of the manual so these tired old eyes could better read it. I also downloaded the latest firmware update and installed it. I then started my project. I can scan 125 slides in about 30-35 minutes. The more images that need to be rotated before saving, the longer it takes. They advertise 5-MP images and I found the file sizes ran from 900 KB to just over 1 MB.

There are a couple of things to watch out for. The most important is to make sure your slides (up to 4) are properly seated in the tray. If they are not, the tray will bind up in the scanner. I have had a couple of close calls on this one. Also, I have found that for no good reason the image on the screen of the unit will shift to black and white or have some goofy colors. I have found in most cases pressing the mirror button twice will fix the problem. If not, turning the power off and back on will do the trick for sure. There is one other item the manual warns about, and that is not to tip the unit backward to better view an image on the unit's screen. The reason is that the connector on the USB power cable plugs in near the bottom on the back of the unit. The connection is a small USB connector, like the one on your camera. Repeated tipping can place stress on the connector causing it to fail. 

Pricing varies. A Google search for “Wolverine F2D” brought a range of prices from $119 at the Wolverine site to $99.99 on the Costco site. I am quite satisfied with the product. If you take care in using it, you will be too.