I thought the scanner did a good job scanning etc. In two weeks the scanning arm jammed and failed to work.(I scanned 500 negitives) The troubling part is at the epson web site, they failed to answer any Email request for help. The good news is amazon is sending another scanner. So there is a happy ending. Amazon responded on the first email.

I had scanned a few slides. It was slow but they turned out well. If you have to scan a lot of slides though I would not recommend this scanner because it will take a very long time. The following two days, I scanned some photos that seemed OK. On day four when I turned the scanner on there was a loud grinding noise and the red light started flashing. I went over the troubleshooting steps and there is nothing I can do but return it.

This scanner performs well for the user who expects very good scans from flatbed and negatives/transparencies at this price point.
PROS:
Costs under $200.
Scans negatives and transparencies--35mm, mounted slides, and 120.
Includes very easy-to-use-and-integrate software.
Installs easily (on WinXP SP2).
Makes scans that are very usable in Photoshop CS.
Is able to make scans that I don't need to mess with (for web, email) without using Photoshop.

CONS:
35mm holder allows filmstrip to buckle.
Minor software tweaks would be desirable.
No good way to store film holders when one of them is in use.

I'm an amateur photographer who develops his own film. I had been getting my film developed by an excellent, and inexpensive, local chain that also provided a CD-ROM of scanned images for each roll processed. Once I started developing my own b/w film, I wanted a scanner that could do decent scans so that I could continue to keep medium-resolution "contact sheets" on my PC. I thought that the 4180 might do the trick at a pretty inexpensive price point. I was right.

It scans well, within timeframes that are reasonable. I've read other reviews here, and I'm not sure what everyone expects of their scanners--but given your connection (USB 2.0, etc.) and whatever else you have going on, I think you'll find this scanner performs as expected. It takes a while to do medium-to-hi-res scans, but that's what I expect of a scanner. I expect it to transmit to my PC pretty darn quick, but the scanning part can take its time.

The scanner software does not always detect the framelines between 35mm frames correctly. I think this might be what another reviewer was referring to regarding black lines. Usually, re-previewing the set of frames corrects this. Worst case scenario, you just preview and scan the whole set of frames and then go back and scan that problematic one individually. It's really not a big deal.

If you're intending to scan a great deal of 35mm negatives, slides, or 120 transparencies/negatives quickly, then this is not the right scanner for you. The provided film holders don't hold a lot of frames. I do appreciate being able to scan 12 35mm negatives simultaneously, but when you're dealing with rolls of 24-36, it does take some time. Luckily you don't have to be present during most of the scanning process.

The 35mm frame is very good at holding the film, but because it isn't a sandwich of glass, it does not hold your film flat if it's not flat already. Artifacts in the resulting scan are common, especially at the ends of 35mm strips.

The software should have a way of overriding the "selection" of frames by the software. Usually it's accurate, but when it's not I'd rather not have to redo a single scan because the software selected a too-narrow area or one that overlaps two frames.
The enclosed software is very good. It includes a densitometer, editable histogram, and other tools for working with your scans. I have not worked much with the grain removal and dust/scratch removal tools, but I'm more comfortable working with those problems in Photoshop.

For excellent thumbnails and fast, very good printable scans, I've found this scanner to be excellent.

I have a Pentium 4 with 512MB memory and 20 GB free HD space.To scan 4 slides, it takes the 4180 5 mins.at 800dpi. Each sucessive batch of slides takes increasingly longer time. After 5 rounds of e-mails,the support group gave up. So did I.

If you like to scan late at night, this may not be the scanner for you. The motor is the noisiest I have ever heard!

However for the low price, built-in light lid adaptor, and the ability to scan up to 12 35mm negatives with the press of a button, it is worth the under $200 price tag.