spectrophotometer - spectrophotometer (Dec/03/2005 )

I need a spectrophotometer for general spectral applications and kinetic studies. I have money that is enough for Hitachi U1800 and Shimadzu UV mini 1240. i am not sure which properties are most important to look for a good spectrophotometer. Which one to buy. please help.

I chose and bought a spectrophotometer several years ago. It works fine. If I had to buy another one, one thing I think that would be important is the sample volume it will require. My current spectrophotometer needs at least 500 ul sample to measure acurately.