Gear Talk > Software & Accessories

Film Scanners - any user recommendations?

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RC:
From a similar thread a few days ago:
http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=5636.msg107811#msg107811


--- Quote from: RC on April 29, 2012, 12:23:24 PM ---Have the Canon 8800F, bought it specifically to scan my 35mm slides and negs.  I also have an Epson Perfection 636 (SCSI interface), with slide and neg adapter.  The Canon blows the Epson out of the water for slides and negatives--in fact that is why I bought the Canon.  I see the 9000F on Amazon for $204

So far I have been very happy with the 8800F.  My Kodachrome slides have turned out brilliant with all the rich colors and details.    Even most of my Wife's over exposed Ektachrome slides (oops, she shot ISO 400 in daylight on a P&S in Europe) have been reasonably salvaged by tweaking software settings.  Haven't tried scanning negs yet, still working on years of slides.

--- End quote ---

Kernuak:
I have a Nikon Coolscan V ED, from what I gather, the optical quality isn't as good as the Nikon 8000/9000, but it is significantly cheaper. However, one thing to be aware is compatibility. The software isn't compatible with Windows 64 bit and you have to download an update from the Nikon site, which is hard to find to work with Vista (presumably that would work with Windows 7). There may also be compatibility issues with later versions of Mac OS, so it's worth checking. This is all assuming that you can still get hold of Nikon film scanners, as Nikon were phasing them out, hence the lack oif updates. There may be some third party drivers available to enable continued use. Silverfast will give you the same functionality (probably more) as the Nikon software, but it still uses the Nikon drivers. I believe that VueScan enables continued use, but I'm not 100% sure and I haven't yet tried it. However, I haven't been entirely happy with the results, as the images look quite soft and noisy (there is a known fault on the V ED where the mirror gets covered in dust, requiring a nervously executed clean), so you may be better off with TexPhoto's suggestion of weeding out a small number for professional scanning.

Policar:
I really like the Nikon 9000, but it's fairly expensive ($4000-$5000 used).  I am having some weird software issues with Silverfast and my Nikon 5000, and I wonder if compatibility might be an issue with the 9000, too, when using the newest software (on OSX).  You need to scan using multi-pass or else there is a lot of noise, but the results are great otherwise.  The glass carriers are a must; they sometimes give you Newton's rings but not so bad and they make flatness way better.

Just a warning...this will be a very slow process, especially if you use multi-pass.  If you don't want to make big prints but are doing this for archival purposes instead, an Epson flatbed is way cheaper and, from what I've seen, not bad.

goretexguy:
I own and use the Nikon Coolscan V and it works great.
With regard to Kernuak, I'm using 64-bit Windows 7 and have no issues with the latest Nikon drivers. I'm also using the stock Nikon software, which works well enough, rather than paying for the probably-nicer Silverfast.
I've had the scanner for several years now, and have handled both slides and negatives of Kodak, Velvia, etc. )I haven't done any B&W, though.) I've been very pleased with sharpness, color and resolution.
A word of caution: it does take some practice to get excellent results. Out of the box, expect odd color casts.

Kernuak:

--- Quote from: goretexguy on May 01, 2012, 03:46:23 PM ---I own and use the Nikon Coolscan V and it works great.
With regard to Kernuak, I'm using 64-bit Windows 7 and have no issues with the latest Nikon drivers. I'm also using the stock Nikon software, which works well enough, rather than paying for the probably-nicer Silverfast.
I've had the scanner for several years now, and have handled both slides and negatives of Kodak, Velvia, etc. )I haven't done any B&W, though.) I've been very pleased with sharpness, color and resolution.
A word of caution: it does take some practice to get excellent results. Out of the box, expect odd color casts.

--- End quote ---
I never got around to trying different settings, so I doubt I got the best out of the software. I am interested about compatibility with 64 bit Windows 7 though and I'm wondering whether Nikon relented and updated the drivers, as it's probably been a couple of years since I investigated.

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