ES-2 first impressions

I just received the ES-2 adapter and I can say it looks great - everything you need for 35mm format, well build quality, typical for Nikon - the strip adapters that slide in for example are click-in position, not wondering inside the adapter as I thought it would be. (there are some metal shifts inside)

The only thing I didn't like is that it is all plastic - the first one ES-1 is all metal, and the feel is different.

I hope now they will release a plug-in or something so that we could use the software from the Coolscan on ACR or in camera - the auto convert that is in D850 is only in JPEG mode, which is not ok for me - on one hand I want uncompressed file and on other I use the HDR mode, which gives much more dynamic from the slide. For negatives you need much more procession, but the good thing now is that you can digitalise strips.

"I hope now they will release a plug-in or something so that we could use the software from the Coolscan on ACR or in camera.."

- Don't hold your breath! It's taken Nikon over 9 months from announcement to get the ES-2 into production. Nikon's previous record with software isn't good either.

The promise of decent negative copies straight from the camera was always going to be a pipedream. It's not hitherto been achievable with the processing power of a full computer behind it.

Small markets tend to get small attention from large companies, and the market for quality film 'scanning' is pretty small. You can tell that by the fact that dedicated film scanners have been dropped from production by all the major companies. What's left are satisfactory for web publication or amateur use only.

If you want a piece of software to handle scans or digital copies, there's always Ed Hamrick's Vuescan.

honestly I never used Vuescan... it would be pity not to release something like plug in, as they have the technology, it is just a matter of shaping it - whether for ACR or another way. How you achieve the raw image doesn't matter.

One more thing - there are two 52-62mm adapters in the set, one is tube like, I assume it is for crop DSLRs, as they need some more space in front to achieve 1:1 reproduction

I can't see Nikon making a plugin for Adobe's ACR. They have their own NX-D raw (NEF) handler.

I suspect the reason for the delay in getting the ES-2 to market was nothing to do with the hardware. Rather, Nikon knew they'd have red faces over the poor negative processing of the D-850.

Maybe they were hoping that people would forget all the silly hype of pushing the D-850 as a film-scanner substitute. Like you couldn't already have done that using any decent DSLR and their ES-1, or any other film-copying attachment.