Upgrade from Nikon Coolscan IV to LS 4000?

Hi,

I currently have a Nikon Coolscan IV and I scan everything at 2900

ppi, work thru Photo Shop 7.0 and print to an Epson 2200. I sometimes

print up to A3 size and am fairly happy with results.

Question.... as I end up setting my files to 300 dpi and 8 bits

anyway before printing, would I see noticeable improvement in my 8X10

to A3 prints if I upgraded my scanner to a Nikon Coolscan 4000 and

scanned all my negatives and slides in at 4000ppi? Worth selling the

Coolscan IV I just bought a couple of months ago and comming up with

the several hundred dollars for the 4000 model?

Appreciate both technical and subjective advice...Thanks!

Jeff

If you can't tell that you need it, you don't need it. What's A3? I don't think the extra resolution will make any difference.

Here are the cases I can think of where you might want to upgrade...

You want better shadow detail (and less noise in the shadows). For this to make sense, you better be able to see more on the slide than you see on your scans.

You have a problem with grain aliasing (your grain actually looks worse on screen than the original grain structure). In this case you were unlucky enough to get interference patterns because of the relationship between grain spacing of your particular film and resolution of your particular scanner. You need a higher (or for that matter lower) resolution scanner to resolve this problem.

You want some spiffy feature that only the 4000ED provides, like batch scanning an entire roll of film (with the optional adapter).

You have too much money.

Mind you, I have the 4000ED and it is indeed cool. I upgraded from a Coolscan III because it truly didn't cut it for shadow detail from slides, but the IV is probably good enough.

Why don't you check out the PhotoShop actions at Fred Minanda's site

http://www.fredmiranda.com/Action_profilesPage/index.html? He has a high quality action for increasing the size of images. He also has an action to enhance the shadow detail from slides. I think that the most costly action that he has is $15.

Please check them out and let us know how they worked for you. Perhaps they will help you get the output that you need without having to upgrade your scanner.

That depends on a few things. If you're printing larger than 8x12 inches, the Coolscan IV technically doesn't really have the resolution for printing any larger at 300dpi. However it can be done and it will usually look fine...<br><br>

You've heard most of the reasons to go to the 4000dpi models, and now I'll throw something in. If you're not going to scan batches of more than 4 mounted slides or a strip of 6, but you do want those features, you might want to consider the Canon FS4000. I have used the Canon FS4000 and the Nikon CP4000 both extensively and I have to say in general, while the CP4000 does have more shadow detail, it isn't always actual useful information. The Canon pulls plenty, and is sharper from edge to edge. I have a comparison of the nikon and Canon scanners <a href="http://www.rit.edu/~cgs2794/comparison.htm">here</a>. While I enjoy the Nikon for it's widespread support, and good detail range, the Canon can often match it and has never let me down. It's sharpness is better than the Nikon and I much prefer the film trays over the film handling options of the Nikon 4000. The bulk scanning accessories are nice, but at $500 and if they're not something you need, I wouldn't consider the LS4000 without putting the Canon FS4000US in to the mix.

Thanks all for your responses!

Noshir,

Batch scanning is not important to me at the moment. Right now I am trying to be slow and methodical in my process to both do the best job and allow for experimentation and learning.

A3 is a print size that is approx 11.7 X 16.5 inches.

William,

Thanks for the link you provided. My first look through Fred's site appears to provide support for digital camera output but I will revisit tonight and look through more carefully.

Carl,

The Canon FS 4000 is definitely something I should consider (if I make the upgrade anytime soon). It is less than $900 through B&H now. That is only slightly more than I paid for the CS IV two months ago...I should have considered it then but had my Nikon focus only glasses on. I will continue to refine my entire process from initial shots (I do almost everything on a tripod now) to working my color management, etc and see what is the best I can do before selling the CS IV and moving on. Thanks for the comparison you provided...definitely food for thought.

If you haven't already bought another scanner, Nikon is offering a

$200 rebate on the SC 4000 from Oct 31 - Dec 31, 2002.

Jeanette