Nikon Coolscan 9000ED - specific questions

[tomasz_zakrzewski]

I'm professionally almost exclusively digital photographer but my personal

projects I shoot on film. I need to finally buy a scanner for MF negs. I wanted

to buy Microtek 120tf but their availability is very scarce and they are

generally very rare and I'm afraid I won't get any support or other users'

feedback with this machine. That's why I think about the Nikon Coolscan 9000ED.

Having said that I have some important questions to ask before I decide on this

machine:

 

1. my 120 type negs are cut in strips of 3 6x7cm frames. Can I scan from such

strips without the need to cut them shorter? Will the strip fit somehow into

the scanner? Will I be able to scan all 3 6x7cm frames from one strip?

2. Can I scan MF and 35mm frames (especially from 6x6 Hasselblad which I plan

to buy soon)with borders to achieve the classical look which can be done in

traditional darkroom?

3. Do I need any additional glass film holder?

4. I need the scanner mainly for my silverhalide b&w negs. Do you think it will

scan them well for big (22x22 inch) enlargments on Epson 7800?

5. Do you think that Silverfast is better than NikonScan with color negs?

 

I have Nikon Coolscan 4000ED and it's a brilliant scanner apart from sharpness

issues. With older slides I have to scan with focus set to two different

heights and then merge the two scans in Photoshop to achieve really good

sharpness across the frame. Is the 9000ED better in this regard? B&w negs are

also a problem because th egrain structure should look the same in the middle

and in the corners of the frame.

 

Of course I'd like to get the best for my negs but Imacons are out of my range,

unfortunately.

 

Best regards

 

Tom

[jonathan_traupman]

<p>I have the 8000, but most of your questions are common to both models:

 

<p><i>. my 120 type negs are cut in strips of 3 6x7cm frames. Can I scan from such strips without the need to cut them shorter?</i>

 

<p>Sort of:

 

<p><i>Will the strip fit somehow into the scanner?</i>

 

<p>It should. There may be a little bit hanging off the edge that you'll need to ensure doesn't get caught in the mechanism, but it should fit.

 

<p><i>Will I be able to scan all 3 6x7cm frames from one strip?</i>

 

<p>No. One frame will be cut off by the edge of the holder.

 

<p><i>2. Can I scan MF and 35mm frames (especially from 6x6 Hasselblad which I plan to buy soon)with borders to achieve the classical look which can be done in traditional darkroom?</i>

 

<p>With the standard holders, it's not easy. With the glass holder, you can scan the whole width of a 35mm frame and then some. With 120, you get about 1mm of border on the left and right if you position the frame very precisely. You'll get shape of the frame and the pretentious hasselblad triangles, but you may need to extend the black border in photoshop if you like fat and/or sloppy black borders.

 

<p><i>3. Do I need any additional glass film holder?</i>

 

<p>I would say yes. Edge-to-edge flatness is a real problem without the glass holder.

 

<p><i>4. I need the scanner mainly for my silverhalide b&w negs. Do you think it will scan them well for big (22x22 inch) enlargments on Epson 7800?</i>

 

<p>Definitely. The Nikons work great with B&W, but you'll have to spot the dust out manually. The native resolution of the scan is roughly what you need for a 24"x24" 360dpi print.

 

<p><i>5. Do you think that Silverfast is better than NikonScan with color negs?</i>

 

<p>No idea. I use VueScan, which I find better than NikonScan except for the primitive interface.

 

<p><i>Is the 9000ED better in this regard?</i>

 

<p>Without the glass holder, its worse. With the glass holder, it's leagues better.

[eric friedemann]

I pretty much agree with Jonathan on everything, except:

 

 

"Can I scan MF and 35mm frames (especially from 6x6 Hasselblad which I plan to buy soon) with borders to achieve the classical look which can be done in traditional darkroom?"

 

 

No. Across the width of the film, the 9000 is only capable of scanning 56.9mm- not enough to give you black borders on four sides with any Hasselblad or 6x7cm images I've scanned.

[jonathan_traupman]

<p><i>No. Across the width of the film, the 9000 is only capable of scanning 56.9mm- not enough to give you black borders on four sides with any Hasselblad or 6x7cm images I've scanned.</i>

 

<p>Really? That must be a Hasselblad thing, then. I find that I get a thin black border around my negs (Bronica SQ-Ai 6x6) when I use the glass holder. Not like from a filed-out negative carrier, but enough to see the complete framing of the negative.

[paul.droluk]

I've been using a Polaroid SprintScan 120 (= Microtek 120tf) since 1999, and it has served

me very well... still does. I ONLY scan with the glass holder. I know you're interested in the

Nikon 9000ED (my partner has one), but here are answers for the 120tf...

 

1. Yes, 3-6x9 frames fit in the glass film holder with no problem. You can scan all three

frames, but only at a time. (5-645's, 4-6x6's, 3-6x9's, 1-6x24) I scan up to 6x24 on

mine, which requires 4 scans... 2-6x9's, 1-6x7 and 1-6x4.5, which I then stitch using the

photomerge function in PS.

 

2. Yes, you can include the film border... the spec's say 56.5mm, but I'm guessing it's

actually more like 57mm. You will get film borders on both top and bottom, but not the

entire borders.

 

3. I ONLY use the glass holder for film flatness reasons. My partner wound up buying one

for his 9000ED... for the same reason.

 

4. I print all of my work at 22xXXX on an Epson 7600... leaving a one inch border.

Scanning at 3200 dpi is MORE than enough for sharp prints at this size.

 

5. No idea about NikonScan, but Siverfast works great.

 

The ONLY thing I wish the Polaroid had was Digital ICE, which the Nikon does have. I wind

up spending too much of my time on spotting... that being said, I do become more

intimate with each photo during the lengthy spotting process.<div></div>

[eric friedemann]

Hasselblad, Rollei, Yashica, Minolta, Mamiya (RB, RZ and 7II) and two different Fuji 6x9s- none allow any border accross the width of the film. The Nikon scanners are not designed to allow borders- borders screw up the scanners' exposure and color correction.

[anthony_r]

Having been a drum scanner operator and owning this scanner for around two years, I have

to say I'm very impressed. I was also looking at the Microtec, but have heard that it isn't as

nice as the Nikon. I'd address your specific questions, but they were answered well enough

already. In regards to the glass neg holder however, I'm torn. I cannot for the life of me get

rid of the moire/newton ring issue no matter how hard I try. Most often I will use the

standard carrier and pay extra attention to getting the film aligned flat. the resolution should

be adequate for your needs. Since you are already in PhotoShop after the fact, adding the film

borders that you can't get after the fact shouldn't be an issue (using previous full frame scans

or just faking it).

[david_simonds]

Tomasz, I have been using a Nikon 9000 to scan Rollei 120 images. I also print 24" and larger on an Epson 7800. With a properly exposed/focused image, you can easily make outstanding images considerably longer than the 24" limit. If the film/chrome is off it will just look like big junk. May I also suggest that you check out the new generation of papers. I have been using the Crane Silver Rag and Innova F with excellent results. Does sort of have the look of traditional rag papers. What I really like is the deep blacks (great Dmax) with virtually no metamerism or bronzing. Hope this helps.