garry_b Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 I am currently looking to buy a film scanner for scanning medium format negatives. I am inclined to go for the Nikon 9000, only because I've used the 8000 before and I'm still familiar with the Nikon software. Does anyone here have any recommendations for or against the Nikon 9000? Are there any alternative units I should consider? Simply put, what's your favorite film scanner and why? Another question... Does anyone know of any good resources for learning how to properly scan negatives? As I understand this is a highly specialized skill. Where does one begin? thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich_morgan1 Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 Good luck finding a 9000. Seems to be out of stock everywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_henderson Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 Good luck finding an affordable new film scanner for MF that isn't a Nikon 9000. I bought one of these a few months ago and have been making sharp nicely coloured 16" sq prints from it. At that size its not very easy to distinguish between these and the prints from drum scans - though I have little doubt that at 30" sq I'd be able to do so more easily. Get the glass holder- it makes a huge difference. I learned by making a large number of scans each of which tested the effects of a single variable, so I could conclude what settings to use on a consistent basis. I'm still a long way from expert, but the fact that a technical idiot like me can get decent prints from my scans means it isn't impossibly hard. There's quite a bit of material on here, and there's a Yahoo user group at http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/coolscan8000-9000/ and you can look also at www.scanhancer.com and www.scantips.com. There's a number of pretty cogent people here with this scanner or the 8000. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulr Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 Imacon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtk Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 Epson 700 or 750, or even 4990 with focusing carrier from http://www.betterscanning.com ...or even fluid mount. Because Nikon 9000's standard negative carrier is deficient, it won't beat Epson's detail resolution across the field..you'll need the anti-newton glass carrier or, better, fluid mount carrier from Aztek. The orders-of-magnitude price difference are unimportant, right? :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garry_b Posted July 25, 2007 Author Share Posted July 25, 2007 Thank you for everyone's input. This is very helpful. John, Do you find that the Epson 750 w/ focusing carrier can measure up to the Nikon 9000 with glass rotating carrier in terms of image quality, sharpness, resolution, etc? What about the film scanners from Microtech and Polaroid? Imacon is definitely out of my price range at this point. I want the best quality I can get without exceeding the $2000 range. Is Nikon still my best option? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leo_maniace2 Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 I have a Nikon coolscan 9000, with the glass carrier. I also had an epson 750. I am sorry, but the epson in no way is as good as the nikon coolscan 9000, even without the glass carrier, for medium format that is. For large format, wet mounter it was very good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steven_clark Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 Somewhere about here someone's going to pitch third-party film holders for the Epson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roger krueger Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 I had a Polaroid Sprintscan 120 and hated it. Horrid positioning error issues, channels went in and out of alignment. And this was after I returned 2 of them becuase they were even worse. Plus it died for good a few weeks out of warranty. So I spent $2200 on a used Screen 1045ai drum scanner. Best choice I ever made (except the part about getting screamed at by my wife. It's, um, pretty big.) For color you'll probably be close enough to happy with the Nikon, but if you've got dense traditional b&w negs you'll have problems with premature blowouts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtk Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 Leo's accessory glass carrier solves 9000's problem. Better: http://store.aztek.com/servlet/Detail?no=66 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilkka_nissila Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 The 9000 is stock at B&H right now. The rotating glass carrier that Nikon makes is excellent. No, the difference in price between an Epson and the Nikon are not unimportant but Epson scan quality with film is so bad that it's not to be discussed in the same thread. A 6 MP DSLR is likely to beat 6x7 iso 100 slide scanne with an Epson (as has been my experience, with or without glass carriers). One of my most expensive mistakes, to originally buy and Epson 4990. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich_morgan1 Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 Out of stock at B&H again. Sold whatever they received in less than 24 hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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