Nikon Super Coolscan 9000 scans are FLAT

[charmianjoy]

Aloha!

 

I've been using the Nikon Super Coolscan 9000 ED for scanning my 35mm slides

(mostly Fuji Velvia 50). I have noticed that the scanned image is very "flat"

and desaturated compared to the transparency itself. I am scanning at 16bit,

using Digital ICE and I just can't seem to figure out why my end project is so

different...it's very hard to correct in photoshop too. It seems like the

problem areas are the lighter parts of shadows (instead of color it reads

gray)...as if the scanner cannot read certain colors in the upper shadow

range. I've been reading up on Digital DEE and ROC/GEM but after playing

around with those settings it still doesn't help. Any thoughts?<div></div>

[lex_jenkins]

I'm not familiar with the scanning software Nikon provides but you might try a free, full featured trial of VueScan. Used it several years ago with my Minolta scanner and it pulled out far better scans than the standard Minolta software could manage.

[mark_jordan3]

I second Lex's recommendation...I use VueScan with both my Nikon and Epson scanners, for me the difference is tremendous.

[arthuryeo]

I have used this scanner for more than 3 years and have no such issues. Velvia scans came out saturated just like the slides.

 

Some areas to check:

 

Did you make sure you have the latest Scan 4.0.2 ?

 

Did you do a Preview scan before the real thing?

 

Make sure your ScanImageEnhancer is OFF. Sometimes this feature gives me an unnatural color tone.

 

Disable Post Processing (ROC and GEM) for now.

 

Enable Digital DEE but move the Shadow adjustment more towards the left and adjust after the preview.

 

Also, are you using the Nikon Glass carrier? It may also help to ensure transparency flatness.

 

If these don't help, you want to register with Nikon USA and open a case with them.

[benny_spinoza]

Arthur Yeo has some good points. Also, set your frame during preview so that you don't get any borders, just place it within the image. Then when you hit the auto-contrast buttons in Nikon Scan, it should help.

 

But Lex also has a good recommendation. Just download a trial version of VueScan. It is extremely affordable if you plan to purchase. You can also download a trial version of SilverFast, but it is much more expensive than VueScan.

 

You have a fantastic scanner. (I have it too.) As long as there isn't a hardware problem, you should be able to get fantastic results. Don't give up.

[ilkka_nissila]

The LS-9000 is a wonderful scanner. I would adjust curves into a mild "s-shape" and see if that helps with the image above. Vuescan is an option of course, but I can get fine results with Nikon Scan, except that on my current machine it sometimes hangs ...

[pje]

I'm not a fan of Vuescan with the 9000. I use Vuescan with my flatbed, but don't like it at

all for my film scanning. I have no issues with Nikon Scan and find it to be the most

usable. Especially for batch scanning which Vuescan can't do. With batch scanning I do

set the crop, adjust the curves, etc on each frame; but then let Nikon Scan run in batch

mode. With Nikon Scan I do try to minimize the adjustments other than crop, input curve

and a little ICE when needed. I leave ROC and GEM off.

 

Now if Nikon would finally release an update of Nikon Scan for Intel based Macs I could

put my old G4 system to bed as its only use now is simply to drive my Coolscan 9000.

[charmianjoy]

Thank you all for the advice!!! I'll do some adjustments and see if that helps...will post again if I notice an improvement. :D

[john_mcbride]

Hi all

 

I just bought a Screen Drum Scanner model 1030AI...and I'm also interested in using the Nikon 9000. If anyone in NYC has a Nikon 9000 and is interested in trying some scans on my drum scanner, drop me a line. I'm extremely interested to do comparisons between the two machines. I'm sure the Nikon is MUCH easier to work with, but maybe the real drum scanner has a magic of it's own (and I hope so...as I bought it and it weighs 100 pounds and is 3 feet wide!)