Coolscan 9000 & 5000, ICE with Kodachrome

[tbs]

I have been trying for a while without complete sucess to understand if there is any

advatage to owning the Coolscan 9000 over the Coolscan 5000 if one is doing only

35mm Kodachrome slides, particularly with regards to the Digital ICE system,

which can have trouble with Kodachromes. (I know that the 9000 is needed if one

is doing medium format, but that is not my need.)

 

Here is what Nikon's website says about the 5000:

 

"Digital ICE4 Advanced (Digital ICE Quad Advanced)."

 

and here is what the same website says about the 9000:

 

"Digital ICE4 AdvancedTM (Digital ICE Quad Advanced) with Digital ICE

ProfessionalTM - more compatible with Kodachrome film."

 

So...is there a difference between the two machines for 35mm Kodachrome

slides? I have spoken to Nikon reps who gave conflicting answers, or sort of

hemed and hawed and couldn't seem to get their stories straight. Anyone here

have actual, real experience in this area?!

[stephen sullivan]

I own a Nikon Super Coolscan 5000 ED. With the few Kodachromes that I have, I

can see a difference with ICE On & Off.

 

ICE On will remove dust, spots and fine scratches, but it also does makes more of

my Kodachromes look Blah.

 

ICE Off, shows what you'd except: Dust, Spots and Fine Scratches. If you've got

the time and the Scratches are few and fine, take the time to Dust and Spot

manually. Why, the images look sharper and colors are more pronounced.

[mendel_leisk]

What Nikon appears to be saying is that the (Pro) version of ICE on the 9000 *is* more compatible with Kodachrome. I believe the 9000's light source is more diffuse as well, which helps. There's a German site that compares and shows KC scans with both scanners. The 5000 scan erodes actual details, and shows artifacts at dark/light transitions. I believe I've bookmarked it at home, will check tonight.

 

I use a Minolta Scan Elite 5400 (first version), which has no issues with Kodachromes (see thread just up the page in Unified View). The downsides: it's fairly slow (about 6 minutes per scan with ICE and Grain Dissolver) and out of production, with next to no support.

[benny_spinoza]

The Coolscan 9000 gives excellent scans with Kodachrome. I find NikonScan works just fine. In fact, for old Kodachrome..and I mean more than 50 years old...I find that the digital ICE4 with the 9000 and NikonScan gives magical results!!

[mendel_leisk]

Here's the german site's comparison:

 

http://www.filmscanner.info/Kodachrome.html