Digital Darkroom: Scanner

[mark_thomas2]

I'm progressing from my IBM Thinkpad form of mobile digital

manipulation to a home setup in the next few months and would like

some info and clarification if you will. My goal is a sub-$10,000

system which will include computer, printer, film scanner. I'll

address each separately. I'm posting these separately so hopefully it

will help with future searches.

 

I'm leaning toward the Nikon Supercoolscan 8000 as I will primarily

use it for MF but was wondering about alternatives and possible

problems.

 

On the problem front, I read a couple articles or threads about

banding problems if that's the correct term. Can someone elaborate on

known or possible problems to consider? I don't know if some of the

issues I read about are from earlier version or if there is such a

thing as an earlier or late model.

 

I've read some interesting info on the Scitex flatbed scanners but

can't seem to find a price anywhere. Do they make a model with a

price in the ballpark of the Nikon mentioned above? Any comments on

taking this route as opposed to a dedicated film scanner?

 

I also can't seem to find much comment on the Imacon scanners and was

wondering if there is any experience with these for the good or bad.

What about price?

[allan_jamieson2]

I've had a few scans done for me by a friend with a Nikon

LS8000 and the quality was excellent overall, extremely crisp

and sharp, even before any unsharp masking had been applied.

 

The only drawback was that one image had been scanned with

the optional glass transparency adapter and it suffered badly

from Newton Rings. Some say that better technique and even

using a bit of card to keep the transparency off of the glass will

help. I have also heard/ read various complaints about the

design of the normal glass-less film holder, which seems to

make it more difficult a task than it should be to get an image to

sit in the holder and stay flat. I asked Nikon about this myself

and they did acknowledge that there was a problem there,

although when and if they are going to fix it is another matter.

 

More interestingly, I saw a mention the other day on the Robert

White website about a new Canon film scanner that will scan up

to 6 x 9 cm images at a true 4000dpi. This was supposed to be

out by September, might be worth hanging off until then to see if

this offers any improvements to the Nikon.

[paul_wilson2]

The usual alternatives to the Nikon LS-8000 are the Minolta Scan Multi Pro and the Polaroid SS120. All 3 seem to have there advantages and disadvantages with none being perfect. Early on, the Nikon suffered from seriously buggy software and an intermittant banding problem who's frequency depended on who you talked to.

 

The Minolta, which I own, supposedly doesn't do well with negs and doesn't have the greatest software. I only scan chromes and it's excellent for this. Vuescan seems to solve many of the software problems.

 

Finally, there's the Polaroid who's main disadvantage is that it doesn't have ICE. There's also the issue of whether Polaroid will be around in a year or two.

 

All 3 are capable of excellent scans but you have a lot of research to do to determine which will work best for you. Check out www.luminous-landscape.com, www.imaging-resource.com and google groups for more user experience.

[edward_c._nemergut]

Subject: Response to Digital Darkroom: Scanner

 

You may want to consider the Minolta Dimage Scan Multi Pro. I am in a similar position: considering the purchase of a MF capable scanner; however, I was leaning towards the Minolta.

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I haven't used either scanner myself, but I've heard that the Minolta's smaller size, full 16-bit color information, higher resolution where you need it (4800 dpi for 35 mm), and better designed film holders give it a slight advantage.

 

Some reviews of the minolta can be found at:

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http://www.luminous-landscape.com/dimage.htm

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http://www.kenrockwell.com/minolta/mp.htm

<P>

and the scanner section of www.imaging-resource.com

<P>

 

I'd be intersted if anyone has any first hand experience with both scanners. Anyone?

<BR>

 

Let me know what you decide...

 

I'd be interested if anyone has good 1st hand

[thomas_breazeale1]

Mark,I have a pro friend who has used an Imacon for quite sometime.It has a high dynamic range and works on the same principle as a drum scanner,top notch output and I believe it was around 10,000 BIG ONES the last time I checked.Anyone please correct me if this info is not accurate.

[_____133]

If you're talking about the Imacon Flextight Photo, the prices have been halved from 10Gs to $4995. YOu can get for about $4300 if you know where to look.

[robin_barnes]

After reading Allan Jamieson's post above I had a look at Robert White's website but can find no reference to the forthcoming Canon scanner that he refers to. Allan I would be very grateful if you would tell us exactly where it is?

 

Thanks,

[allan_jamieson2]

I just had another look at Robert White's website and the text that

I read the other day no longer seems to be there. It was just a

very brief mention in amongst some other news on Canon

Scanners. Might be worth contacting Robert White directly and

asking him for some more detailed information. But, from

memory the scanner was going to be called Canon 8000, or

something like that, very close to the Nikon LS8000 name.

 

But, assuming that this information was accurate, there should

be information on this scanner available from Canon

themselves. This was the first and only mention that I saw of

such a new model of film scanner from Canon. If it can at least

equal the scan quality of the Nikon LS8000 and maybe fix a few

of its faults, I for one would be seriously interested in it.

[allan_jamieson2]

Regarding my earlier mention of a new medium format scanner

by Nikon; it seems to be a bit of a mystery!

 

I was virtually certain that it was on the Robert White website that

I saw this mentioned. I contacted them today to check this and

they say not. So, either I'm losing my marbles or it was on some

other website. It's all a bit strange though. But, I do recall reading

the text through about 3 times to check that it was saying what I

thought that it was. It was just a paragraph on Canon film

scanners, with a casual mention of a new model due out in

September. Anybody else know anything about this?

[allan_jamieson2]

Regarding my earlier mention of a new medium format scanner

by Canon; it seems to be a bit of a mystery!

 

I was virtually certain that it was on the Robert White website that

I saw this mentioned. I contacted them today to check this and

they say not. So, either I'm losing my marbles or it was on some

other website. It's all a bit strange though. But, I do recall reading

the text through about 3 times to check that it was saying what I

thought that it was. It was just a paragraph on Canon film

scanners, with a casual mention of a new model due out in

September. Anybody else know anything about this?

[robin_barnes]

Allan I admit to being a little surprised when your said it was on the Robert White site as RW, so far as I am aware, doesn't sell Canon products. Have you checked "History" on your computer to see if you can identify the site in question?

[mark_uehling]

I have the Nikon LS8000 and can definitely recommend it. The banding can occasionally appear on very high contrast slides. It is eliminated by enabling a check box in the scanner dialog menu called "super fine scan". This causes the scanner to use only one of its three sensors to read the film. Rescanning with this check box is much slower, but completely solves the banding problem.

 

The digital ICE is fantastic. I would not buy a film scanner without it. The nikon medium format film holder is very good at keeping the film flat. If you don't get sharp scans from this scanner, you likely don't have a sharp original. You can batch scan several medium format or up to 12 35mm originals at a time. Overall, I am very happy with the LS8000.