Alternative Scanning Software for Nikon Scanners

[pushto1600]

Whatup y'all, hope you're staying healthy and stuff. I've been really enjoying my Nikon Super Coolscan V for the month and a half that I've had it. My scans are so sharp, and the colors and contrast and everything about the files are great. I like it so much I might just buy the Nikon ES-5000 so I can scan whole rolls. However, I'm using Nikon Scan 4.0 on Windows 10, and although it works, I have a couple gripes about the program. Firstly, it's abysmally slow. It might take 3 minutes for a single scan with Digital ICE to finish. Secondly, digital ice doesn't work on black and white negatives, which I hate because my b+w scans, though sharp and highly detailed, there's dozens of little dust particles I have to go and hand remove in lightroom. Thirdly, Nikon Scan 4.0 is made for mid 2000s computers, not for a modern laptop, I'd like a more intuitive program. I've heard of Vuescan and Silverfast, but I wanted to know your guys thoughts on the matter. Please let a brother know! Cheers!

 

[Corran]

1. Scan speed has nothing to do with the software

2. Digital ICE doesn't work on b&w negatives, period, regardless of software

3. Nikon Scan is actually a great program, and IMO neither Vuescan or Silverfast is better

I suggest you actually download Vuescan and try it out, you might immediately realize how good NS is...

 

[pushto1600]

1. Scan speed has nothing to do with the software

2. Digital ICE doesn't work on b&w negatives, period, regardless of software

3. Nikon Scan is actually a great program, and IMO neither Vuescan or Silverfast is better

I suggest you actually download Vuescan and try it out, you might immediately realize how good NS is...

1. I read somewhere it did though? Maybe I'm mistaken.

2. I've used Digital ICE on Epson Scan with b&w negs and it worked. Clear negs for days.

3. I have begun to warm up to it

4. I've tried the free version, it sucked. Maybe the paid one would be better? Idk. You sound like you know what you're talking about.

 

[Corran]

The older hardware is your bottleneck as far as I would surmise (I used to have a Nikon LS-8000 and yes it was slow).

Digital ICE doesn't work on b&w negatives, it will cause artifacting. It has to do with how it works using infrared light (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_ICE). You probably used a generic "dust-removal" feature in Epson Scan software. Improve your workflow in developing/scanning and dust won't be a problem to correct with a few minutes in your editing software of choice.

Vuescan is basically an unintuitive mess IMO. Some people like it, I guess.

 

[Mark C]

He might have used C41 black and white which I believe would work.

But Corran is correct on all counts. The silver grains prevent Digital Ice from working with standard black and white film.

Vue Scan is an acquired taste. Very, very capable, but a bit of a learning experience last I used it. I'm about to download the current version and give it a go.

 

[Corran]

Yes, chromogenic b&w films would work with ICE. I am surprised Ilford still makes their XP2 film but everything else has been discontinued.

 

[pushto1600]

The older hardware is your bottleneck as far as I would surmise (I used to have a Nikon LS-8000 and yes it was slow).

Digital ICE doesn't work on b&w negatives, it will cause artifacting. It has to do with how it works using infrared light (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_ICE). You probably used a generic "dust-removal" feature in Epson Scan software. Improve your workflow in developing/scanning and dust won't be a problem to correct with a few minutes in your editing software of choice.

Vuescan is basically an unintuitive mess IMO. Some people like it, I guess.

ahhh. that would make sense about the digital ice. shucks. thanks for the info. Digital ICE is a way cooler technology than i thought.

 

[pushto1600]

He might have used C41 black and white which I believe would work.

But Corran is correct on all counts. The silver grains prevent Digital Ice from working with standard black and white film.

Vue Scan is an acquired taste. Very, very capable, but a bit of a learning experience last I used it. I'm about to download the current version and give it a go.

is it any speedier than the other programs?

 

[J enea]

its not the software that is slow, its the hardware. the nikon scanners are slow regardless of what software you use, so dont get lost searching for a fix. I much prefer vuescan over nikon scan, but both will give nice results. anyone who says vuescan is a mess and a bad program never learned to really use it. take the time to get to know it, or whichever program you use.

 

[astrobuoy]

I've got a Nikon Coolscan 8000 and use it on a regular basis. It definitely took me a while and a decent amount of testing to get the best settings for Vuescan, but I think it's your best bet once you figure it out, especially since it works on a modern laptop and has up-to-date drivers for Nikon's scanners. My workflow is scan in Vuescan to output RAW DNG files (ICE on for C41, off for any silver-halide based B&W), and process in Adobe Lightroom using the Negative Lab Pro plugin. That's gotten me the best, most consistent and color-accurate results.

If you do end up going the Vuescan route, I'd be happy to share the settings/method I use.

 

[Bob Michaels]

its not the software that is slow, its the hardware. ......

So true. Remember that all the actual scanner does is to shine a light source through the film, register what spots see light or not on a sensor, and transmit that raw (lower case "r") data back to the CPU. Then in the CPU, the scanner software converts those X's and O's from the scanner into a file containing usable data. Nothing can make the scanner faster or slower. The time it takes the scanner software to convert that raw data is mostly a function of the processing power of the CPU. Typically that is milliseconds so you cannot sense any difference between the fastest and the slowest scanner software.

 

[shimokita]

Back around 2005 I picked up a (at that time) fairly powerful PC with Win-XP to use with my Nikon Coolscan V ED... as soon as I upgraded my laptop I took the older XP offline as a dedicated scanning & post processing device (no internet)... still using Nikon Scan 4 and XP today.

While scanning color negatives or reversal film is somewhat slow-ish, b&w (monochrome) scans are reasonably quick... works for me.