calibration and film flatness for nikon coolscan v ed

[nihraguk]

Woke up this morning only to realise that I had just won a Nikon Coolscan V ED on eBay for US$455; that's US$561 inclusive of the cost of shipping it all the way to Singapore. Still quite a deal, I think, since used models on eBay seem to normally go for between US$650 - US$750. The cheapest brand new model still in stock here in Singapore goes for US$762. I can only cross my fingers and hope that the seller packs the item properly and that it doesn't get damaged on the long flight from the US to Singapore.

My questions:
1. Given that this is a used scanner, will I need to re-calibrate it before use? How should I go about determining if this is necessary, and if it is necessary, what does re-calibration require?

2. I've come across some reports of the scanner's shallow depth of focus leading to problems with scanning film that isn't perfectly flat. Apparently the glassless negative carrier doesn't help with this either. Is this a real problem for those of you who own this scanner, and how do you work around it?

 

[icebear]

Don't worry about it too much.
Neither the flatness nor the calibration. I use Vuescan because I never got along with the Nikon software. In Vuescan you just click calibrate and the scanner scans the film base color. Just save a piece of film form the very beginng or end that not exposed but developed. I've never had any isses with focus. You can select your point of focus, choose autofocus or do manual correction/finetuning. If your 135 film isn't extremely clurled or bent you shouldn't have any issues. It's a fine machine. Good luck with the shipment. - And keep your negatives clean 😉.

 

[dfoo]

I've never used the calibration. The manual says that the scanner self-calibrates when you turn it on, and you only need to do another calibration if you've used the scanner for a long period of scanning.

 

[Harry Lime]

Just hit the calibrate button in NikonScan and it will take care of the rest.

Yes, there is a problem with negs that aren't completely flat. A little curl is ok, but if it's seriously bowed, you will see soft corners. The optional FH-3 holder does make quite a difference, but it's not asa good as a glass carrier.

For best results press the negs flat between a few books overnight and use the holder.

If you really want to go all out, clip the neg from the roll and get yourself a glass slidemount. I'm not sure if you won't have problems with newton rings, but it may be worth a try.