Coolscan 9000ed

[darkhorse120]

I want to scan 120 monochrome negs. The Coolscan's name keeps coming up. Is it any good,or are there better? Yes I know there are drum scanners but I could buy a darkroom for that price! Also as they are discontinued, will there be any issues connecting to a Mac.?

 

[stompyq]

I want to scan 120 monochrome negs. The Coolscan's name keeps coming up. Is it any good,or are there better? Yes I know there are drum scanners but I could buy a darkroom for that price! Also as they are discontinued, will there be any issues connecting to a Mac.?

There's a thread here about using a DSLR/mirrorless to "scan". Give that a serious look before you put down significant cash on that dinosaur. For context, I had a Coolscan 4000ED for 35mm and my current DSLR setup blows it out of the water.

 

[thompsonks]

Coolscan prices have risen so high that I was able to get an elderly Imacon 6x6 for less – and then later sell it for what I'd paid for it.

The only hitch was that I had to use an old Mac with SCSSI port to run the Imacon.

Kirk

 

[Alpsman]

Using my 9000 sice 10 years and wont give it away. I dont need to sharpen the images. Needed a repair about three years ago, was no problem, got it back in about 4 weeks, coasts me, as much as I can remember, 400 Euro
Ya get 8900 x 8900 pixel scans from a 6x6.
The original Nikonsoftware runs on my old G3 Mac, but I think on the newer Macs you need an other Software. The scanner connects via firewire 400. Maybe Vuescan will work, but I dont know. Mine runs on a Win XP computer.

 

[stompyq]

Coolscan prices have risen so high that I was able to get an elderly Imacon 6x6 for less – and then later sell it for what I'd paid for it.

The only hitch was that I had to use an old Mac with SCSSI port to run the Imacon.

Kirk

That's so funny. Can't believe coolscan prices are higher than imacons

 

[Timmyjoe]

Haven't looked at what the Coolscan 9000ED is selling for these days, but as mentioned above, you couldn't offer me enough money to part with mine. I scan 35mm, 16mm, 6x6, 6x9, negative and transparency. Very pleased with the results. Have had it for 8 years, cleaned the mirror last year, hope it runs for as long as I'm still shooting film. Got it hooked up to an old PowerMac G4, which I also hope runs as long as I'm shooting film.

Best,
-Tim

 

[BLKRCAT]

the coolscan is great. I love my 8000

 

[philipus]

I think it does a decent job with 120 black and white.

Flickr

 

[Godfrey]

I still have my Super CoolScan 9000ED (the full name... 🙂 ). It's an excellent and very versatile scanner for 35mm, Minox, a wide range of 120 formats, etc.

I use a copy camera technique to scan my 120 format nowadays, mostly, because I don't tend to print very large. The Coolscan 9000 goes way beyond what I can do with the copy camera. I'd use the scanner a lot more of the time if my goal was large prints—I mean LARGE prints. A 19x19 inch print is perfectly feasible with a 24 Mpixel copy camera technique, so LARGE means up to about double that size in linear dimensions. 37x37 inch is about my old max 6x6 print size by the rule of "no more than 15x enlargement from film original." That's perfectly doable with a 4000 ppi scan of 6x6cm negative with the Coolscan 9000 and prints at about 240 ppi output.

Since I don't use it much any more, mine will be going up for sale. I haven't researched prices lately, but I expect it's gained a bit of value since I last looked.

G

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

I have an 8000ED, the older model of the 9000. I have used it for 15 years to scan all of my black and white work and a lot of color work too. The results are magnificent.

That said, I probably would not buy one today. The Nikon will NOT give good 120 scans without the glass film carrier, which people are demanding ridiculous prices for. If the scanner does not include a glass carrier, DO NOT BUY IT. I cannot emphasize that enough.

Second, they're no longer serviced today. I'd get a really high resolution camera like the Canon 5Ds (50 mp) and a good macro lens. Photograph the film on a light table. Will probably cost you less than a used coolscan, will be more reliable, will give equal quality, and you'll have a 50mp camera to use for other things!