Nikon Cool Scan II info needed

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John K
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Hi all thought this might be a good place to post this. I bought a Nikon Cool Scan II at a local auction a while ago. Now I need help getting it up and running. It's a model LS-20E model. No software with it. It appears to be a SCSI connection. I know i will need a SCSI PCI card and cable. It aoppears ti be missing the neg holder also. Should I just move on a buy another or try this one? Thanks John
 
Old dead thread

Old dead thread

but! I got given an LS-20E the other day, and I just wondered if it's still possible to use it with a new PC running either XP or Vista, or if it's a completely rendundant bit of kit?

Thanks, Benjamin
 
I've been told repeatedly that you can get the Nikon software to work on anything up to Windows 7. I've never tried to jump through any of the hoops for doing that though as I already own a copy of Vuescan and it just works as is (Nikon LS-2000).
Your LS-20 is supported http://www.hamrick.com/vuescan/nikon_ls_20.html and in fact the author of Vuescan recommends Nikon scanners if you ask what kind of scanner to buy. The only down side to the LS-20 is the lack of IR dust removal, which I find invaluable. IR dust removal is useless on a traditional black and white film though as there's too much silver present to let the IR pass through the film at all.

SCSI cards on the other hand can get tricky. Most will work with XP or Vista, but some don't have drivers available (buying used as it's inexpensive) and even fewer have drivers for a 64 bit OS. But I'd rather chance a PCI to SCSI card than try your luck with a USB to SCSI adapter.
 
I've been told repeatedly that you can get the Nikon software to work on anything up to Windows 7. I've never tried to jump through any of the hoops for doing that though as I already own a copy of Vuescan and it just works as is (Nikon LS-2000).
Your LS-20 is supported http://www.hamrick.com/vuescan/nikon_ls_20.html and in fact the author of Vuescan recommends Nikon scanners if you ask what kind of scanner to buy. The only down side to the LS-20 is the lack of IR dust removal, which I find invaluable. IR dust removal is useless on a traditional black and white film though as there's too much silver present to let the IR pass through the film at all.

SCSI cards on the other hand can get tricky. Most will work with XP or Vista, but some don't have drivers available (buying used as it's inexpensive) and even fewer have drivers for a 64 bit OS. But I'd rather chance a PCI to SCSI card than try your luck with a USB to SCSI adapter.

Thanks for the info chap. Trouble seems to be with the lack of drivers available for the Adaptec APA-1460 card that came with the scanner.

Is it worth persevering with the scanner and obtaining a newer SCSI card, or would I better off scrapping it?


Cheers,

Benjamin
 
I've come to be spoiled with the IR dust removal of my scanners. If it's worth it or not is up to you. But many of the older scanners that are worth using are SCSI, so you may look into a better SCSI card or another computer dedicated to just scanning and deciding for yourself. Another thing that impresses me about the LS-2000 is the speed. And I take it that most, if not all, Nikon scanners are pretty fast. Mine's right around a minute per image even with IR dust removal on.

Ironically the reason why I even found this forum was because I was in search of a way to get an SCSI card to work with my computer. http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=112845
Looks like there's mumbo-jumbo you could try if you're into programming. If not I'm sure you can find an SCSI card that would work for your computer somewhere at a price you could afford.
 
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