Nikon Scanners: Is it safe to get one, now they are discontinued?

[Rob-F]

Now that my Dimage Scan Dual IV is Kaput, I was just about to say that I'd like another 35mm film scanner, and I'd like it to be a Nikon so that I won't have an orphan this time. Shortly after (or maybe before) my Konica/Minolta died, they seem to have abdicated their responsibilities for providing repair services for a reasonable time.

So then I read, in this section of RFF, that Nikon has discontinued all scanners. Great. Is this history repeating itself? Anyone care to take a guess, if I were to pick up a used Nikon scanner, whether I'll be able to get it fixed in the future?

 

[jonmanjiro]

Recently I took noimmunity's 5000ED to Nikon's Shinjuku Service Center in Tokyo for repair. Nikon had parts and replaced a ROM board, and also made some adjustments. It works fine now.

Even more recently, I took maddoc's 4000ED to the same Nikon Service Center and was told they ran out of parts for this model in May this year, but they can still service and adjust it as long as no parts are required. From memory, the 4000ED was discontinued in 2004.

Long story short, get one of the most recent models (V, 5000ED, 9000ED) and you should be able to get it serviced and parts replaced if required for at least another six years or so.

 

[Frank Petronio]

If you're happy with the output from the DualScan IV, why not buy a couple more since they are only $200 each whereas a Coolscan 5000 will be $1000 or so? The old Minolta packs a lot of punch for its price.

 

[Rob-F]

That is not out of the question, Frank. One thing I didn't like with the Scan Dual IV is that mine did not cover the full width of a slide or negative. I'd say it covers maybe 30 or 32mm or so of the total width.

So I thought I would look at alternatives. I should read some reviews on Plustec models, I guess.

 

[noimmunity]

Ia Coolscan 5000 will be $1000 or so?

Last I checked ebay's completed listings, prices had gone way way up. It seems they are selling for around $2000 now, with some going upwards to $2800. Unbelievable.

If you don't mind feeding strips of film, the new Plustek scanner has received good reviews here.

 

[PrecisionCamera]

Yes, Coolscan 9000s were in low supply thru the summer, they were going for $3kish. Towards the fall Nikon released a bunch of scanners, and the prices dropped to about $2200-$2300. I sold about 50 from Feb to October.

New ones, if they can be found, will be way high now, and used ones in perfect shape won't be much less...

 

[Brian Legge]

I high end nikon scanner, capable of scanning 35mm and 120, has been high on my dream list. U couldn't justify spending $2000+ as a hobbyist when I could limp along with a 8800f for less than 200 which was just as met the same needs for me (minus quality differences).

I ended up spending $175 to put together a darkroom instead which will handle 35mm, 6x4.5, 6x6, 6x7, 6x9 and 4x5. I'll still scan quick shots with the flatbed but going to go the print route other times.

 

[david.elliott]

Reviews of the plustek (referenced above) do seem pretty positive. Worth checking out. Could get that and a v500 or whatever the newer model epson is (assuming you want to do medium format film too) and still save a bunch of money.

 

[Rob-F]

Reviews of the plustek (referenced above) do seem pretty positive. Worth checking out. Could get that and a v500 or whatever the newer model epson is (assuming you want to do medium format film too) and still save a bunch of money.

Actually I do have an Epson flatbed. It's the first of the series, the 2450 Photo. And it does do a pretty good job with medium format. It's less good with 35mm. Also I find it rather "fiddly" to use, especially with 35mm. It was the reason for getting the Konica-Minolta Scan Dual IV.

The favorable comments on the Plustec are getting my attention. But did I read that you have to feed the film in without a holder? Can it do slides?

 

[maddoc]

At the moment, while my Nikon Coolscan 4000ED is in service, I use my Epson V700 also for 135 again. There is a difference in quality but for web-use (and printing up to A4-size) the Epson is sufficient, IMHO.

 

[jonmanjiro]

Do you know if Nikon is going to support their scanners for a few years? Do they have repair parts enough to support them through warranty ?

I know before the F3 was discontinued several non Nikon owned repair groups purchased large parts inventories from Nikon. Do you have any idea if this has happened with their scanners? Thanks, p.

I'm not the poster you directed your question to, but I know the answer to your first two questions is "yes". As for your third question, I have no idea if Nikon has sold any spares for the scanners, but I highly doubt it. The F3 was a special case because so many were made. Nearly a million were sold over twenty or so years. I'd be surprised if even 1/20 that number of scanners were made.

 

[noimmunity]

There's one in the classifieds right now, and at that price, it shouldn't last more than a few minutes, I'd think, given the astronomical prices these things command now.

 

[jonmanjiro]

I was more concerned about electronics (EPROM) than mechanical + optical hardware.

I don't have the documentation anymore so don't have the exact details, but the part Nikon replaced on noimmunity's 5000ED was a ROM board.

Jon, had a chance to check your scanner is working properly yet? 🙂

 

[filmfan]

I have a Nikon Coolscan 8000 that I was given as a gift two years ago. It was my most prized piece of photo gear. However, a few months ago, I checked it on an airplane fully wrapped up and protected with "fragile" stickers all over the bag. When unpacking it after I arrived in my destination, I realized that the whole unit had bent. When I plugged it in, it told me that there was a hardware malfunction and to contact Nikon. I did and they said they could do nothing for me. Now I am looking for someone to repair it...
Moral(s) of the story:
1) do not check a large piece of expensive electronics (duh..) on an airplane, no matter how short the flight is.
2) go with a smaller unit like the 5000 ED, for it is about 1/6 the size/weight and can be transported much easier and safer.

 

[noimmunity]

I don't have the documentation anymore so don't have the exact details, but the part Nikon replaced on noimmunity's 5000ED was a ROM board.

Jon, had a chance to check your scanner is working properly yet? 🙂

Just took a break out of preparing a grant application 😱 to test out the scanner and it seems to be working just fine! A test scan is attached below. (Since there had been a problem with vignetting on one side, I purposely scanned two frames in order to have edges that would clearly reveal any irregularities).

If Jon hadn't prodded Nikon Service (took them THREE 😱 trips to the doctor to get them to believe there was a problem AND fix it), my scanner would have imposed an automatic crop on all my film scans!

 

[jonmanjiro]

That's good news, Jon S! To be fair to Nikon, the first time around they did replace the ROM board, and remove the very stuck SA-30 adapter, but didn't solve the vignetting problem. So the scanner went back in again, only to be returned with a note along the lines of "The problem is your film. Use an FH-3 adapter". That pissed me off, so the scanner went back again, this time with the test film AND the scan data from two 5000EDs that proved that my scanner was working properly but Jon S's wasn't. Third time lucky 🙄

 

[noimmunity]

Hats off to Jon M.!

Back to the OP, so that makes you wonder, how many ROM boards do Nikon have left in stock???

 

[berlincontemporary]

Now that my Dimage Scan Dual IV is Kaput, I was just about to say that I'd like another 35mm film scanner, and I'd like it to be a Nikon so that I won't have an orphan this time. Shortly after (or maybe before) my Konica/Minolta died, they seem to have abdicated their responsibilities for providing repair services for a reasonable time.

So then I read, in this section of RFF, that Nikon has discontinued all scanners. Great. Is this history repeating itself? Anyone care to take a guess, if I were to pick up a used Nikon scanner, whether I'll be able to get it fixed in the future?

Just get a V700. Scans everything at reasonably good quality and is pretty fast and convenient for 35mm (4 strips of film in one pass).

Should you or your work become important in some way in the future you can always have your stuff scanned high end by someone else.

Best

 

[jalLee2001]

I agree, I have both a 5000 and a V700. No issues and you can scan at a commercial lab. I prefer the V700

 

[Rob-F]

I agree, I have both a 5000 and a V700. No issues and you can scan at a commercial lab. I prefer the V700

Not sure I understand. If I had a 5000 and a V700, and there were no issues, why would I want to scan at a commercial lab?