Nikon Super Coolscan 4000 ED new user advice?

[Guth]

I just picked up a 4000 ED this past weekend locally on craigslist not really knowing what kind of learning curve lay in store for me. I chose this unit as I understood the Nikon scanners to have a good reputation and because frankly local options in the price range I was interested in seemed to be far and few between. I figured that even if I wasn't able to get everything connected and working with my MacBook, the price I paid was reasonable enough that I could simply resell it without taking a loss. (The seller turned out to be a great guy and actually offered me the chance to return the unit if it didn't work out for me.)

The scanner came with the SA-21 Strip Film Adapter, the MA-20 Slide Mount Adapter and the FH-3 Strip Film Holder along with the Firewire cable. After getting the Nikon home I got it hooked up to my old(ish) MacBook Pro via the Thunderbolt port using an appropriate adapter. I then checked into the VueScan software and it appeared to communicate with the Nikon right off the bat with no problems.

So now I know that everything appears to be working just fine and that I can create scans. But after looking through all of the available settings and doing a bit of searching here on the forum and reading elsewhere online, I've come to realize that I have a lot to learn. So it's time for me start digging deeper to figure out how to properly make use of this unit to the best of it's abilities.

With that in mind, I am seeking the advice of this forum from those who are familiar with this scanner (or even from those who aren't but who still might have some scanning advice that might benefit me at this stage of the game). Any general advice or recommendations on specific settings would be appreciated. (I've also ordered a book titled the Vuescan Bible that will hopefully be helpful.) I would note that I don't have a huge archival project on hand and am primarily interested in digitizing my work going forward consisting of both b&w and color film negatives along with color slides.

As a reference point, for the past couple of years I've been casually using an Epson V550 flatbed scanner along with the very basic Epson Scan software that came with it. I would create a .TIF file using the Epson and then edit it using an older version of Photoshop (CS3) to output a .JPG file for sharing with others. So while I do have some scanning experience, the reality is I've only just scratched the surface of potential and would now like to develop a much more solid understanding of this process.

Thanks advance for any contributions made to this inquiry.

 

[kiemchacsu]

first thing to do: "hack" the Nikon SA-21 then it can take full 135-roll film at one shot. super convenient.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

I wrote three tutorials on film scanning with a Nikon scanner and Vuescan. I think you'll find them more useful than the Vuescan Bible.

Read this one first: Intro To Film Scanning

The next two are specifically for B&W film or Color Slide scanning, so you can read one or the other, or both, depending on what kind of film you want to scan.

B&W Negative Scanning
Color Slide Scanning

 

[Bob Michaels]

Chris Crawford has a very good free tutorial on scanning. He uses a Nikon scanner and Vuescan. edit: whoops, I just realized he just posted that.

Realize all those adjustments in Vuescan are there for people who do not use an image editor such a Lightroom or Photoshop. Almost all those adjustments can be ignored. I use Vuescan and haven't changed anything for well over a decade. All those adjustments can be better done with an image editor where you see the effect on the screen and reversed if necessary. The primary advantage to Vuescan is that it can be set not to make any of those adjustments unlike Nikonscan, Esponscan or others which do them automatically.

Never evaluate the quality of a scan by how good the file looks straight from the scanning software. Good scan files contain the max info from the film and typically look flat and boring.

Important to have a conceptual overview of what your scanner actually does and what your computer does in software such as Vuescan and image editors. Too many never grasp this basic concept and spend far too much time and effort to accomplish results.

Realize that actual scanner and scan driver do no more than position the film below the light source, turn on the light, and read a gazillion points on the sensor if they register red, green, blue, or black from the light shining through the film. Then the X's and 0's from those gazillion points are sent back to the computer. None of this can be controlled. Yep, the scanner does exactly the same thing and sends back the same data no matter if you are scanning a b&w neg, a color neg, or a transparency. The quality of what comes out of the scanner is determined by the quality of its electric components, optics and mechanical precision, none of which are controllable.

Note that with Vuescan, you can do an initial scan, then adjust cropping. density, and set endpoints, all software adjustments. Don't bother to rescan with these adjustments. Just save the initial scan file and apply the adjustments there. This saves a lot of time by avoiding the second scan pass which is identical to the first.

Realize all those software adjustments, even cropping, density, and endpoints from the previous paragraph, are done in the CPU using either the scan software (Vuescan) or the image editor. Do as much as you can in the image editor as any scan software adjustments are in your initial scan file and can never be undone.

Lastly, always save your original unadjusted scan file (I use .TIF files) so that no matter what you screw up later, you can always go back and start over.

 

[Guth]

Gentlemen, thank you very much for your input, it is greatly appreciated. Chris, I will be sure to take a look at the tutorials you have created. It sounds like they are just what I need at this point in time.

 

[Guth]

Chris,

The tutorials were helpful. Your efforts are much appreciated and a contribution was made.

Thanks,
Bill

 

[Takkun]

Congrats on your find. I also have a 4000 I picked up surplus. Chris’s tutorial is great, and there’s a handful of others worth looking at as well. With Vuescan, there’s a lot of roads to the same destination and it can be a bit daunting.

Best of luck. It’s a great unit and nothing like it still made. Worth cleaning out the innards if you feel up to it.

These days, now that I have a surfeit of DSLRs and shooting mostly MF, I’m going the light table route, but the whole-roll automation is nice.

 

[Guth]

Best of luck. It’s a great unit and nothing like it still made. Worth cleaning out the innards if you feel up to it.

Thanks. I’ve seen mention of the need to keep these units clean several times now in the reading I’ve done so far. I guess I’m going to need to figure out what is involved in making that happen. Do you happen to know of any online resources that go into detail regarding this task?

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Chris,

The tutorials were helpful. Your efforts are much appreciated and a contribution was made.

Thanks,
Bill

Thanks, I'm glad they were useful. I used my Nikon scanner for 19 yrs, and it died a few weeks ago. When I got started all those years ago, there was NOTHING available on how to use these scanners. I learned by trial and error, and several years ago decided to write out detailed instructions because so many people were asking me for help. There still isn't a lot of good info out there on film scanning, unfortunately.

Thanks. I’ve seen mention of the need to keep these units clean several times now in the reading I’ve done so far. I guess I’m going to need to figure out what is involved in making that happen. Do you happen to know of any online resources that go into detail regarding this task?

There is a mirror inside the scanner that needs cleaned periodically. The way the Nikon scanners work is that there is a light source on top that shines light downwards at the film. The lens is on the bottom of the scanner, facing horizontally toward the front of the scanner. The mirror is under the film, directly under the light source. It faces upward at a 45 degree angle to reflect the light coming down through the film back to the lens.

When the mirror gets dusty, it reduces image contrast and (to a lesser extent) sharpness. It is a front surface mirror, and the reflective coating can be easily scratched or removed by careless cleaning. I found my 8000ED a pain to disassemble to get to the mirror, and recommend having it done professionally.

If you want to do it yourself, here is a good tutorial I found on cleaning the mirror in the 5000ED. It should be very similar to your scanner.

http://www.pearsonimaging.com/articles/howto/ls5000cleaning.html