Nikon Super CoolScan 5000 ED for $999 at Goodwill

[Chubberino]

I've been looking at options to scan my film. Of course, in the process of researching options I've learned about the 5000 ED and how great of a legacy scanner it is.

I wander into my local Goodwill and lo and beold, on the shelf behind the counter is this very scanner. I start to get excited hoping for the deal of the century and ask to see it. There it is, $999 on the tag.

:bang:

Included was the slide holder and two cables, power and usb. Unfortunately, Goodwill has changed their policy in recent years where you can return an item but only to exchange for something of equal value at the time of the exchange, so that was far too much of a gamble as, really, how often am I going to find something worth $999 at Goodwill, lol?

It did power on and seemed okay but just too much of a risk and really, the odds of someone donating such a nice piece of equipment that has no issues is pretty slim.

 

[kiemchacsu]

Is the SA21 included?
It's quite expensive if you buy it alone

 

[Chubberino]

Is the SA21 included?
It's quite expensive if you buy it alone

Nope, that was another reason I passed. The risk is worthless for that price when I can purchase it at a similar price point on eBay and have the protection of eBay in case things go wrong.

 

[Huss]

That sounds like the most expensive item sold at a Goodwill, ever!

 

[Chubberino]

That sounds like the most expensive item sold at a Goodwill, ever!

Definitely one of the most I've seen.

 

[Godfrey]

... most expensive ...

The Good Will nearby here often has cars for sale... I've seen BMW and Mercedes cars on the lot a couple of times!

I agree: $1000 for a Coolscan 5000ED that you cannot test before buying seems a bit of a leap for a non-returnable item.

G

 

[Chubberino]

... most expensive ...

The Good Will nearby here often has cars for sale... I've seen BMW and Mercedes cars on the lot a couple of times!

I agree: $1000 for a Coolscan 5000ED that you cannot test before buying seems a bit of a leap for a non-returnable item.

G

Absolutely.

 

[Chubberino]

Well, as a follow-up, I went in and asked if they could do any better because it was unsurprisingly still sitting there and holy ****, I got it for $300. I have it plugged in now and everything seems to work as Vuescan recognizes it and the front light is not blinking and stays solid. It only has the MA-21 and I have no slides to test it, lol. I don't quite know how to proceed next. Any help would be great.

 

[fdarnell]

Quite a find If you turn it on and everything is recognized, you could try scanning with nothing, but without anything to focus on it might be problematic. If you have empty slide mounts you can cut a negative to fit in one of them and scan that.

You will need a strip film holder for negs. They are on ebay. The one that was designed for the 5000 is quite expensive. I used the older one with no issues on my Coolscan V - I think it's FH-2. You can get them for around $50-$60 on ebay. The FH-3's go for a lot more. They might be a little less fiddly, but at 3-4x the price, I went with the older one.

 

[Chubberino]

Quite a find If you turn it on and everything is recognized, you could try scanning with nothing, but without anything to focus on it might be problematic. If you have empty slide mounts you can cut a negative to fit in one of them and scan that.

You will need a strip film holder for negs. They are on ebay. The one that was designed for the 5000 is quite expensive. I used the older one with no issues on my Coolscan V - I think it's FH-2. You can get them for around $50-$60 on ebay. The FH-3's go for a lot more. They might be a little less fiddly, but at 3-4x the price, I went with the older one.

Thanks very much. Just went and got the FH-2. It actually won't scan as there is nothing in the tray. I have no slide trays or anything so I'll just wait for the adapter to arrive and I think I'll get an SA-21 as well just for the hell of it. At this price jumping in seems okay and not too much of a risk. It may need an internal cleaning but we'll see.

 

[Chubberino]

Alright it did do a test scan with nothing in, so here are the results in screen capture form.

What's that blinking/shrinking circle? obviously not animated in the pic I posted but it is in VueScan

 

[JoeLopez]

Sounds like quite a find indeed!
Our local stores camera prices really fluxuate, I've scored a few mice deals, but other are at full retail. They may have an 'ebay guy' working part time or something 🙂

 

[Chubberino]

Sounds like quite a find indeed!
Our local stores camera prices really fluxuate, I've scored a few mice deals, but other are at full retail. They may have an 'ebay guy' working part time or something 🙂

I've done some hunting in your neck of the woods, just gotta keep at it. Good deals abound. 😉

 

[nikon_sam]

Not at Goodwill but at a local Thrift store...a few years ago...
Leica M2 for $1200...I don't recall if there was a lens or not...I passed...
I did buy a Canon Power Shot ELPH 100 last week for $11...waiting for a charger...worth the gamble...

 

[Chris101]

I don't know what the blinking circle is. It's always there, but doesn't affect anything.

 

[Chubberino]

I don't know what the blinking circle is. It's always there, but doesn't affect anything.

Cool, good to know

 

[Chubberino]

Welp, got the SA-21 today, and holy ****, this thing works perfectly. Now on to the scanning!

 

[brbo]

What's that blinking/shrinking circle? obviously not animated in the pic I posted but it is in VueScan

It's the focusing point placement indicator. You can click&drag it around to select the film area that you want to use for autofocusing.

 

[kiemchacsu]

Welp, got the SA-21 today, and holy ****, this thing works perfectly. Now on to the scanning!

So, how much did you pay in total to make it works?
Anyways, congrats on the find.

 

[Chubberino]

It's the focusing point placement indicator. You can click&drag it around to select the film area that you want to use for autofocusing.

Thanks for the info.

So, how much did you pay in total to make it works?
Anyways, congrats on the find.

The SA-21 cost me $90. I also bought and FH-2 strip just in case I need another option to scan with the MA-21. That cost me $40. And then Vuescan for $80. So an additional $210 on top of the $300 makes all in for $510 on the whole setup. I may get it cleaned or I may attempt that myself but really , It's quite the score regardless.