Pushed to the edge (Coolscan 9000)

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urban_alchemist

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After a month in Argentina and 9 rolls of XPan exposed, I came home to find that the only lab in Israel that scanned XPan format closed its doors while I was away.

After an afternoon of frantic telephoning, I finally resigned myself to selling a kidney, and bought a Coolscan 9000 and adapter from the friendly local Nikon importer (who couldn't believe his luck).

So...

It's big. I haven't opened it yet and probably won't for another two weeks or so (we're in the process of moving to a new apartment) - but to those others who own the same scanner: what do I need to know? Any secret scanning apps/tips and tricks?

Damn I'm poor now...
 
I did the same, though I got a 5000ED--didn't need the MF capability. I recommend spending 40 bucks more for Vuescan. I actually wrote a tutorial on scanning whole rolls on the 5000ED with Vuescan--there is a link in it to a zip folder containing my Vuescan profiles for various types of film, which you're welcome to.

http://www.jrobertlennon.com/articles/vuescancoolscan/

These are great scanners.
 
Congrats on the new scanner. I have a Epson V700 which is also quite good but the focus accuracy and shadow detail on the 9000 is just great. I needed to scan MF. Hope you get to use the 9000 soon!
 
@MabelSound: Thanks for the tips - I've downloaded the settings and taken a look at the Vuescan website...

I've been reading up and there appear to be three types of software: Nikon's own, SilverFast and Vuescan.

Any experiences on the three, pros and cons or tips and tricks?

Thanks!
 
You need the FH-869GR film holder, is that what you got when you said you got an adapter? The standard 35mm holder that comes with the 8000ED won't do panoramic negs. The FH-869GR is a glass negative carrier, and I regard it as required even for non-pano negs. Especially if you scan 120 film. The standard holders are absolutely incapable of holding film flat, and with this scanner film must be ABSOLUTELY flat to get a sharp scan.
 
Chriscrawfordphoto said:
You need the FH-869GR film holder, is that what you got when you said you got an adapter? The standard 35mm holder that comes with the 8000ED won't do panoramic negs. The FH-869GR is a glass negative carrier, and I regard it as required even for non-pano negs. Especially if you scan 120 film. The standard holders are absolutely incapable of holding film flat, and with this scanner film must be ABSOLUTELY flat to get a sharp scan.
Click to expand...

Yup - that's the one. Luckily the importer here had one on the shelf...
 
I've been using Vuescan since the first affordable HP scanner, who's included software insisted on ejecting the filmstrip after each single scan, the recalibrate, exposure correction, scan, etc. We had a project with 2400 scans, so the Vuescan was a lifesaver.

It seems now using my Nikon 4000, that the software should now be better, but whenever I go back & try the CS4000 software, it "sometimes" locks up the computer? Back to Vuescan. It has on rare occasions locked up, requiring a reboot before it will recognize the scanner again.

Once you get into a roll scanning, Vuescan is great. On the 4000, I hot wired the filmstrip adaptor to think it is the rollfilm adapeter and it functions like the rollfilm adapter, just no fancy hopper to receive the film as it goes through. (check the internet for how to do this possibly on your model or even necessary ). Thatway after developing film, you don't cut the negs, and have less handling/aligning the start of the negs.

With Vuescan, save a profile for each camera including the frame-frame length, so when you scan 20-30 exposures it is staying aligned for each film camera you use. Obviously the profile can contain a whole bunch of other things, like film type, scan resolution, copyright info, etc.

Robert
 
I've got a Coolscan 8000, which seems to be having some troubles. But general observations:

- definitely get the glass holder. The standard film holders can't keep 120 film even vaguely flat.
- I actually like Nikonscan, it has minor quirks, but works well. Well, that is, when it works it can be a bit tricky on a mac. I've tried the demo of Silverfast, and that looks great, but it is really expensive. I'm not so keen in the interface of Vuescan but it is good value for money.
 
I find Nikonscan is not good for black and white. I always get blown out scans. Vuescan is much better. However, I find Nikonscan better for color.
 
Just looked at the Silverfast website. The app looks amazing - but €500 for a copy (the one with Multi-scan - a kind of HDR for negatives) is gonna completely break the bank!
 
Just get the plain Vuescan - it will serve you forever on all your computers and it is great for any scanner. Remember to get a rocket blower and some good quality make-up brush and a brand new biggish microfiber cloth, as it is a bit tricky to clean all the glass surfaces. BTW, now that you can scan up to 6x9 negs, you could pick up for little one of the MF cameras that people are throwing out of the window these days, and try to see the quality of large real estate... Ah, and should you have problems with finding the right offsett to frame the scan correctly, keep it in mind that it can also be negative...
 
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The only tip I can think of that hasn't been covered already is find a nice sturdy table for the scanner! In the photo lab where I used to work we had to buy a solid workbench for the 9000, the regular worktable shook like an earthquake, and it wasn't flimsy! I think it must have been resonant at just the right frequency, but all the shaking meant we had to get the scanner re-calibrated each year. A firm base solved those problems.
 
The reason why I didn't by SilverFast is that I would have needed to buy 2 copies: one for the 5000 and one for the V700. I'm just not going to buy a dedicated scan program for 2 scanners... I contacted SilverFast about why this is necessary and they gave me an answer that just made no sense.

In the end, I recommend the Professional of VueScan, because you can make RAW scans and because you can use it with soooo many scanners! When I ask Ed Hamrick questions, he also gives me believable answers... !!

JP
 
I've been using the Nikon 9000 for many years with Nikon Scan. It works fine. I try to get the maximum scan information without any processing while scanning. For "keeper" images, this means 16 bit tiff, which Nikon Scan does well. Post processing then takes place later in Lightroom or Photoshop. I also own Vuescan, but don't use it with the 9000. I don't understand what problems have with b&w scanning. I use it a lot, in fact predominantly. You need to have the ICE turned off for silver based films.

One quirk is that you need to make sure the 35mm strip film holder in securely closed before insertion. Otherwise it may jam in the mechanism. If this happens, you need to disconnect the 9000, turn it upside down, and remove the many screws holding the cover. Then remove the cover, close the holder, and put everything back together again.
 
I only use Silverfast with the Nikon, the multiscan feature sometimes really improves difficult scans. And: Silverfast is completely embedded in my colormanagement; eliminates any guesswork about the color quality of scans I get.
 
Has anyone found a source or a suitable replacement for the not-very-sticky white tape that Nikon includes with the FH-869GR for frame masking?

I called Nikon and the stuff does not have a part number, so they can't source it and don't know where to get it (I got that answer from Parts and from the Customer Service for scanners). Go figure.
 
rolopix said:
Has anyone found a source or a suitable replacement for the not-very-sticky white tape that Nikon includes with the FH-869GR for frame masking?

I called Nikon and the stuff does not have a part number, so they can't source it and don't know where to get it (I got that answer from Parts and from the Customer Service for scanners). Go figure.
Click to expand...

Weird, my FH-869GR didn't come with any white tape for masking. It came with a set of black plastic masks for different film sizes, and annoyingly I had to mask them myself with tape because the holes were too big on the 6x6 one for my Hasselblad's negs, and the 35mm one is for panos (xpan size) and needed masked to work for normal 35mm.

I have a friend who has the non-rotating glass carrier for her scanner, the FH-869G, and it came with black tape to mask.
 
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