Will there be a new Nikon Scanner lineup soon? (PMA)

[Florian1234]

I'm not sure about how that one will perform, but Plustek announced a new OpticFilm 7600 scanner to be put on the market in about June or so.
That one will have a LED light source than, which will be different from their earlier models which use cathode light.
Does that change much in the results (LED vs. cathode I mean) ?

And another question is how that one will perform. It's also said that it will do better with Kodachrome.

 

[Harry Lime]

Well, this blows. Apparently this is for real. With the Minolta Dimage Multi-Pro gone and now the Nikon lineup we are screwed. Flatbeds are no competition for a decent dedicated negative scanner, unless we are talking about units that start at over $10,000. The next stop is the IMACON/Hasselblad line up, but they start at $8,000. Imacon killed the entry level 343 a while back, which ran about $4000-5000.

I hope that Nikon continues to produce these units in batches.

Luckily I have a 5000ED and 9000ED, but maybe it's time to start looking around for a few clean, used units or sell everything and find a second hand Imacon/Hasselblad.

 

[Florian1234]

Well, this blows. Apparently this is for real. With the Minolta Dimage Multi-Pro gone and now the Nikon lineup we are screwed. Flatbeds are no competition for a decent dedicated negative scanner, unless we are talking about units that start at over $10,000. The next stop is the IMACON/Hasselblad line up, but they start at $8,000. Imacon killed the entry level 343 a while back, which ran about $4000-5000.

I hope that Nikon continues to produce these units in batches.

Luckily I have a 5000ED and 9000ED, but maybe it's time to start looking around for a few clean, used units or sell everything and find a second hand Imacon/Hasselblad.

Did you read my posting above at all? Or do you think Plustek's aren't worth considering? [edito: I know this is about Nikon's...]

 

[joachim]

Bad news

Bad news

Well, this blows. Apparently this is for real. With the Minolta Dimage Multi-Pro gone and now the Nikon lineup we are screwed. Flatbeds are no competition for a decent dedicated negative scanner, unless we are talking about units that start at over $10,000. The next stop is the IMACON/Hasselblad line up, but they start at $8,000. Imacon killed the entry level 343 a while back, which ran about $4000-5000.

I hope that Nikon continues to produce these units in batches.

Luckily I have a 5000ED and 9000ED, but maybe it's time to start looking around for a few clean, used units or sell everything and find a second hand Imacon/Hasselblad.

According to Robert White, the Nikon 5000 is now also discontinued: http://robertwhite.co.uk/product.asp?P_ID=1264&PT_ID=337 and they seem to have sold their last one recently.

 

[navilluspm]

Nikon has introduced a new scanner just a few months ago. . . . the Dx3. You just need to purchase the bellows and macro attachement for it seperately ;-)

 

[jonmanjiro]

According to Robert White, the Nikon 5000 is now also discontinued: http://robertwhite.co.uk/product.asp?P_ID=1264&PT_ID=337 and they seem to have sold their last one recently.

The Coolscan V was listed on Nikon Japan's website as discontinued before the last stock at B&H, Adorama etc. and on Ebay had sold out. But the Coolscan 5000 and Coolscan 9000 are still not yet listed as discontinued (link to discontinued digital items here). In fact they're still listed on Nikon Japan's website (link here).

Perhaps it'll be like with the AF Micro Nikkor 70-180mm zoom which was dropped from the product range in the US and Europe but was available for several more years in Japan before it was finally discontinued?

 

[navilluspm]

My local shop guy said that the 5000 and 9000 are not discontinued, but just made in smaller batches of 100 - or something like that. When they get a large enough order they produce them, and then shut down production until there is a great enough demand to run production again.

 

[goo0h]

I'm not sure about how that one will perform, but Plustek announced a new OpticFilm 7600 scanner to be put on the market in about June or so.
That one will have a LED light source than, which will be different from their earlier models which use cathode light.
Does that change much in the results (LED vs. cathode I mean) ?

And another question is how that one will perform. It's also said that it will do better with Kodachrome.

Hmmm.... this is all I've found out about it so far....

http://babelfish.yahoo.com/translat...hobene-anspruche/&lp=de_en&btnTrUrl=Translate

 

[vincentbenoit]

fragility is one of the reasons Mamiya rangefinders were terminated.

Has the Mamiya 7 II been "terminated"?

Vincent

 

[rogue_designer]

Or do you think Plustek's aren't worth considering? [

I've yet to see a plustek scanner perform well enough to make me thinking it's a viable replacement for the coolscans. They just don't resolve the kind of detail with the kind of consistency the nikon's did. (absolute pixel size not withstanding, their lens/system was just not as sharp - maybe they'll fix that in the new models, but without competition, what's their incentive to improve the product?).

unfortunately, it may be the ONLY option in the dedicated film scanner market without spending Imacon prices.

The LED vs. cathode lightsource is fine. Consistency and short warmup speeds, as long as it has the power to get through dense film, and not color shift, we're fine.

 

[Harry Lime]

Did you read my posting above at all? Or do you think Plustek's aren't worth considering? [edito: I know this is about Nikon's...]

I don't think the Plustek are very good.

The Microtek that was based on the Polaroid scanner was one hell of a bargain.

The last two Minolta units were outstanding.

Even the small Canon (forgot the name) was very nice.

 

[Harry Lime]

I just spoke to my dealer about this. According to him Nikon is killing the scanners, because they don't want to update the NikonScan software. Seems like there is some problem with an upcoming or current version of Mac OS X. Or at least that is what they told him on the phone. Personally I think that has to be a mistake, because Mac OS X is highly backwards compatible. My guess is that like everyone else Nikon is tightning their belt due to the economy. Since the scanners are not huge money makers and probably don't have any one defending them within the company they got cut from the budget.

He also said that this may be one of the dumber things Nikon has done in recent years, although Nikon is only second to Leica when it comes to shooting themself in the foot. Apparently these units are backordered from now until doomsday. Every time he gets a few units in they are sold in a heartbeat. He was pretty ticked off about the whole thing and even pleaded with them to bundle Vuescan or Silverfast with the units, if NikonScan was DOA.

So, if that REALLY is the reason why they are killing the lineup, then it is a decision of mind boggling stupidity.

 

[kid_a]

I haven't read the thread, so excuse me if it's been posted already.. But the Nikon rep told me months ago that the Nikon scanners were as good as discontinued. They will no longer build any more of the current line up, and there will be no new additions to the line up.

 

[Jason Sprenger]

With their digital SLR line-ups, it doesn't seem a good fit for Nikon, Canon or Sony to make film scanners.

However, it makes perfect sense for Kodak. They still make a lot of money from film and they already make scanner components. Unfortunately, Kodak hasn't yet had enough sense to "synergize" their film and digital divisions. Like most short-sighted American companies, they'd sooner acquire existing boutique outfits than develop their own capabilities in-house even with all pieces effectively lying on the floor in front of them.

 

[Tuolumne]

Seems like a good time for Fuji to come out with a film scanner, too. They seem quite committed to film, plus their newly introduced MF folder shoots film. Perhaps Diana could jump into the fray as well. They make film cameras, although of deliberately low quality. Still, people need high quality scanners to faithfully reproduce their low quality Diana negs. :angel:

/T

 

[noimmunity]

Seems like a good time for Fuji to come out with a film scanner, too.
/T

Fuji have come out with a scanner, just not one for consumer use. They are committed to their network of developing studios.

But wouldn't it be great to see a consumer model of their Frontier series?!

(Geez I'm glad I got a Coolscan 5000).

 

[momus1]

I think that's the end of the line, which actually has nothing to do w/ film being dead (again). I sold my 8000 ED because wonderful though it was, I prefer wet prints from a darkroom. Most people who shoot LF work out of a darkroom, and I suspect a fair amount of people who shoot MF will migrate there as the quality MF scanners go away. A few will move up to the Imacons. In B&W, film is alive and kicking. Even if they devise a digital camera that is as good as MF or LF B&W film, which I do not see happening, it still doesn't affect the folks in darkrooms.

 

[Tuolumne]

I disagree. The remaining consumer users of film are not going back to wet dark room printing. If scanners die, I'll be pitching all of my film cameras. I have zero interest in going back to a wet dark room. I don't think film manufactures will let this happen. They know people who use film have a hybrid work flow. Someone will produce a decent consumer-priced film scanner.

/T

 

[dfoo]

I'm very glad I already bought a Coolscan 5000. Although I hope the damn thing doesn't break! I do darkroom printing, but compared the amount of film I shoot, and the amount of time to produce a wet print, scanning is a no-brainer!

 

[lns]

I just spoke to my dealer about this. According to him Nikon is killing the scanners, because they don't want to update the NikonScan software. Seems like there is some problem with an upcoming or current version of Mac OS X. Or at least that is what they told him on the phone. Personally I think that has to be a mistake, because Mac OS X is highly backwards compatible....

I am sure this is true. It took Nikon forever to update the NikonScan software for Leopard (if they ever did). There is a new Mac O/S coming soon, as well as a new Windows, and there probably will be newer ones yet in 18 months or so. So it's a never-ending cycle for Nikon, not of their own choosing, and not for their own profit. So they're going to cut it off. I think it stinks, but I think the writing has been on the wall since Leopard came out.

-Laura