Nikon Super Coolscan 9000 ED, 4000 dpi, Multi-Format, Film Scanner

Comments about Nikon Super Coolscan 9000 ED Film Scanner:

While this scanner is not cheap, it does an outstanding job scanning films. Calibration films (IT-Taragets) help.

Comments about Nikon Super Coolscan 9000 ED Film Scanner:

Nikon has abandoned it's support for Apple customers who purchase this scanner. Do not buy this machine if you are an Apple user unless you are prepared to spend another $400 to make it work. Be advised that Nikon does not supply any driver for this scanner that will support Apple OS after 10.4. This is unheard of in the industry. In addition Nikon has neglected to inform customers of this discrepency prior to purchase neither on their website, literature nor product packaging. You must purchase third party software (i.e. Silverfast) to run this machine on a current Apple OS at a cost of $400! When I attempted several times to have Nikon provide actual customer support and reimbursement to compensate for their misleading product information they declined saying simply: "We do not provide support for our scanners with 10.6. and we do not provide 3rd party software." How the mighty have fallen.

Comments about Nikon Super Coolscan 9000 ED Film Scanner:

I am very happy. No banding for me. It works great with a current PC. I'm running Windows 7 64bit using Vuescan software.

Comments about Nikon Super Coolscan 9000 ED Film Scanner:

I have scanned about 1000 35 mm slides and about the same number of 35 mm color negative strips so I consider myself a novice user. The digital images were super - I scanned at 300 DPI (60 meg files)and the software to remove scatches, etc works like a charm. Each scan takes about a minute with auto focus etc. You can scan 5 slides in batch mode and up to 12 frames with 35 mm strips. With the film strips if they are say 4 frames long I put in the holder two 4 frame strips. It seems that you have to scan four in batch mode and then take it out and reinsert it to scan the other four. A lot has been said about how cheap the slide/film holders are - they work fine for me. Also, a lot has been said about banding - not an issue so far for me. The software has a lot of bells and whistles which I have not delved into as yet. Up until now have scanned and then used View NX/Capture NX2 or photoshop to finish the job. It is pricy but happy I bought it. I can now use my Nikon F again and digitize as well as my Nikon D90.

Comments about Nikon Super Coolscan 9000 ED Film Scanner:

I bought this scanner shortly before Apple's OS 10.5 came out. Nikon was happy to take my money, but didn't mention anywhere that it was not going to update its firmware for the new OS. So when I updated my operating system, Nikon's software didn't work anymore. In other words, I can't use my scanner.

Don't think that Silverfast is a solution, because it isn't. For example, Silverfast won't let you control the lamp level on the scanner. It chooses the exposure for you, and if it guesses wrong, you're out of luck. I have dozens of slides that look great on a light table but scan WAY too dark using Silverfast. There's no solution to that problem.

Um, Nikon? A lot of photographers use Apple computers. And I have to say I'm not happy about being hung out to dry.

Comments about Nikon Super Coolscan 9000 ED Film Scanner:

After purchasing this "Professional" scanner, two things seem very unprofessional:

1. The Nikon Scan software DOES NOT WORK WITH NEW COMPUTERS!! I have a MAC with 10.6 and a windows 7 PC. It is NOT COMPATIBLE WITH EITHER computer!!!! I had to dig up an old G5...

2. The plastic film carriers do nothing to help flatten curled film so the edges are out of focus.

One would expect better from a 2000 dollar scanner with the name Nikon on the front!

If the film is flat, it is a very good scanner... But you better have an old computer laying around if you plan to buy this scanner.

Comments about Nikon Super Coolscan 9000 ED Film Scanner:

Used it for about a year. It broke. Customer serice is terrible. While it worked, banding was a consistent problem. For the price I would expect a better product from company like Nikon.

Comments about Nikon Super Coolscan 9000 ED Film Scanner:

First, let me tell you I'm a long time Nikon fanatic, and I love this scanner when it works right, but the banding issue absolutely kills the value of this scanner. You don't pay[$] for a scanner that can't produce pro results. Nikon refuses to acknowledge the problem, yet numerous other people I know have this issue. Do a search on coolscan 9000 banding. It is a real problem, and unlike Nikon to simply avoid dealing with it. When it doesn't have banding, it's a beautiful scan though.

Comments about Nikon Super Coolscan 9000 ED Film Scanner:

Scanner good, software not so good. I use with Vuescan. Silverfast is a also a good option.

Comments about Nikon Super Coolscan 9000 ED Film Scanner:

I use my Nikon Coolscan 9000 to scan B&W and color film of historic railroad locomotives and cars for books that I write for the Colorado Railroad Museum. These photos always have mechanical details that are of great interest to railroad buffs. Often the details are of the equipment's wheels and running gear and are in shadows. That is where the Coolscan 9000's dynamic range is so helpful in brining out these details that are often missing in photos done with other equipment.
The only thing that is a drawback to the 9000 is the weight. I often have to take the scanner to locations away from my normal working environment and it is bulky to carry.

Comments about Nikon Super Coolscan 9000 ED Film Scanner:

I've been researching this scanner for a while, comparing it to either the Imacon/Hasselblad scanners and the higher-end prosumer flatbeds like the Microtek Artixscan M1 and Epson v750. My primary need is to scan medium format chromes and negs (both color and b/w).I was lucky enough to stumble upon an available Nikon 9000 while randomly surfing thru B&H's site one morning. As many may know, this scanner is perpetually out of stock. Not sure the exact reason, although my theory is that Nikon's main focus is digital and is neglecting their film products. This is unfortunate, because there are still plenty of film shooters out there, both amateur and professional. In fact, dare I say that there is a slight resurgence of professional film shooters?The quality of the scans from the Nikon 9000 is great. Perhaps 90% to 95% of the quality from Imacon/Hasselblad scanners. And at about 1/6 the price of the Imacons. I won't even compare the Nikon 9000 to prosumer flatbeds like the Epsons or the Microteks. There's no way to fairly compare a dedicated film scanner to a prosumer multi-purpose flatbed scanner. A lot has been said about the Nikon 8000/9000 medium format film holders that come with the scanner. And yes, they are pretty lousy when it comes to image sharpness across the entire film plane. If one spends enough time fussing around with them, then maybe there might be a halfway acceptable scan. I splurged on the Nikon FH-869G anti-glare glass film holder, mostly because if I was going to spend [...] on a scanner, I want the best scans I can get for my money. I tested the sharpness of the scans from both the glassless and anti-glare holders, scanning at 2000 dpi and looking closely at the entire scan at 100% zoom in Photoshop. To my surprise, the scan from the anti-glare holder was not only tack sharp throughout the entire scan (edges included), but it also seemed sharper as a whole. I compared a section of both scans where they were both sharp, and the glass holder scans had better detail and were just sharper. That surprised me, since logic would say that scans from "naked" film would be sharper than scans thru glass. So I STRONGLY recommend spending the extra [...] on a glass film holder. Now, why Nikon doesn't just include that holder is beyond me, except perhaps this is their way of milking a couple hundred extra bucks out of me.ONE BIG ISSUE: As of May 2008, the Nikon 9000 will not accommodate Intel Macs. I have an Intel iMac running the latest version of Leopard, and the Nikon Scan software included did not recognize the scanner. No downloads and updates from the Nikon website helped. I then tried a demo version of Silverfast Ai, which too did not see the scanner. So I was left with poor ole VueScan. VueScan recognizes my Nikon 9000, and I've been scanning perfectly fine with it. One nice thing about the VueScan / Nikon 9000 combo is the use of the Infrared Clean option in the Filter pulldown. It does a nice job getting rid of dust and spots on both the film and the glass holder. It also seems to not take any extra scanning time, as in the case with Digital ICE. Now, I don't know whether this Infrared Clean option is included with the Nikon Scan or Silverfast (since I can't get those to work), but this option has saved me valuable time that would have been wasted cloning each little piece of dust and smooge.One last thing... The scanner is a big loud. Not an issue, unless that is an issue for you.

Comments about Nikon Super Coolscan 9000 ED Film Scanner:

This is a great scanner for those who have tons of old negatives and need to digitize them to meet the modern age.

The scanner is easy to use and setup. Dust, scratches, older emulsions, etc. are not a problem with the Digital ICE technology.

The only big downside is that it has some software glitches that Nikon has been slow to address. When trying to multitask in the program (Nikon Scan) it will give up on trying to process tons of information at once. One other downside (minor) is that it is slow scanning of negatives. It takes forever to post-process the negatives.

IF Nikon ever updates this model, all they need to do is 1. fix the software glitches, 2. make the scanner faster, 3. A higher resolution to match closer to that of a drum scanner. - and perhaps adding 4x5 scanning capability.

Otherwise - a great product that is well worth it's price.

Comments about Nikon Super Coolscan 9000 ED Film Scanner:

I have used this product for 2 years and am very satisfied with the overall operation. I concur with some of the other reviewers that the film holders are not the best; but it is not necessary to go to the glass holder for medium format. I have been very successful printing up to 20x24 in bw and color with the included film holders. The software screens are somewhat awkward and the manual really needs to be written by a native English speaker,however, I have found that Nikon phone support will help you through the rough spots. This a isprofessional product and if you are not in the game, please do not waste time writing dumb reviews. I won't name any names.

Problems Encountered: Nothing in the manual to turn off ICE when scanning bw. Nikon tech support provided software update and recommended turning off ICE. No big deal Silverfast software has same problem. Film holder drive mechanism runs rough since new. Very loud considering the load placed on it. May seem insignificant, but may cause failure that would render unit inoperative. Would be a shame for a really good piece of equipment to ruined by basic mechanical engineering. The devil is always in the detail.

Previous Equivalent Items Owned: Nikon LS2000

Items I Recommend: n/a

Comments about Nikon Super Coolscan 9000 ED Film Scanner:

As other reviewers stated, the results with this scanner arestunning. What you can achieve from a well-exposed 6x7transparency is almost unbelievable. Buying it is one ofthe best things I have ever done in my 22 years as aprofessional artist. Even older grainy film is handled wellby the software (GEM). A painter and sculptor, I often paintfrom a 30 Apple display using the scanned images. I neverknow when I will need to zoom in on an area for detail whilepainting, so I usually scan at max resolution (4000 dpi). The scanning itself is reasonably fast, but if you make anyalterations to the image after the scan using the variouscolor, gamma and other excellent tools, saving the changes takesforever. I just saved such a scan, and it took 30 minutes. I can save such changes in other programs in a few minutes,so I don't know why the software cannot handle this better.Also, there was at last check (2/06) a major problemusing this scanner with Windows, at least for me. If youscan at max resolution (actually, at any resolution greaterthan 2000 dpi) using medium format film and the DEE feature(one of the primary improvements over the Coolscan 8000 ED),the scan crashes. This DEE (increased dynamic range),touted in all the ads for this scanner, cannot be used underthese conditions on a PC. It can only be used in thesecircumstances (again, to restate, greater than 2000 dpi onmedium format film and using DEE to give more detail ineither the shadow or highlight areas) on a Mac. I cannotsay if this problem has been fixed by Nikon, but it causedme to have to buy a different computer than the one I hadjust purchased just to be able to use the scanner as Iintended. The Nikon manual at the time, as well as thespecifications on-line, made no mention of this problem. You could only find out about it by reading the manual thatcomes on the disk with the scanner. This is really frustrating, for the ONLY REASON to buy a9000 instead of a 5000 is the capability of scanning mediumformat film. And the only way you get the advertiseddynamic range is by using DEE. But you cannot do this atmaximum resolution on a Windows system.Then there is the frustration of not being able to use bothaspects of DEE on the same scan. That is, you cannotincrease shadow detail and highlight detail in the samescan. You can only do one or the other. I cannot evenimagine why this limitation is present. This also is notmentioned in any product advertising. Finally, my other frustration was buying the scanner andthen not really being able to use it for the intendedpurpose without first buying (for $230) the glass filmholder for medium format film. The cheap and uselessplastic 120/220 film holder should not even be sold, and theglass one sold with every 9000. If you are not scanningmedium format film, you don't need this scanner. If youare, you need the glass film holder without exception. Butthe problem at present (12/06) is that this item isbackordered with no known delivery date. Since this item isNOT OPTIONAL for a medium format scanner, it ought to besold with it without trying to make it look less expensiveand then finding out we cannot even find it to buy after thefact.My overall recommendation? Buy it anyway for the excellentresults it produces, but do so with your eyes wide open. Ifyou are using Windows, find out if Nikon has fixed theproblems with the DEE for medium format if you need to scanat max resolution. Get a glass film holder before evenhoping to get decent medium format scans. And make sureyour computer exceeds the recommended hardware requirements. I am using a Power Mac G5 with four 2.5 Ghz processors with3 gig of RAM, and is none too fast for what I am doing.

Problems Encountered: See the overall review above.

Previous Equivalent Items Owned: None

Items I Recommend: FH-869G glass film holder for 120/220

Comments about Nikon Super Coolscan 9000 ED Film Scanner:

I had a trusty Imacon drum scanner for many years. Sadly itwent kput recently and i found myself having to replace itbut unwilling to fork over 15k for a new Hasselblad scanner(they aquired Imacon). I had heard great things about theNikon and purchased this model for my medium formatnegatives and chromes. It does an amazing job. I wouldeven go so far as to say that it does a better job than myold imacon and is MUCH MUCH faster. 5 out of 5 stars tothis scanner. Would recommend in a heartbeat.

Items I Recommend: Get the Anti-Newton glass strip holder if you are doing medium format. Makes all the difference

Comments about Nikon Super Coolscan 9000 ED Film Scanner:

I was lucky to have access to this scanner at my college. Let me tell you, the images it produces are a beaut! Anyone who tells you film is dead hasn't seen scans from this .This is a professional-grade device. It allows you to revitalize older film that has degraded overtime. It can fix color/exposure issues WITH THE IMAGER, not as a post-production software tool. The abilities of this scanner blew me away.If you have boxes full of negatives and want to preserve them right. Or if you are a business who archives films, do your customers a favor. Buy this scanner and learn how to use it! Scan at 300 or 400dpi for best results. 4000 is WAY too high!

Problems Encountered: Medium learning curve. Because this machine is loaded with options, they all had to be learned. But anyone familiar with Adobe Photoshop should be able to pick this up with no problem.I couldn't figure out how to pop open the negative holder at first.Scans can be painfully slow (but are the fastest on the market, I hear).

Previous Equivalent Items Owned: None

Items I Recommend: Kodak Ultra Color Film or Fuji NPZ 800