Nikon SF-210 Auto Slide Feeder for Nikon Super Coolscan 5000 ED Scanner

Comments about Nikon SF-210 Auto Slide Feeder:

It certainly has made a huge job much smoother and faster. It does prefer certain types of slides, I am finding that 30 year old square cardboard mounts are a bit too tall to be fed causing jamming, can't tell the brand. I have had less problems with rounded edge mounts, cardboard or plastic of that same era.

I also followed instructions online to tilt the entire unit (scanner and feeder) approx 10 degrees counterclockwise (slide magazine high) and use a C battery to put pressure on the stack of slides rather than the much too strong spring loaded pusher. This combo has decreased jamming considerably and requires no modification of the unit. I achieved the angle using a 1 inch three ring binder placed under the scanner.

The nikon scan software supports it well, I have had no problems with the scanner recognizing it.

Be careful with the swinging cover, it is quite fragile, leaving it open does not seem to affect the scans.

Comments about Nikon SF-210 Auto Slide Feeder:

I have used the previous version of Nikon's slide feeder, the SF-200, with a Coolscan 4000, and while this new version of the slide feeder is nearly exactly the same design as the original, the addition of a rotatable wheel for adjusting the gap through which the slides must pass, is a vast improvement. I have already used the SF-210 to scan over 4000 slides with every kind of 35mm slide mount, and have only had 2 jams in that time. I load 30-40 slides at a time and have only adjusted the opening once. In addition, Nikonscan 4, the scanning software that comes with the Coolscan 5000 scanner I am currently using has also been improved for use with the SF-210 slide feeder. The function that tracks each slide as it is scanned now lists each scan consecutively, making it far easier to keep track of the numbering sequence one is using with large batches of slides. Well worth getting.

Comments about Nikon SF-210 Auto Slide Feeder:

SF-210 AUTO SLIDE FEEDER:
The SF-210 Auto SLide Feeder works great. It seemed a little light weight at first,, but as I installed and used the unit, it seems sturdy and accurate. It was also easy to install and adjust. I loaded many different types of slides in similar batches (not always the best idea) and out of about 400 slides only had two jams. This was in part my fault for loading a wide variety of slides and also making sure and checking the slide throat was adjusted properly (easy thumb wheel.) The jams were easy to fix and get back up and running..

The only way to go when scanning more than 5 -10 slides. Easy to access and OK to load. When setup properly runs 99 slide like a dream.

The one drawback might be the loading and unloading slides. Anyone that has used a tray load slide projector knows the routine, usually not fun in any instance. The SF-210 is a little difficult to load and unload. The load rack has the stronger spring (normal) to keep the slide group feeding smoothly. There is a small offset at the top of the rack to hold the pusher bar. I didn't notice this at first, so had extra difficulty loading the slides. I have large hands, so getting slides into and out of the racks / trays takes some practice and getting used to. Honestly, I don't know right off how it might be corrected, but just to let you know it takes some practice to get it working well.

NIKON COOLSCAN 5000ED:
This was my first major slide scanner purchase. I'll include this again here, as I don't know what you'd do with the SF-210 without a Nikon Scanner.

There were lots of choices for slide scanners,,, with nearly all units lower priced. My first project consists of 2500 slides to scan from the late 40's and later, mostly KodaChrome. After this first set, I'm looking at a set of 10,000 slides to scan and archive. After reading many reviews I decided to purchase the Nikon CoolScan 5000 ED with SF-210 Auto Slide Feeder.

Setup and install on an XP Windows box went well with no hiccups. Make sure to check out the extra info on the immediate update procedure (Update is on the CD install app disk.)

The manual is thin but adequate. The software controls take a little getting used to, but work as indicated and expected, no surprises here.

This group of transparencies were family My first scans used the KodaChrome settings without the Digital Ice (as per software instructions.) I'll tell you, if you've got transparencies that haven't been housed under archival conditions,,, they are going to be dirty and the scans looked it, even after cleaning. I thought to myself "Boy, this is going to take months." Just as a try, I used the regular transparency / positive setting with Digital Ice (default values.) Incredible. Very adequate scans, detailed, color was good, and minor to big minor junk ... GONE! The focus still looks good even with some of the problems that might be encountered with Digital Ice and KodaChrome.

Comments about Nikon SF-210 Auto Slide Feeder:

The slide feeder gobbled up old Kodachrome slides with very little hassle. The old slides misfed on occassion but the feeder was so much easier than manually feeding 50 slides one-by-one. For the most part, I could load and walk away. I've done about 600 slides and am still going. There is an easy adjustment wheel to fine tune the feeding. The feeder is basically a "plug and play" addition.

Of course, the Nikon Super Coolscan 5000 ED is the real star here!

Comments about Nikon SF-210 Auto Slide Feeder:

This autofeeder makes scanning of slides quick. I don´t have to spend hole day with my scanner.

Comments about Nikon SF-210 Auto Slide Feeder:

I am using to scan my thousands of slides. As they all have labels and rounded corners, I thought I would have to return it when I read the manual that said they would jam. Also I read other reviews about jamming a lot. However I have only had a couple of jams in hundreds of slides and those were atypical slides. Before I got it I wondered how the computer could handle so many scanned slides in memory but was glad to find they could be automatically saved after each scan. I have scanned up to the maximum of 50 slides with no jam.
The only con involves the actual scanner settings. As the batches of slides vary in exposure and such, I have had trouble with settings that would be the most optimal for the highest average.

Comments about Nikon SF-210 Auto Slide Feeder:

batch-scanning of up to 50 mounted slides becomes POSSIBLE,but it doesnt when you have European like agfa cs,reflecta cs or any similar slim mount.Every five or little more mounts scanned,you have to reset the procedure again as it jams.Althought i tried almost every solution suggested in the web,finally i had to forget batch scanning this way.

Comments about Nikon SF-210 Auto Slide Feeder:

I currently run a photographic business from my home. Part of that business includes the scanning of photos, slides and negatives to digital format. I now have two Nikon Coolscan 5000's with the SF-210 attachments. On both I have made the adjustments to the head that can be found on several websites. Once completed, the feeders have worked very well with few jams. I scan 100's of slides per week and I am very happy with them.

Comments about Nikon SF-210 Auto Slide Feeder:

It's a great product to use with the Nikon Scanner 5000. Not longer waiting to change the slides. Now i can scan about 50 slides after eachother.
All my type of slides are moving easy. No blockes.
So i'am very satisfied with this product.

Comments about Nikon SF-210 Auto Slide Feeder:

The auto slide feeder really made a big difference for me. When you have to scan hundreds or thousands of slides it is really frustrating having to scan them one by one. Before buying it I had left my expensive Nikon Coolscan 5000 apart as scanning several slides was a very time consuming process.
Great tool!