I’ve been working with a Super Coolscan 9000ed for several years and I must say it continues to confound me. I’ve searched this site and the www and haven’t found the information I seek – but if I’ve missed it could someone kindly point me in the right direction?
I have 25 years worth of medium format and 35mm film, which occasionally needs digitization. In addition to the 9000 I have an Epson 4870.
I am running Nikon Scan 4 software. Some films are handled pretty well. Slides in their mounts run in the stockholder, for example. But no unmounted film stock seems to sit acceptably flat to get uniform focus so I shelled out for the glass carrier. Medium format in this carrier focuses and crops acceptably – until you get to negatives longer than 6x9. This issue has been covered on the site already. But for 35mm stripfilm I can’t figure out how to make the glass carrier configure properly. The scanner insists on seeing it as 120 film. I've made masks to seat in the glass carrier but to no avail.
I also find with any format or film stock the highlights beyond a certain density cannot be penetrated. These are not excessive densities. They are easily printed conventionally or scanned in the 4870.
Nikon scan 4 is a pretty annoying program too. It is constantly defaulting back to settings I don’t use and I don’t see how I can retain working settings. I know a solution here might be Silverfast, but it shouldn’t be necessary and I’m not inclined to shell out more for software if the scanner itself is incapable of reading highlights.
I keep thinking I must be missing some pretty obvious functions. For being such a well-regarded scanner it can’t be this quirky. Oh and it has been in to Nikon repair - twice now. Just got it back last week after it died and was revived for $400-.
My Epson works wonderfully and there is a 750 in my future. Just seems flat beds aren’t the best bet for 35mm.
Thanks for any enlightenment.
Nick
http://nwphoto.com
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