is this scanner worthy???
Strengths:Good analysis. Scratch removal.Speed.
Weaknesses:Expensive. Not good reproduction of colors.
Posted Feb 5, 2007 - I have this scaner for 1 month now. Up to now I was using an Epson Perfection flatbed scanner.I bought the Nikon 5000 ED because I wanted to scan my personal collection of about 6.000 slides.
With the first scans, the first problems showed up. Color negatives were scanned quite good, but the real problem was scanning the slides. All this 'live' photos that I had in the slides, COULD NOT be reproduced in my computer screen. The scanner has a lot of alternatives for color control, for brightness, for contrast etc. So as to get to know the machine better, I read every word of its manual, even it's PDF format which is 139 pages. But still I could not reproduce the colours that I used to see in my slide photos.
Then I began experimenting with the various image controls provided with the scanner software. I found out that to get nice colours from a slide, there are no general recomendations. Each control affects each slide in a different way. So to get good colours, you just have to keep on experimenting for each slide frame with the various control buttons. Or even make combinations of various control buttons. So if you can understand, the end result of each slide scan, IS A MATTER OF LUCK AND PATIENCE.What happens if someone has a collection of 6.000 slides like me? The answer is he will never finish his job !!!
Then I went to the Nikon authorised dealer here in my city. We saw some scanned images together, we tried to correct the colours but it was impossible. Even if after many attempts one colour (for example the Red) was right, using a certain setting, the other ones (green, or blue) would be spoiled. The Nikon techician told me that a slide film can reproduce 4 billion colours. A computer screen is designed to reproduce 16,7 million colours, at 8 bit colour. Even if I would scan my images at 16 bit colour (an option that is provided by this scanner), even then I would not be able to see the difference, since a computer monitor always works at 8 bit colour. Even printers work the same way, that is 8 bit color (for each of the 3 colors).
So the end conclusion is, that I SIMPLY HAVE TO FORGET THE WONDERFUL COLORS THAT I see in my slides, because no scanner is able to reproduce them. I wish I knew about this before I buy the scanner. Nevertheless, it is a quite good mashine, much better from my old Epson Photo Perfection. But it is not perfect as Nikon commercials make you believe.
Attached are 3 diferent scannings of the same frame. This particular photo, I scanned again and again more than 20 times, so as to have good color reproduction of my friend's T-shirt. I even showed her the scans and called her up to ask her what real color was the T-shirt that she was wearing that day. As you see the colour that I got using the factory defaults, was clearly very different from the real one. Using RGB Curves color correction, (picture no.2), the red was a bit better. Finally after 20 scans, I realized that using Color Reconstrucion (ROC) was the best option as you see it in picture no.3
Using Color Reconstruction (ROC) in another picture that was taken 10 minutes later, but with no reds in the frame, would spoil the whole picture....
(And just think that I had to go through all this trouble for a photo that was taken on a color negative film, which is supposed to be easier to scan than slides).
AS A CONCLUSION: IT IS QUITE A GOOD MACHINE, BUT IF YOU ARE DREAMING OF HAVING IN YOUR COMPUTER THE COLORS THAT YOU SEE IN YOUR SLIDES, JUST FORGET IT...
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Rated 
Nikon Super Coolscan 5000 ED Film Scanner
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