Nikon Coolscan V ED Reviews

Rating
Reviewed by: More cowbell!
(Intermediate)

Review Date
October 20, 2009

Overall Rating
5 of 5

Value Rating
5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
1.00 of 5,
1 votes

Review 1 of 8

Price Paid: $600.00

Summary:

This scanner is really the best in its category and pretty much the only alternative before going for the LS5000. Anyway it doesn't have the cool HDR feature but will give the most natural rendition of you beloved negs and scan. Still glad I got it before out of stock. But sometimes I regret not going for the 8000 at that time.

Strengths:

Reliable, good scans, ease of use with help.

Weaknesses:

grainy sometimes, inherent to all scanner can't use ICE with B&W negs! Post editing nightmares!

Similar Products Used:

epson V700

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Rating
Reviewed by:

gahspidy
( Intermediate)

Review Date
May 28, 2005

Overall Rating
5 of 5

Value Rating
4 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
3.72 of 5,
18 votes

Review 2 of 8

Price Paid: $500.00 from Amazon.com

Summary:

I found this scanner to be a rugged build, very easy to use out of the box, great software especially the digital ICE which removes practically all dust and somehow does not seem to touch the image or quality in any way. Scans are very sharp as the Auto focus works great and a real time saver. I've scanned negative film and slides and both great results. The strip film feeded, which automatically loads a 6 frame strip is a great bonus. You insert the strip just as you would a dollar bill into a vending machine and it takes care of the job from there. Batch scanning a great time saver as well and great software allows you to set your file names for the batch. Sledes can be tedious as you must insert and scan one at a time ( there is a batch slide feeder optional but is very expensive) When I shoot slide film, I have them developed unmounted so that I can run them through the scanner with the strip film feeder. Slide film is very noticeably less noisy and grainy and overall sharper than negative film.

Strengths:

Build Software Ease of use excellent scans strip film feeder price reasonable for the quality LED light source keeps scanning and film cool, and should last a very long time

Weaknesses:

none yet . . .maybe the price of the optional slide batch feeder for those interested.

Similar Products Used:

Minolta dimage dual scan lll

Customer Service:

none yet

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Rating
Reviewed by:

moizes
( Professional)

Review Date
December 27, 2004

Overall Rating
5 of 5

Value Rating
5 of 5

Used product for
21+ years

Visitors rate this review
4.00 of 5,
8 votes

Review 3 of 8

Price Paid: $570.00

Summary:

Made for last, sharp, fast, convenient, unexpensive - real helper.

Strengths:

ICE is really workable - you can't find even smallest dots on 16 by 20 prints, scanned from oldest negs or slides.

Weaknesses:

Non for the money.

Similar Products Used:

Big pro ones.

Customer Service:

Not so far.

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Rating
Reviewed by:

Mike.Palmer
( Expert)

Review Date
November 24, 2004

Overall Rating
1 of 5

Value Rating
1 of 5

Used product for
21+ years

Visitors rate this review
2.08 of 5,
24 votes

Review 4 of 8

Price Paid: $875.00 from Jessops UK

Summary:

I agree that when the LS50 works it is of the best quality. However mine has a problem that Nikon UK refuse to acknowledge. When scanning either in Nikonscan 4.03 stand alone or as a plug-in with Photoshop CS, at the end of the scan both Nikonscan and PS CS close discarding the scan you have just made. Most frustrating.

Strengths:

Good image quality (when you can get one).

Weaknesses:

"Iffy" interface with Windows XP Home.

Similar Products Used:

Minolta Scan Elite 5400

Customer Service:

In the UK poor. Any query starts on the basis "This is a Nikon and it you who are wrong". Anyone want to buy an LS50?

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Rating
Reviewed by:

leroys
( Intermediate)

Review Date
June 19, 2004

Overall Rating
4 of 5

Value Rating
5 of 5

Used product for
0-1 years

Visitors rate this review
3.50 of 5,
6 votes

Review 5 of 8

Price Paid: $600.00 from B&H Photo

Summary:

The Coolscan LS-50 was my first film scanner so please forgive the newby perspective. I use the Fuji Frontier 330 minilab in my neighborhood but wanted to be able to edit for more creative control. I use Portra 400B&W film and find that I dont miss the multiscan feature that is available in the model LS-5000 in the least as I cannot even detect a trace of noise with one scan. The Fuji lab uses 8 bit files so I dont scan in 14 bit unless I anticipate heavy duty editing where I would appreciate the extra color depth to prevent the possibility of banding. I dont like DEE or GEC or ICE, seems like overkill if a well if a well exposed and clean neg with no scratches is used. The scaling feature helps to keep file sizes in control as the fuji prints at 300 DPI. over all, The LS-50 has added a lot of enjoyment to my favorite hobby

Strengths:

Build quality, high resolution for more cropping/scaling options

Weaknesses:

Some software options leave somrthing to be desired

Similar Products Used:

none

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