Easy set up and go. Lots of detail in images. Fairly stable for such a data and computationally intensive system. All in all it saves me time and effort dragging slides down to be scanned professionally.

Digital ICE Cubed scratch and dust removal not compatible with Kodachromes. I do not like the method that this requires work to be done,--scan all the images in the holder, and THEN save each. (If you scan and then save that first one, you have to exit the scan application and then start again. I use the Nikon Scan as a plugin to Photoshop

I began my testing of this scanner against the Kodak Ektachrome Q-60 Color input Target (35mm) and found default settings a bit on the dark side. In time I discovered that the focus seems a bit on the soft side,--PS can fix that up usually. You must have a significantly robust computer to work this scanner. I use a Mac G4 500Mhz dual CPU with 1.5GB of RAM (maxed out for RAM) and OS 9.1. Firewire connectivity is clearly the only real way to go with that amount of data. So far my largest files have been at the 4000 DPI setting with files of nearly 640MB. I experimented with a 6x12cm image (transparency) and found that the scanner CAN handle it but it requires scanning each end of the image and then pasting them together in PS. Simple 35mm stuff is a breeze, and it seems to be very compatible with Velvia. Each scan takes longer than i had anticipated. Perhaps it''''s because I''''m still pushing it at the 4000 DPI level for the most part.

Customer Service

Answered questions quickly. No service issues yet.

Similar Products Used:

None. New to film scanning so don''''t go out and buy one on my review!

- accurate color reproduction - convenience of clean, desktop scanning - multiformat capability - scan time for 120MB file from 6x7 slide is 8-10 minutes, without Digital ICE3. This is OK compared to low end drum scanners. - sw was straightforward to use and stable, I guess that I had upgraded version

- don''t be fooled by the name - this is 4000 dpi scanner - sharpness and detail is dissapointing and puts this product clearly in a league below low end drum scanners. I cannot see how one can use scans from 8000 ED for fine or medium quality print. - scanning with ICE3 takes too long - I have aborted 4 attempts after 30 min. It takes less time to clean up in Photoshop.- 120 film does not seat flat in the holder. This might result in sharpness issue.

Overall, this is a fine product that falls well short of marketing claims. My professional scanning experience goes 7 years back when I got into digital photography. At that time I used Howtek desktop drum scanner and had first experience with 1st 35mm Nikon Coolscan. 7 years ago, Coolscan was nothing more then exotic gadget that produced muddy scans that took 30 minutes to complete. But the promise of professional desktop film scanning without the mess of mounting film on drum was with me ever since. I have recently tested 8000 ED at Vistek''s digital photo showroom, by scanning 4 6x7 transparencies and comparing them to scans made on 7 years old Howtek drum scanner. I found that 8000ED is a huge leap forward in scan quality and productivity. I have also found that Nikon''s claim that output from 8000 ED "rivals drum scans" falls short of reality. Read on for specifics.

Customer Service

not used

Similar Products Used:

Nikon Coolscan LS-10, Howtek drum scanner, Scitex CCD "jukebox" scanner, Canoscan FS2710

I managed to get one scan out of the machine and the quality seemed good

•Buggy software •Loading the slide tray was problematic - took at least three to four tries to get it into the machine. •Loud clanking sounds •Long preview and scan times

I have great respect for NIkon and their products,but this scanner wasted more of my time than any other imaging device I have ever purchased. Being computer savvy, I was shocked at the problems the v.3.1 software gave me.There might have also been mechanical problems. I returned the scanner the next day. A professional $3000 machine should work perfectly right out of the box. I urge all computer owners, both Mac and PC''s not to tolerate bad software...hold the industry to higher standards.

Customer Service

CS was very cooperative, BUT I spent over an hour on the phone and was not able to solve one problem. I was finally referred to a level II tech, but I would have to call back on another day to have th

Similar Products Used:

This was my first experience with a film only scanner.

Extremely good with color negative film, ICE/ROC/GEM very useful. ICE is fantastic. Compared to an Imacon Flextight its a real bargain (1/3 the price). If your willing to spend the time results very nearly similar to Imacon Flextight.

Extremely slow, difficulty with certain slide films (color), lacks sharpness, GEM only works with certain films, Hangs with DLC with ROC/GEM. The quoted D of 4.2 can only be acheived with multipass scanning. So a more realistic D is 3.9. This is simply LOG(10)2^14 =4.21. Since this is a theoritical number, you can never actually acheive it in one pass. Wait for the 16 bit machines.

Overall I''m happy with this machine. Althought I''ve had difficulties with certain slide films. Fuji Astia 100 is difficult to scan. Much adjustment is need to get the colors right. Fuji 100 RDPIII works much better with excellent results. This scanner is way too slow. Can take 1/2 hour with ICE3 @4000dpi with a 6X7. The resolution is not as sharp as I was hoping. Direct prints are still better. Software is generally good (v3.1) but ROC/GEM hangs when used with PW pro 3.1 (DLC).

Customer Service

Good response, but empty promises. I reported to Nikon the hanging problem with PW3.1 when used with ROC/GEM. This is over 4 weeks ago and no resolution yet.

Similar Products Used:

HP S20, Epson Perfection 1640SU, AcerScan 1240U

Better look then previous beige accepts 12 35mm strips great scans

Software (3.1) still! (waiting for Silversfast solution) fiddly placement of negs (specially the 35mm have a tendency to shift when fed into scanner)

Great scanner shame about the software. Having prviously used software for my ex LS-2000 the new software is "fiddly" and sometimes still unstable (v 3.1) Regarding medium format strips: note that Polaroid and other medium format scanners experience the same un-alignment, it is due to the different camera standards (different width between negatives) note that there is a "manual" alignment compensation at the bottom of the software! Managed to (finally!) run it via Photoshop my purchasing more RAM, hate the stand alone application (save only in TIFF, veeeeery slow, and JPEG!)

Similar Products Used:

Nikon LS-2000

Amazing quality from medium format film.
Use of ICE cubed saves lots of time in photoshop!
I have not found images to be softusing ice cubed.
Dense slides much easier to deal with
Very easy to set up and install on the MAC
Software version 3.1 shipped with 8000ED intuitive and has not crashed or remotely buggy.
Little need to use genuine fractals unless your output will be huge! I generally never go beyond 12X18.

With ice cubed on it is slow, slow slow.
depth of field a bit shallow so flat film scanns best.
My computer set up is
MAC 450 dual processor
768 MEG RAM

Amazing guality, easy to setup and use. I can't imagagine much better output in this price range

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

This is my first medium format scanner. I traded up from a 35mm minolta film scanner

Beautiful scans
Reasonably fast
Full-featured driver software
Sturdy film holders

Quirky driver software

Considering past history, the ability to scan medium-format film at this resolution, and this price range is very nice.

Customer Service

Phone support is good

Similar Products Used:

Microtek, Polaroid, Epson, Leaf, Agfa

Dual formats although very large files when scanning 6 x7 cm film over 260 MB. Great clarity and dynamic range. ICE, GEM and ROC produce Clear crisp images without "mounting oil"

After installing
firewire card I lost my network could only revive network after removing firewire card from aready complex P.C.
Will install scanner to a dedicated P.C. also the use of the ICE3 slowed down the scan but it is worth it not to have to retouch in Photoshop. Slightest softness when compared to drum scans but at the film grain level.

Fantastic!! Worth the 5 week wait will be enlarging to 44" by 96"

Customer Service

24/7 called twice about network problem got right through but they were unawear of any other network problems.

Similar Products Used:

Crosfield drum

Awesome scans up 60 mb. Finally an affordable desk-top scanner that produces
publication quality scans. I've had the same picture published as two different magazine covers in Australia and the U.K. The first was a drum scanned image and the other was a Nikon scan. Almost impossible to see the difference. I highly reccomend this to anyone like myself who deals with publishers worldwide, but doesn't want to incur the expence and inconvenience of arranging drum scans.

My only gripe is that I bought this scanner, the moment that they 1st became available and it appears that the bugs weren't totally eliminated in the earlier softwear. To date, I've had to do my scans solely, using the Nikon softwear as it won't work in conjunction with P.S.6 without crashing my Mac. (I'm using a G4 533 with 1.5 gig of RAM). I have however noted that they have released 3.1 softwear, so hopefully this patch will remedy the problem.

If you're like me and you only shoot pretty much 35mm and you need a good desktop scanner, I believe that there is nothing else out there that comes even close to this product for both value and excellence in output. Go get one now!!!

Customer Service

Nikon support is excellent! I only wish that Adobe and Macintosh were as helpfull and as free of charges.

Similar Products Used:

I've upgraded from a Nikon Coolscan II and there is absolutely no comparison except to say that the old unit belongs in the trash.

High Resolution, Crisp scans. Speed isn't too bad when not alot of features are selected (ICE, ROC, MultiSample, 14bit, FineCCD mode)

Terrible driver. It continually flakes out and quits on a Windows 2000 machine. No hint it's going to die, just goes away. TOO slow to save files to the Hard drive in batch mode. It shouldn't take 5+ minutes to write a 150MB file to the hard drive when using the fastest drives on the market and when other applications (Photoshop) can do it in 1/4 of the time if not faster.

Overall good scanner, except for the software quirks. I'm hoping Ed Hamrick supports it in the next version of Vuescan so I can dump the Nikon (POS) software.

Customer Service

Haven't Tried!

Similar Products Used:

Minolta Multi II.