filmscanners: Light Source (Nikon LS40 vs. Minolta Scan Elite II)

[bloeser@zid.tuwien.ac.at (Friedrich Bloeser)]

Until recently I had planned to purchase the Nikon LS40 Coolscan IV
filmscanner. But now that I had learned of the brand-new Minolta
Dimage Scan Elite II, I have to think this decision all over.

There are a few features in favor of the Minolta:
- color depth 48bit vs. 36bit (I don't know if this is relevant for
  an amateur),
- multi-pass scanning (Nikon only with VueScan),
- batch-scanning of four mounted slides.

While every manufacturer except Nikon seems to use a fluorescent
lamp as light source, the Nikon scanner comes with a RGB LED array.
Does one type of light source have advantages over the other?

Thanks,
-fritz