filmscanners: Nikon Scanners, DOF and focus settings (was: VueScan 7.2.11 Available)

[Ralf Schmode <rschmode@gmx.net>]

Rob Geraghty schrieb:
 
> OK, but having reviewed your web page, you're only talking about colour
> negative strips in the motorised SA20 adapter.  The way the adapter
> operates - pulling the strip the whole way in to measure the number of
> frames, then feeding it back out when you scan frame 1 - tends to make the
> end of the strip curl longitudinally.  What this means for me in practice
is
> I get a scan which is 3/4 in focus and 1/4 out of focus at one end.  This
is
> the *only* kind of noticeable problem I've had with DOF and my LS30

Hi, Rob,

after so many people stating that *all* Nikon filmscanners allegedly have
that DOF problem, it is good to read from someone else who in fact *is* able to
get edge-to-edge sharp scans out of a Nikon. My perception with the LS-30 is
just as you said - I have used the motor feeder for my first couple of
strips which seemed awfully bent and the perforation damaged when exiting the
feeder, and I have used the manual feeder ever since. With my 100° and 400° neg
film scans there's film grain visible from corner to corner. Moreover, I
usually have my films cut into strips of four and leave them in the bag for a
couple of days prior to scanning which significantly reduces curl.

OTOH, my guess is that the "improved" glass optics of Nikon's newer models
might be adding to the DOF problem. If I have to replace my LS-30 (which is
still uncertain because the "damage assessment" is not complete yet - the Nikon
service *refuse* to sell spare parts, the plastic lenses in the CCD unit in
my case, so I had to hand it over to the local service), I'll probably change
my opinion and go for Minolta's Scan Elite II. My LS-30 has served me quite
well for the time I had it, but the hearsay about Nikon's LS-40 and the
behaviour of their service really doesn't encourage me to go with Nikon again.

Best regards -

Ralf