[filmscanners] Re: Where can I actually *buy* an Nikon 8000ED?

["Arthur Entlich" <artistic-1@shaw.ca>]

Moreno Polloni wrote:

 >>If a drum scanner isn't in your future, consider the
 >>Polaroid 120 for
 >>medium format films.  Reports I have received
 >>indicate it neither
 >>suffers from banding or soft edges.  Some people
 >>here could tell you
 >>more about their experiences with it.  However, it
 >>does not have dICE or
 >>any clone of it, so if you treat your film poorly,
 >>you might find it more
 >>labor intensive without the use of an IR channel and
 >>IR defect removal.
 >>
 >>Art
 >>
 >
 >
 > You sure have a lot of opinions, but it doesn't sound like you've
used any
 > of the scanners you mention. You also go on to recommend the worst
scanner
 > of the bunch. Go figure.
 >
 >

Yeap, I have a lot of informed opinions.  I'm going to open this
question up on the newsgroup for people who have used one or both, as
well let's include the newest Minolta Pro, which has been getting some
positive reviews.

UPDATE: I notice I didn't even have to post this... some people are
already commenting.

I haven't heard of many people returning the Polaroids for the LS-8000
Nikons, but maybe you can provide that for us.  I know that several have
made the opposite choice, however.  Maybe they are all just stupid.
I'm pleased for you that you have chosen to put up with a product that
has known design defects which haven't been corrected, by a company that
denied the problem even existed, at first.  I also happy you selected to
own a product that is basically unavailable in most stores.  Gee, after
a year I guess Nikon still can't keep up with the demand, eh, like the
new Volkswagen bug... waiting lists for years.

When I first pointed out that these scanners suffered from poor depth
of field and banding, I was told (maybe even by you) that I didn't know
what I'm talking about... how could I know that?  The model was just
hitting the store shelves.  Big Surprise... I was in communication with
a beta tester.  I waited until after this person was out of
nondisclosure to report the problem.

Guess what else, the production models have the exact same problem.
Confirmed by almost every person I know of who owns one on this list.

People told me the reason the LS-8000 was difficult to come by months
after it was released was because Nikon was trying to "make a shortage
to increase publicity and demand and keep prices up"... well now its
been out for many months, and it STILL can't be found.  That's a strange
business model. Could it be that Nikon keeps on recycling the same units
as they get returned??? (That's hopefully a joke).

I'll give Nikon the benefit of the doubt... maybe they are trying to
figure out how to fix these problems before making more of them, that
would be a responsible thing to do, eh?

Oh, and by the way, are you challenging me as to the reason why the
Nikon LS-8000 suffers from banding?  Are you perhaps suggesting the
published examples are, what?  a figment of my imagination?  Maybe the
problem isn't that I'm too opinionated, but that you have selective vision.

So, let the owners of Polaroid SS120 speak.  Hopefully, some who
exchanged LS-8000 for it will have something to say also, or perhaps
their "opinions" will also be invalid to you.

UPDATE: Some already have.

That the Nikon LS-8000 has the perceptually sharpest center of the frame
of all the medium format CCD scanner models, I will not argue with you.
I say perceptually, because it is known that Nikon's lighting source
tends to amplify grain (as well as dirt, dust and scratches).  And those
things are what most people look for when they speak about sharpness.
Further, apparently SOME Nikon models used electronic sharpening in
certain modes (when dICE wasn't in use).

Let the games begin...

Art





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