Nikon vs. Minolta scanners?

[Scott]

Hi all,

I'm torn between the Nikon Coolscan V and the Minolta DS IV. I was
wondering about two things.

First: how good is the 'digital grain dissolver' of Minolta?
Second: if you are not concerned about old negs, is ICE useful?

So I'm looking to see if the 2x price factor of the Nikon is justified.
I won't be scanning in old slides or negs, it's all relatively new stuff.
Looking for ideas.

Thanks to all,
Scott

 

[Raphael Bustin]

Hi all,

I'm torn between the Nikon Coolscan V and the Minolta DS IV. I was
wondering about two things.

First: how good is the 'digital grain dissolver' of Minolta?
Second: if you are not concerned about old negs, is ICE useful?

So I'm looking to see if the 2x price factor of the Nikon is justified.
I won't be scanning in old slides or negs, it's all relatively new stuff.
Looking for ideas.

I've found that even newly-processed film generally
involves some cleanup and spotting -- unless you
have dICE.

Before I had access to dICE, I pretty much dismissed
it as a gimmick and unnecessary. All that changed
once I started using it on my LS-8000. It's damned
near magic, IMO. I see no loss of sharpness from
using it, and it has saved me countless hours of
cleanup in Photoshop.

And now... scanning 4x5 film on a scanner that
doesn't have dICE, I *really* miss it.


rafe b.
http://www.terrapinphoto.com

 

[Bart van der Wolf]

SNIP

First: how good is the 'digital grain dissolver' of Minolta?

I have an example on my DSE5400 pages
(http://www.xs4all.nl/~bvdwolf/main/foto/scan/se5400/se5400.htm example 5.).
Although different scanner resolutions and lightsources influence the
result, I feel it does a tremendous job although at the inevitable expense
of more than doubling the scan time.

Second: if you are not concerned about old negs, is ICE useful?

Yes, although the Grain dissolver also helps to reduce scratches and dirt.

Bart