- excellent quality
- 3.6 DR
- ICE3 is amazing
- detailed manual on CD
- structure

- complicated software (read summary)
- you need to play around with tools to get the best of the scanner
- Preview is slow

people have complained about some problems with the software and PC. i never had them. the scanner work absolutely fine.
it's a great scanner. I was really amazed when i saw the results of ICE3. i tested a damaged negative, and it came out awesome.
unfortunately, the software is so complicated. you have to read the frigin manual to make one scan! the manual is 153 pages, organized very nicely on a CD. it teaches very deep details (about curves and so) to get the best of your scan. if you're not a "reading" guy, you'll have a hard time. but once you learn how to use the software, you'll love the resultsi also found that the preview in my old HP is much faster than Ls40. patience is needed with this scanner.
overall, i think this scanner is a must if your budget is below $1,000. i'll take one star off for the "overall" because of the hard time it gave me at the begining.

Customer Service

not yet

Similar Products Used:

HP PhotoSmart S20

Sharp scans, good colors, good shadow detail, fast, quiet.

Software is "beta"

Used it for a week. None of the reported crashes (use a Mac!). Excellent hardware and software - basically . The Photoshop plug-in didn´t work though, said, the "basic application doesn´t have enough RAM" - i have 450 MB allocated to PS 5.5., how much does the scanner need - 2 GB? Just a bug, that will be fixed soon, i guess. Otherwise the best 35 mm scanner i ´ve ever used, but i´m going for the 4000 ED, as soon as you don´t have to wait for a month for delivery in Germany. I hope, DMax is really 4.2, as promised by Nikon.

Customer Service

No need

Similar Products Used:

Nikon LS 20
Minolta Multi I/II
Mirotek 4000t

scan sharpness--relatively easy to use--software is good once you get the hang of it.

Digital ICE only works with color images (no they don't tell you that anyplace in the manual). If you have dust or scratches, get ready to spend some time with photoshop!

Scanner and software are finally working well and if you have only color you will like the job ICE does on your images. If you have black and white, better look for another solution since ICE isn't going to be much help.

Customer Service

This is an updated review. The replacement unit had the same problems as the first unit--crashes, autofocus errors, etc. After digging around on the web I found that there might be a usb problem with my motherboard and searched for updated drivers. After a few calls to the computer manufacturer's tech support and a few downloads and upgrades, and after asking tech support to move me to a level two tech, they were able to give me a few tweaks to get the scanner working. It now works great and has not crashed at all. I should note that I added 256mb of RAM to the computer since the last review.

Similar Products Used:

None

One of the most detailed, accurate scanners I have ever seen. Fast scan times compared to others. Digital ICE, ROC, and GEM are great. I use this to restore old damaged slides - no scanner I have tried comes close. Multiple attempts - see weaknesses.

Now for the big one...

If you have a Compaq Presario with the VIA chipset and a K62, you're TOAST... it will crash on batch scan every time if you only have 128 MB RAM. I am going to double my ram and hope it works! Scanning straight to file doesn't work at all - crashes every time. Doesn't line up the film right, either. If I scan to Photoshop, it works most of the time. Sorry guys, I try to get the negs right the first time! Photoshop is an expensive, rarely-used evil, and should stay that way. Slide scanner works well, but should have a batch tray at this price. every now and again the '21 film adapter jams.

If you've got one HECK of a computer it's great. Buy lots of RAM, and pray you don't have to scan 300 negatives in an evening. You won't get very far. They need to test this scanner out with a LOT more computers, and make the software more easy to use. ICE, ROC, and GEM work great with old trashed Kodachrome slides! I just wish the engineers would LISTEN to photographers a bit more, and get their academic heads out of the clouds. Every digital component made these days (cameras, scanners, printers) seems to fall short of 100+ years of film photography. Who do you engineers think you are? stop reinventing the wheel, and calling it digital!

Customer Service

Ok, but they can't fix my problem. Runs GREAT on a 900mhz Pentium III, but I am not going to replace my old 500 K6-2 just yet.

Similar Products Used:

Kodak 3600

Outstanding resolution and color reproduction. ICE option is absolutely mind-blowing!

Software is a little un-intuitive. I have had a couple of crashes -- software patches should be available soon, I imagine.

For the price, you can't beat the results. Some have complained about the speeds, but if you have a computer with some horsepower, it's not much of an issue -- Nikon's numbers are based on scan times only, and don't count data transfer or slow software manipulation of the image due to a slow machine or low system resources. I have consistently seen scan times of under a minute with ICE turned on.

Bottom line: even if it does take longer, it is worth the wait when you see the beautiful results. I couldn't be happier with this little gem! Get one as soon as you can...

Customer Service

Haven't needed it yet...

Similar Products Used:

None

*COLOR FIDELITY*
Sharpness
DMax
Great software (Nikon scan 3)

Takes forever to scan with GEM
processing on my vintage PII/450,
224MB

At first I was amazed by its small size, heck it is even smaller than my toaster !
In less than 10 min I was done setting up and ready for scanning(This included installing
the nikon scan 3.0 software too) At 2900 dpi the scans took me almost 2 min, nowhere
near what Nikon's estimated 43 sec ! Then perhaps its my vintage PC.
Color fidelity is simply *outstanding*, though a tad dark at first. On screen the images looked exactly as the slides did when projected on a screen. I am sure the Nikkor ED glass has a part to play in it. The software is easy to use, although it takes a little
getting used to. The GEM tool is a wonder, it practically reduces even the slightest hint
of grain, very useful with color negs. The ICE feature has already been talked about in
previous reviews so I will leave that one. The 2900 dpi I hear is more than adequate for 8"x10" prints, though I haven't tested that myself. The bottom line is at the moment
this is the best scanner you can buy for this price, though it may not stay that way for
long. I give it 5 *s !

Customer Service

Didnt need any yet.

Similar Products Used:

Visioneer 7600 flat bad -- P.O.S.

Perfect quality, I would say even better than LS2000. Truly deep tonal range, outsdanding color output. It keels its neighbours.

Does not run on My Win98 PC as a standalone Nikon software. I use it as a TWAIN source.

I like it. It worth waiting so long to be on the stand. I presume 4000 brother kills all within its price.
PS: I did not notice the difference between 8 and 12 bit input handling on my monitor :)
I expect it on prints.

Similar Products Used:

Coolscan III & LS2000, CanoScan FS2710.

Solid build, Nikon Name and reliability, Ice, Rock and Gem. 2900 dpi

NONE

This scanner blows away all the others I have owned. It has never crashed or failed to give me a reliable scan. The colors come out great. I am using this on a Pent II 266 with 384 megs of ram. I waited along time for delivery but it was worth the wait.

Customer Service

Great

Similar Products Used:

HP Photosmart S20, Minolta Scan Dual, Nikon LS2000, Acer Scanwit 2740

Color accuracy
Speed
Detail
Size (it's tiny!)
Included accessories

ICE makes images slightly blurred

This is a beautiful scanner. My scans have turned out wonderfully. Side by side viewing with my slides vs. screen in PhotoShop v5 is magnificently accurate. Using this scanner with film taken on a Pentax ZX-5n and ZX-7, it has performed marvelously. I have no regrets about this purchase! BUY ONE! NOTE: Nikon Scan software does not function properly within the classic environment of Mac OS X. However, fuctioning within OS 9.1 is flawless. Installation even worked through Mac OS X! I experienced none of the difficulties in installation or setup previous users described.

Customer Service

Not needed

Similar Products Used:

UMAX PowerLook III

Absolutely wonderful! I love the ICE, GEM and ROC. I've had no experiences with computer crashes or software problems. I use Photoshop 6. Great color rendering. But I haven't used any B&W film yet. I think the previews are quick and scanning time acceptable.

None that I can think of.

If you can afford it, buy it!

Customer Service

No need.

Similar Products Used:

Kodak 3600.. piece of junk. Epson 1200U... great flatbed and medium format scanning.