[Leica] film scanners

[Francesco Sanfilippo <fls@home.com>]

I use and recommend the Nikon LS-1000 for 35mm slide scans.
Slide scans are 100% better than scanning a print from a flatbed,
and the Nikon LS-1000, along with a few other high-end scanners,
captures 12 bits and outputs the best 8 bits into the computer.
When I got the LS-1000  a few months ago, it cost me $1300 here
in San Diego, CA.  Before that, I had the LS-20, which cost $1200
when I bought it a year ago (it is now down to $900).  The LS-20
only scans 10 bits and  sends the best 8 to the computer.  The
LS-1000 also has a higher capacity to read information from
shadows and highlights than most scanners, including the LS-20.
When I converted to the LS-1000 from the LS-20, I rescaned a few
of my old slides I had scanned with the LS-20 and was shocked at
the HUGE difference in quality.  GET THE LS-1000 if you can afford
it at around $1500.....it is worth the price.  As someone else said, if
you can afford a Leica and you want Leica quality, then you can afford
a Nikon LS-1000 and you want the quality it offers.

Another note.....the scan software provided by Nikon is good, but 
primitive.
I recommend SilverFast, made by LaserSoft, a German company.  Their
website is at http://www.lasersoft.de/ and you can download a free trial
version of the SilverFast plugin for Photoshop.  It blows NikonScan out
of the water.  Instead of Nikon's simple, childlike interface for overly 
general
color corrections, the SilverFast software comes with a full-blown, 
Photoshop
style selection of color correcting tools.  I prescan a slide, set the lamp 
brightness (VERY useful feature), set the gamma, set the white and
black points, selectively adjust each color channel, adjust saturation,
choose my image size, and scan away.  A 20-30MB scan takes 30
seconds on a Pentium 166 with 80MB of RAM.  All these plugin features
are better to use than the same ones in Photoshop.  The more color
correction you can pull off BEFORE the scan, and the LESS touchup
and adjustment you can do AFTER the scan in Photoshop, the better.

My redesigned website will have examples of high-quality slide scanning.
My goal is to produce an image on screen that approaches the quality
of the original slide as closely as technically possible.  Most people have
never seen online images this sharp, clear, and beautiful. The redesign
of my site will be complete by Christmas. Check it out in a few days......
(PS...the server is down over the weekend for hard drive upgrades)

Francesco
Five Senses Productions
http://www.5senses.com/
fls@home.com