I Upgraded an Old Nikon Film Photography Scanner. . .

[@PrimevilKneivel]

This is odd timing. I just cleaned out my dad's apartment and he had one of those. I almost got rid of it, but something made me hold on to it even though I don't shoot film. Thanks for showing how to make it useful. Even if I don't keep it it's nice to know I can point someone to this for instructions.

[@nickschraml]

It's a very good scanner, even if you won't use it, if any of your friends or family shoot film, or if your dad has old film negatives or slides, it's worth keeping

[@Fred-q1x]

In Australia these sell for a really high price.

[@AspectRatioPolice]

I love the 4000 Firewire, got a Mac G4 for $30 and used that instead than a PC

[@c.augustin]

I would use something like Kim Wipes and Isopropanol to clean the mirror, definitely *not* a microfiber cloth, for more regular cleaning. Maybe using Silverfast from the get-go might be faster and easier regarding the Windows 11 installation process. On a Mac it might be the only option.

[@nickschraml]

Microfibre cloths should be fine to us as long as there isn’t any dirt on it. I’ll have to check if silver fast supports the coolscan. I hate that silver fast binds itself to a single scanner tho

[@mortenthorpe]

You could most likely have bought an official Apple FireWire to Thunderbolt adapter, and you’d be good to go with thunderbolt and usb-c in the computer … also works for portables, where your current setup is not an option

[@nickschraml]

This FireWire card was only about $15, pretty cheap method imo

[@lohikarhu734]

I guess that I'll use Vuescan:-) On a Mac:-)

[@nickschraml]

If you’re on Mac than yeah, I’d stick to Vuescan

[@killpop8255]

Interesting when I look at old digital backs for my camera , often they list ' no FireWire cable' and I thought this was a Mac thing and out of date.

[@just_eirik]

Do you have access to like a 51mp GFX and a macro lens? It would be really interesting to see a comparison between a setup like that and the Nikon scanner.

[@nickschraml]

No I wish, all I've got is the A7iv with its 33mp sensor, no appropriate macro lens unfortunately.

[@just_eirik]

@@nickschraml I mean that’s an amazing sensor I think.

[@nickschraml]

It's a solid sensor, but not anything super unique, what I would really like to do is to try scanning some film with a Phase One...that would make for a very interesting video

[@just_eirik]

@@nickschraml I'd watch that! :D

[@sv1201]

Film grain will be a major problem in such a comparison.

[@b0ss__li]

Interesting 😮

[@Vexisu]

I love your videos soooo much. I recently started a journey with b&w analog photography. The idea of having own scanner is so appealing, but I have next to nothing knowledge, other than Coolscans are non-existing in my region lol. I also have an idea to make a 3D printable developing tank that will not require a tent to load the film. If you're capable of printing 3D models, I'd really love to hear your opinion about it, or any suggestions for changes :D

[@nickschraml]

Have you looked into how the developer chemicals and temperature might affect the 3D printer filament? I know that PLA doesn’t do very well with warm temperatures, I’d be worried about it leaching into the development process and affecting it somehow

[@Vexisu]

PLA should be okay for developing b&w silver negatives. Chemicals aren't that reactive and it is developed in room temperature water. For C42 process I would probably print with PETG.

[@Vexisu]

C41* (I'm not able to edit from web browser on phone lol)

[@nickschraml]

Interesting, I haven't tried developing my own film yet so that's good to know. If you'd like immediate feedback on your design though I'd head over to www.reddit.com/r/AnalogCommunity/ I'm sure they'd love to give some feedback on it

[@christopherbittles2570]

do you prefer the iv or the 4000. do you notice a difference in picture quality?

[@nickschraml]

I haven’t ran a comparison scan between the two since in theory the 4000 has way better specs (higher resolution, dmax, and bit depth), but the big thing for me is the 4000 can scan an entire roll whereas the iv is limited to one strip at a time

[@Marty_TV]

I had a problem where the colors were terrible when converting, now i try to scan it as a positive and convert in negative lab pro. Did any of ypu have the same issue

[@nickschraml]

Typically poor color rendition is due to an improper white balance on the scanner

[@RZN]

Doodee Edit: the 6:03 got me

[@Moonrakerd]

now how do you cut a hole in the back for sa30 to work properly and install custom fw from git ? :D Im yet to try it with my coolscan V

[@nickschraml]

Fortunately I don't need to do that because the 4000 is designed to pass the film through it, maybe that's a mod I can look at doing on my iv

[@Moonrakerd]

@@nickschraml they just so many of the same

[@sv1201]

Honestly, I don't see much difference in sharpness, just the color which means nothing.

[@coloradofotomatt]

What is Windows? Asking for a Mac guy.

[@nickschraml]

It's a series of mistakes wrapped up and running under an x86 based kernel

[@coloradofotomatt]

@@nickschraml 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@Gman1044]

It's a computer for grown ups.

[@c.augustin]

@@Gman1044 No, it's a computer for those who don't mind buying and using crap or are forced to use it anyways. Or for those who are into gaming …

[@Coconut7403]

Why not scan with a camera? I find the quality of a modern camera with a good macro is far superior to any normal scanner. Maybe not the hasselblad stuff. I would actually find it super interesting to build an automatic film advancer for scanning with a camera.

[@Coconut7403]

@@jpjast5739 I have used both and compared the results and the difference is minimal especially when using such an old scanner that is shown in the video. And I stated in the comment that it is my opinion. The scanner is from before the 2010s...

[@Coconut7403]

​@@jpjast5739 there is a reason why he uses the big white borders around the image he scanned

[@nickschraml]

I use the big white borders because the image is a different aspect ratio than the video, I’ve put the scanned files up for download in the video description so if you want to pixel peep them you’re free to do so.

[@Coconut7403]

​@@jpjast5739Interesting, my comments aren't showing up. Of course real professionals use scanners that exceed the quality of dslrs. That is why I wrote normal scanners and with the context of this video very old scanners. If one wants results that are perfect one does not use (35mm) film. Dust is also not a problem if you just keep your setup clean. Scratches I admit are more difficult to handle. But if you scratch your negatives you are doing something wrong. If you have a good setup and stack exposures you can easily achieve the results of this scanner. And I don't get why you get so pissy and whiny if someone makes non offensive comments...

[@lohikarhu734]

Right... the DPI on the coolscan are real 4-colout pixels, NOT Bayer Matrix pseudo-pixels. And an automatic slide feeder And Multi-Pass scanning with Vuescan And...

[@LooptheLoop]

First

[@RZN]

You are what’s wrong with KZbin Chris