In midst of 1999 we found that digital photography and the digital darkroom (deliver for print and Web) is ready for prime-time (at least for advanced budget constrained prosumers). We bought a Nikon Coolpix 950 and photography made fun again.
But compared to our work with the F2 there was something missing:
-1600x1200 is not very much for larger prints (but it is reasonable)
-the lenses are not up to good fixed lenses from Nikon and Canon
-missing lens hoods reduce image quality
-no removable lenses
-viewfinder is to small and imprecise (most consumer cameras are not
SLR). It does not really allow to do good image composition (this is my
main critique)
-most cameras don't invite to be used on a tripod
So the next logical step would be something like the new Nikon D1. But for me that camera feels like a brick.
By browsing the excellent photo site httl://www.photo.net I got the idea to buy the Nikon Coolscan LS2000 slide scanner and use my F2 and film to capture images for the digital darkroom. This works pretty well.
As my PC already had a SCSII adapter installing was very easy and working with the software too. Most of the time I use the LS2000 from inside Photoshop. Accept for a very few connection problems (ok after the next start of the program).
My first tries were capturing pictures we made more than 20 years ago.
Samples are hosted at:
The scans showed details we had never seen before. Also Photoshop allows to do corrections which were very difficult to do: color, contrast, rotate, crop and retouching. The only drawback: Utilizing the capabilities of Photoshop needs time, a lot of time and even more time. It was like going back in out photographic lives.
Of course one is never fully satisfied as the scans show all deficits of a picture down to the grain, sharpness in the corners, missing depth of field.
The digital ICE facility to remove scratches and dust works pretty well and also the multi scan enhances shadow parts significantly.
Be aware that scanning is a very time consuming process but re results are as rewarding. With negatives the batch facility (capture strips up to 6 negatives in one batch run) is a big time saver. For slides I might buy the automatic slide feeder.
If you want to use such a slide scanner for a lot of pictures be also aware of the following issues:
- a lot of disc space
- archiving the scans (or spend a lot of time again)
I also will soon look into the issue of monitor calibration.
Overall I am very content with the Nikon LS2000. I cannot compare it with other brands but I do not really care at this time because the results are just good.
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