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Goodbye Nikon 5000


jplomley

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I've no doubt the 9000 is the next on the chopping block.

 

What I simply cannot understand is that everytime Nikon scales up a production batch of the 5000/9000, they sell out the units very quickly. So the demand is obviously there. If the scanners are not generating enough revenue, scale up the volume. New films from Kodak (TMY-2, Ektar 100) and Fuji (Provia 400X, RVP-50) indicate film is far from dead. But if Nikon dries up, this is going to make high quality desktop scanning a thing of the past, which most certainly will hurt both film sales and Leica M analogue. Perhaps Epson will pick up the slack with a dedicated 35mm scanner. Maybe they were holding back until Nikon disappeared from this market segment.

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A very sad day indeed :(

 

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If Leica wants to continue to sell film M's, they had better introduce a scanner soon. And one we all can afford.

 

Can you imagine Leica breaking the habit of a lifetime-"And one we can all afford"- indeed

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:P I mean if they would bring out a scanner in affordable dimensions in a lower price segment.

 

But as I mentioned earlier, the word Leica and the word affordable in the same breath is a contradiction in terms

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I know this sounds like heresy, bit the scans from my Epson 750 are just as good as any I have done on a Nikon. It's a little slower, but the quality is just as good.

 

You're right, that is heresy (burn the witch!).

;-)

 

I own the 5000ED and 9000ED and also have experience with Epson and Canon flatbed units. The flatbeds are ok, but they simply do not deliver anywhere near the sharpness or dynamic range of a dedicated film scanner. You do get what you pay for with the Nikon units...

 

But you guys are right. This is a serious problem. Nikon was the last company making a high quality scanner this side of a used IMACON. We better hope that someone puts out a comparable unit (Epson? Canon? Microtek?). The inability to translate analog negs in to digital files at a reasonable cost, could have a negative impact on film sales.

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But as I mentioned earlier, the word Leica and the word affordable in the same breath is a contradiction in terms

 

My spellchecker always wants to replace 'Leica' with 'Leach'...

;-)

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Maybe Nikon just wants to simplify its products so that the 9000 answers to more (most) needs in one: MF and kino. I'd be glad if the 9000 was made in bigger amounts so that it became cheaper. On the other hand, I'm a bit disqualified to say, because I shoot MF, not all do. Nevertheless, considering all the equipment out there, if Nikon can "afford" to produce only one scanner, be it the 9000. The market of today is so twisted that you really have to make huge profits to keep something in production. Money doesn't care about culture or conservation.

 

But doesn't Minolta still make scanners?

 

And one good point is that if we can afford Leica stuff, we should also afford a proper scanner if it's necessary.

 

I myself am quite satisfied with my Polaroid Sprinscan 120, at least considering the price.

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I know that this will stir things but I got rid of my scanner recently (old and unused) and then of course needed a scan of an MF tranny. All Icould do was to copy the slide on a 5D using a lightbox as illumination to produced a raw image - which in turn reated a surprisingly usable output file (the magazine was satisfied). Perhaps this isn't the ultimate method but it does work - and I do accept that technically its not such a great solution. There might be life after scanners.

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I just spoke to my dealer about this. Apparently Nikon is killing the scanners, because they don't want to update the NikonScan software. Seems like there is some problem with an upcoming or current version of Mac OS X.

 

My friend also told me that this may be one of the dumber things Nikon has done in recent years, although Nikon is only second to Leica when it comes to shooting themself in the foot. Apparently these units are backordered from now until doomsday. Every time he gets a few units in they are sold in a heartbeat. He was pretty ticked off about the whole thing.

 

So, if that REALLY is the reason why they are killing the lineup, then it is a decision of mind boggling stupidity.

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