redbaron Posted September 15, 2009 Share #1 Posted September 15, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) Just on the off chance that the decision makers at Leica do read these threads, and presuming the results are positive, would you buy a film scanner that met Leica's standards? Obviously it would have to be high-res, 16 bit, probably around 6400 dpi. Any other suggestions? The manufacturing costs don't seem to be that high, but considering how Leica built the Pradovit, I would hope they would keep a lid on the price. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted September 15, 2009 Posted September 15, 2009 Hi redbaron, Take a look here Leica Film Scanner – Would You Buy One?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
msweeney Posted September 15, 2009 Share #2 Posted September 15, 2009 I sure would, I've used their negative enlargers before and always had a preference for those. Having a film scanner made with the same standards would be wonderful. Not that my Nikon scanner is bad, but not all things are created equal of course. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
poynterama Posted September 15, 2009 Share #3 Posted September 15, 2009 Now there's a good idea Count me in! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Maio Posted September 15, 2009 Share #4 Posted September 15, 2009 I'd certainly give it a good look. As was stated earlier, the Nikon isn't bad, but Leica optics and engineering in a scanner would be interesting. Leica has a lot of interesting stuff, e,g, Home - Leica Geosystems - Leica DISTO Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ijporter Posted September 15, 2009 Share #5 Posted September 15, 2009 I would be very interested. Since Nikon stopped production of the Coolscans, there hasn't been much of a choice and it would be great to use Leica glass and firmware that is optimised for Leica 'colours' etc. Ian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Ash Posted September 15, 2009 Share #6 Posted September 15, 2009 I had the same idea and raist this question at the LUF Meeting last summer. Sadly it was declined. Regards Steve Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cocker Posted September 15, 2009 Share #7 Posted September 15, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) Yes - provided it was a Medium Format Scanner. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
analogisch Posted September 15, 2009 Share #8 Posted September 15, 2009 Yes, I certainly would too, as it would put me in a situation to stay with my analog Ms - it gives me the freedom to decide if I rather want to go into the darkroom or develop electronically. Regards Patty Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
redbaron Posted September 15, 2009 Author Share #9 Posted September 15, 2009 Steve, why was it declined? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bernd Banken Posted September 15, 2009 Share #10 Posted September 15, 2009 Just on the off chance that the decision makers at Leica do read these threads, and presuming the results are positive, would you buy a film scanner that met Leica's standards? Obviously it would have to be high-res, 16 bit, probably around 6400 dpi. Any other suggestions? The manufacturing costs don't seem to be that high, but considering how Leica built the Pradovit, I would hope they would keep a lid on the price. Why you want to kick an open door? An Imacon would be all you want to have. Regarding the price Leica would be the same or higher I guess. But why they should attack a small market - much smaller than rangefindercameras and/or film based photography? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
UliWer Posted September 15, 2009 Share #11 Posted September 15, 2009 I had the same idea and raist this question at the LUF Meeting last summer. Sadly it was declined. Regards Steve I have heard about this statement as well. I hope they'll think twice about it. Leica's position is exactly at the interface between film and digital photography. So if there is a market for film scanners at all, it should be Leica who could cope for it. Perhaps they have to concentrate on the present products now and will think of it again later. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
redbaron Posted September 15, 2009 Author Share #12 Posted September 15, 2009 I'm fully aware that Nikon has discontinued its range of quality scanners, but Imacon's range is just too expensive and aimed more at medium format, commercial use. Something like the top end Nikon scanners seem, to me, to actually be a better fit with Leica's product range and ethos than with Nikon's. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stunsworth Posted September 15, 2009 Share #13 Posted September 15, 2009 I'm fully aware that Nikon has discontinued its range of quality scanners... Perhaps Nikon discontinued the scanners because they no longer sell well? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
redbaron Posted September 15, 2009 Author Share #14 Posted September 15, 2009 I agree that they don't sell well, or haven't for Nikon lately. But Leica is more dedicated to film cameras. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Ash Posted September 15, 2009 Share #15 Posted September 15, 2009 I have heard about this statement as well. I hope they'll think twice about it. Leica's position is exactly at the interface between film and digital photography. So if there is a market for film scanners at all, it should be Leica who could cope for it. Perhaps they have to concentrate on the present products now and will think of it again later. Actually I think the main problem with film and the highly desired hybrid work flow is to be solved by the film suppliers. High res/ high bit depth scanning is too expansive to keep film cameras competive or attractive for the end user if he is not a film enthusiast. The film makers like Kodak and Fuji should develop processing and high res scanning machines which makes the hybrid workflow much more affordable for the end user. Regards Steve Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bernd Banken Posted September 15, 2009 Share #16 Posted September 15, 2009 Steve, the (still) shrinking billions of paperprints for the global mass market is different from the few people who like filmphotography and don't like darkroom work for their fine art pics. The pros in MF are already in the digital world, so MF scanners like Imacon or whatever names have to struggle as Leica has to do with their film cameras. A slogan from Imacon is similar to "Scan your memories...." an evidence that no new pics are their target but the big amount of old existing chromes and negatives. I think it would be very smart to invest in a 9000 from Nikon because the competitors like Epson flatbeds are not able to work nearly similar and Imacons are far away for us non pros and no other maker trusts the demand. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Ash Posted September 15, 2009 Share #17 Posted September 15, 2009 Hello Bernd, myself I bought a Nikon 5000 with one additional film feeder as this is a wear part. Although I am quite happy with its quality, scanning is very time consuming and thus annoying. Maybe a flatbed scanner is good for a quick low res scan. Regards Steve Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
StS Posted September 15, 2009 Share #18 Posted September 15, 2009 (...) The film makers like Kodak and Fuji should develop processing and high res scanning machines which makes the hybrid workflow much more affordable for the end user. (...) The Fuji minilab can develop and scan the images in one go. The main challenge is typcially to convince the operator to use this feature, especially, if a higher resolution is requested. One of the reasons is the long scanning time for higher resolution (the workaround here is not to ask for an 1hr service but to give the operator time to do the job when the machine has no load). Some of them are concerned about changing the settings and not being able to set them back. Alway helpful to know a lab where the people really know their machines... Stefan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrid Posted September 15, 2009 Share #19 Posted September 15, 2009 Perhaps Nikon discontinued the scanners because they no longer sell well? Oh, they are selling alright. That's not the problem. Apparently Nikon does not want to pay for a rewrite of the software to make it work on new versions of OS X and maybe even Windoze.. I've heard the same story from two dealers. I say they should bundle Vuescan or Silverfast with them be get over it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrid Posted September 15, 2009 Share #20 Posted September 15, 2009 Oh, they are selling alright. That's not the problem. Apparently Nikon does not want to pay for a rewrite of the software to make it work on new versions of OS X and maybe even Windoze.. I've heard the same story from two dealers. I say they should bundle Vuescan or Silverfast with them and get on with it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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