Digital BW, The Print

I'd be very wary of "don't buy Product A; instead buy Product B" claims for
ANY photo equipment, especially by a camera salesperson. There are simply
too many reasons why they may be biased--manager told them to clear out a
poor-selling product..."spiffs" from the manufacturer...Microtek rep is a
swimsuit model and gave out nicer t-shirts than the Nikon rep...;-)

I can't speak for the Microtek (although David Brooks at Shutterbug seems to
love them...if you use them with Silverfast). Here's why I like the Nikon
4000, which I have owned and used heavily for 16 months now:
--I already know and trust Nikon ED glass in camera lenses, and it lives up
to its reputation here
--unless you never shoot color or T400CN/Portra BW (which is wonderful
BTW--gives speed without as much grain, plus a wonderful "creaminess" in
portraits that I love), ICE is indispensable
--included software is overall simple and clean and Photoshop-like to use
and stays out of the way when you want it to (reviews I've read of Microtek
and Polaroid seem to suggest that Silverfast is a requirement due to
not-so-great OEM software)
--great tech support the 3-4 times I've needed it
--as mentioned by someone else, very efficient batch scanning of neg strips;
add-on accessories let you do entire rolls or tons of slides
--mine came w/a full version of Genuine Fractals
--that Nikon fit and finish

My understanding is that LED light sources provide more consistent light
over their lifetimes, while cold cathode changes color or intensity over
time, requiring recalibration. As far as secondhand tales of "depth of field
problems", I doubt you'd find anyone actually using the 4000 who has
experienced this. I know I haven't.

Doug


> I'm with Julian! I have the Polaroid SS4000 - made by Microtek - it is awesome
> and it does not suffer from depth of field problems as many Nikon scanners do.
> I 
> have used Nikon scanners many times  and like the Polariod much better. The
> insides are the same as the SS4000 scanner just different covers.
> 
> Best,
> 
> John V.