Digital BW, The Print

I used a Leaf for years. It's a fantastic scanner (dog slow but the quality was 
superb). Sold my about 5 years ago. I think even an old Leaf would blow the 
doors off a Nikon. 

What I'd worry about is software and spare parts. Get some bulbs (they used 
to cost $150). They do last but of course, once you can no longer get them, 
that's it. Nice scanner to use as a door stop. 

The software (Photoshop plug-in) ran in older versions of Photoshop but god 
knows how long that will last too. Adobe seems to update the Plug-In SDK 
from time to time so at some point in the future, you might need an older 
version of Photoshop just to drive the unit. I was running mine on a Mac. No 
chance of an OSX version! 

I switched to an Imacon and man, that's a sweet unit. I can make a full rez 
scan in less time then it takes for the Leaf to do a prescan. But if you are on a 
budget and don't mind the wait, the Leaf still has great quality. 

I remember seeing my first Leaf 45 back in 1991 or so. Damn thing cost $27 
grand!