Digital BW, The Print

I thought this would be a good place to ask about dedicated film scanners.

First of all let me say that I am very much a stickler about quality, especially sharpness as 
well as highlight and shadow detail, but at the same time I don't want to spend more than 
needed on features I may not need since I am mostly concerned about using with my 
conventional B&W 35mm negs; slides are really an after thought since I really don't have 
that many. (Man longest run on sentence i've ever constructed)   I am such a stickler for 
quality that in the past I had even considered getting a used drum scanner when I was 
considering getting into 120 format several years ago.  I've used an Epson 3200 with wet 
mounts, which works well with my 4x5's and seems to be ok with 120, but is inadequate 
for 35mm.

I am looking for a dedicated film scanner for scanning primarily 35mm B&W negs, and 
probably a few slides.  I've been doing some research and I've found that there is a lot of 
conflicting information out on the web.  I was hoping to get a scanner for around $500 or 
so, and I definitely want one that can be used with wet mounting, which probably rules out 
several good film scanners.  I've found some Minolta 5400 II's that are reconditioned, but I 
don't think they can be used with a wet mount.  What about the Nikon CS V, are those 
even still available maybe used or a refurb?  I've heard some good things about Minoltas 
and Nikons.

Someone has offered to sell me their Canon FS4000 in good working order and all 
accessories for around $500, which like the Nikons can be used with a wet mount system. 
The reviews I have read about the Canon sound very good, but it is an older scanner that is 
out of production as are most of the other reasonably priced dedicated film scanners; so it 
seems Nikon pretty much has a corner on the market, at least in the semi-reasonably 
priced range.

I had almost resigned myself to getting a Nikon 5000, although it is about twice of what I 
really wanted to spend, but I will if that will give me an edge in quality with my B&W negs; 
The largest I will be enlarging my 35 mm B&W negs will probably be about 13x19 or so.

So, with all of that in mind what scanner would you recommend?  Again, no need for many 
of the features that are designed for and only work with color slides and color film, and I 
don't mind going for used equipment as long as they have a good track record.  Also, I am 
not too concerned about speed since I usually only work with one image at a time.  I'm 
after quality not speed.

Thanks in advance for everyones input!
Randy