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Minolta 5400 film scanner vs Nikon V ED

Minolta 5400 film scanner vs Nikon V ED

2005-03-17 by aderca@sbcglobal.net

I will be upgrading my film scanner soon and have more or less
settled on the two models above. 4000 dpi is plentiful for what I need
but the 4.8 dynamic range (as purported by Konica-Minolta) is what
caught my attention. Can this claim be substantiated ? Anybody have
an idea how the two machines compare in terms of speed?
I will be using Vuescan, am not setting much hope on the prepackaged
software, all the scanners that I've used so far were lacking in that respect.
Silverfast is nice but a bit expensive in the Ai version, at least for what I
can afford.
Any comments would be greatly appreciated

Regards

Andrei

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Re: Minolta 5400 film scanner vs Nikon V ED

2005-03-17 by Djon

The 5400 is evidently discontinued (no announcement on the Konica
Minolta website... inventories are vanishing). If you shop you can
probably find one for $600, same price as the II. 

The comparison might best be between the 5400-II and the Nikon V, or
the Nikon 5000.

The 5400-II is *at least* twice as fast as the 5400. 

The new version has one light, like the Nikon, not three like the
5400. It doesn't have the built-in Scanhancer diffuser that the 5400
had, but might not have benefitted from one because of the
arguably-improved light source. 

The strip carrier is new on the 5400-II.. full frame, nicely made. 

I can't make a B&W comparison because I don't have a Nikon or an old
5400...but the II does reach deep into shadows and does well with B&W
using the Minolta scanning application. 



--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, <aderca@s...> wrote:
> I will be upgrading my film scanner soon and have more or less
> settled on the two models above. 4000 dpi is plentiful for what I need
> but the 4.8 dynamic range (as purported by Konica-Minolta) is what
> caught my attention. Can this claim be substantiated ? Anybody have
> an idea how the two machines compare in terms of speed?
> I will be using Vuescan, am not setting much hope on the prepackaged
> software, all the scanners that I've used so far were lacking in
that respect.
> Silverfast is nice but a bit expensive in the Ai version, at least
for what I
Show quoted textHide quoted text
> can afford.
> Any comments would be greatly appreciated
> 
> Regards
> 
> Andrei
> 
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Re: [Digital BW] Minolta 5400 film scanner vs Nikon V ED

2005-03-18 by Sam McCandless

At 3:39 PM -0500 3/17/05, <aderca@...> wrote:
>I will be upgrading my film scanner soon

Me too, unless Minolta keeps us waiting for version three of the 540o 
(5400-III?).


>and have more or less
>settled on the two models above.

Assuming you meant the Minolta 5400-II, so have I except that I 
believe I thought the Nikon 5000 (misleading name) is a better match 
for the Minolta 5400-II than the Nikon V is. The bigger question, of 
course, is how the Minolta "5400-III" will compare, and whether to 
wait for it to be reviewed or take the lower price on the 5400-II.


>  4000 dpi is plentiful for what I need

Not for me, so in my case, that's a sizeable plus for the 5400 - if 
the samples-per-inch differences imply higher resolution.


>but the 4.8 dynamic range (as purported by Konica-Minolta) is what
>caught my attention. Can this claim be substantiated ?

My impression is that the manufacturers (not just K-M) don't even try 
even to explain, much less substantiate, their dynamic-range claims.


>Anybody have an idea how the two machines compare in terms of speed?

I don't. I assume that Nikon's 9000 would, because of its FireWire 
connection, be appreciably faster than the others, but I haven't been 
able to persuade myself that's worth the additional expense to me. 
And if the 5400's speed increased in going from II to III, maybe it 
will again?


>I will be using Vuescan, am not setting much hope on the prepackaged
>software, all the scanners that I've used so far were lacking in that respect.
>Silverfast is nice but a bit expensive in the Ai version, at least for what I
>can afford.

It was bundled with my other scanners, but I'm not sure I'll upgrade 
it; I think I'll go with VueScan too.


>Any comments would be greatly appreciated

I've heard that Mac users have a harder time working with the Nikons 
and with getting Nikon's attention, and that's a big minus for me.

I found the best price, $544.21 ($553.58 w/shipping to Northern 
California) for the Minolta 5400-II at TechOnWeb.com, which I've 
never heard of and on which I'd like some reports.


>Regards
>
>Andrei
--
Sam

Re: [Digital BW] Minolta 5400 film scanner vs Nikon V ED

2005-03-18 by aderca@sbcglobal.net

Thanks for your comments Sam, also to Djon for his.
As far as Techonweb is concerned, I get my printer paper
from there- for what it's worth, have not had any issues.
Try doing a search on www.resellerratings.com and see
what you come up with.

Regards

Andrei
Show quoted textHide quoted text
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Sam McCandless 
  To: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com 
  Sent: Thursday, March 17, 2005 9:52 PM
  Subject: Re: [Digital BW] Minolta 5400 film scanner vs Nikon V ED


  At 3:39 PM -0500 3/17/05, <aderca@...> wrote:
  >I will be upgrading my film scanner soon

  Me too, unless Minolta keeps us waiting for version three of the 540o 
  (5400-III?).


  >and have more or less
  >settled on the two models above.

  Assuming you meant the Minolta 5400-II, so have I except that I 
  believe I thought the Nikon 5000 (misleading name) is a better match 
  for the Minolta 5400-II than the Nikon V is. The bigger question, of 
  course, is how the Minolta "5400-III" will compare, and whether to 
  wait for it to be reviewed or take the lower price on the 5400-II.


  >  4000 dpi is plentiful for what I need

  Not for me, so in my case, that's a sizeable plus for the 5400 - if 
  the samples-per-inch differences imply higher resolution.


  >but the 4.8 dynamic range (as purported by Konica-Minolta) is what
  >caught my attention. Can this claim be substantiated ?

  My impression is that the manufacturers (not just K-M) don't even try 
  even to explain, much less substantiate, their dynamic-range claims.


  >Anybody have an idea how the two machines compare in terms of speed?

  I don't. I assume that Nikon's 9000 would, because of its FireWire 
  connection, be appreciably faster than the others, but I haven't been 
  able to persuade myself that's worth the additional expense to me. 
  And if the 5400's speed increased in going from II to III, maybe it 
  will again?


  >I will be using Vuescan, am not setting much hope on the prepackaged
  >software, all the scanners that I've used so far were lacking in that respect.
  >Silverfast is nice but a bit expensive in the Ai version, at least for what I
  >can afford.

  It was bundled with my other scanners, but I'm not sure I'll upgrade 
  it; I think I'll go with VueScan too.


  >Any comments would be greatly appreciated

  I've heard that Mac users have a harder time working with the Nikons 
  and with getting Nikon's attention, and that's a big minus for me.

  I found the best price, $544.21 ($553.58 w/shipping to Northern 
  California) for the Minolta 5400-II at TechOnWeb.com, which I've 
  never heard of and on which I'd like some reports.


  >Regards
  >
  >Andrei
  --
  Sam


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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Polaroid Sprintscan 4000 in need of repair

2005-03-18 by Stephen Jennings

My old Polaroid Sprintscan is in need of some attention.  Any 
suggestions where I can have it worked on?


S T E P H E N   J E N N I N G S
         P  h  o  t  o  g  r  a  p  h  e  r
474 Broadway 8
Cambridge, MA 02138
617.491.9661
www.stephenjennings.com
sgjennin@...

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