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Nikon LS-2000 Super CoolScan Film Scanner (PC/Mac)

Nikon LS-2000 Super CoolScan Film Scanner (PC/Mac)

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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: What support?????
Review: I have had the same problems with my scanner as others have had. Starts off by making wonderful scans. Then after a while scans become a little foggy. Try calling Nikon to have a tech assist me or info to send the scanner to be checked out was drawn out and frustrating. I cant believe that Nikon, a world leader, has such...poor customer service. I bought Nikon becasue of all the wonderful things I had heard about the company, but when it comes to support, forget it. I hate to use such harsh words, but they simply [is bad]. Here I sit with a scanner that makes foggy scans and NO ONE to assist me. $2000 for this? I've been taken, but I only get taken once. I will spread the word and hope others who are in a similar situation will do the same. It's simply not fair.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Super Scanner
Review: I have sampled scans from other sources and find the LS 2000 to be tops. Granted, I haven't tried drum scans, but in my experience they're not needed for my 35mm transparencies or negatives. The equipment is relatively simple to use and has been mostly bug free. I haven't come across anything I wasn't able to take care of myself.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Very Poor Tech Support !!
Review: I have to say that when the scanner works, it works beautiful and when it doesn't it becomes a total mystery. You start to receive funny error messages like "Cannot focus on slide" or the screw is still in the unit. Tech support is gravely lacking ! They took away the discussion board which really helped, so now you have to call tech support.

I love the unit when it works, I also have the 50 slide feeder which works 97% of the time. The software and tech support need to be upgraded.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Very Poor Tech Support !!
Review: I have to say that when the scanner works, it works beautiful and when it doesn't it becomes a total mystery. You start to receive funny error messages like "Cannot focus on slide" or the screw is still in the unit. Tech support is gravely lacking ! They took away the discussion board which really helped, so now you have to call tech support.

I love the unit when it works, I also have the 50 slide feeder which works 97% of the time. The software and tech support need to be upgraded.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: never a problem and excellent support (my experience)
Review: I see where others seem to have problems with this scanner and Nikon's support. My experience has been excellent. The folks who have had "fogging" experiences probably had dust on the lens... left the door open without an attachment in the access slot. The other problems were probably from not following the user guide and moving the machine without the transport screws in place. (very explicit instructions) The automatic functions work if one sets it in software. Nikon has improved their software to be very intuitive and there is a variety of ways to make adjustments now. When they put out the new LS-4000 and 8000 scanners with new software, they made the software compatible with the LS-2000 scanner too. It's compatable with all the new computer operating systems which the other manufacturers (so I've heard from users) haven't done. I have never had any problems with this scanner but when I needed service with a different Nikon product, I did a search for service and found it right away. When I have called customer service (24/7) toll-free number and went through "voice maze" to get to the right department, was on hold for about a half minute before I got to talk to a real person. I asked my question and she asked me to hold while she found an answer. She was back on the phone with my answer in a few seconds. Other calls to their customer service had the same sort of results. I can't speak for the experiences of others but mine was excellent. When I upgraded from the LS-2000 I bought an LS-4000.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: never a problem and excellent support (my experience)
Review: I see where others seem to have problems with this scanner and Nikon's support. My experience has been excellent. The folks who have had "fogging" experiences probably had dust on the lens... left the door open without an attachment in the access slot. The other problems were probably from not following the user guide and moving the machine without the transport screws in place. (very explicit instructions) The automatic functions work if one sets it in software. Nikon has improved their software to be very intuitive and there is a variety of ways to make adjustments now. When they put out the new LS-4000 and 8000 scanners with new software, they made the software compatible with the LS-2000 scanner too. It's compatable with all the new computer operating systems which the other manufacturers (so I've heard from users) haven't done. I have never had any problems with this scanner but when I needed service with a different Nikon product, I did a search for service and found it right away. When I have called customer service (24/7) toll-free number and went through "voice maze" to get to the right department, was on hold for about a half minute before I got to talk to a real person. I asked my question and she asked me to hold while she found an answer. She was back on the phone with my answer in a few seconds. Other calls to their customer service had the same sort of results. I can't speak for the experiences of others but mine was excellent. When I upgraded from the LS-2000 I bought an LS-4000.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Makes outstanding scans, though slide feeder is clunky
Review: I shoot a lot of slide film, and instead of getting a digital camera I decided to buy this scanner because it generates such high quality scans. Setup was fairly easy once I downloaded the latest Windows 2000 drivers from Nikon's US website (you have to dig around their convoluted site to find it). The Nikon Scan software contains all the basic controls to allow you to adjust levels to your satisfaction. The CleanImage feature is amazing! If you have any scratches, smudges, or other such blemishes on your film, the CleanImage function will get rid of them 9 times out of 10. At the highest settings (12 bit) the scans from my slides come out wonderful, and the resulting files are large (around 50MB) but great for archiving your slides digitally. The Nikon Scan software does so much that you don't have to open up Photoshop unless you really want to tinker with the photo for use on the web or with other artwork.

Now for the negatives. The documentation is not very thorough. If you want to learn the ins and outs of every function and menu of the Nikon Scan software, you'll have to consult the websites of some powerusers. The slide feeder, which I also bought, is a bit clumsy. I haven't had any huge problems with it yet, but its construction certainly doesn't inspire a lot of faith. Also, you have to sit their and use the software to advance to the next slide, so it isn't as automated as you think. You can't pop 50 slides in, adjust all the settings, and come back the next day to fifty completed scans. And finally, as others have noted, Nikon's tech support is extremely weak.

All in all, I think this is a great scanner for the serious photographer who wants to generate high quality scans without spending a fortune on drum scans. Those who just wish to get usable scans to post on web pages should go with a lower cost scanner or have their local photo shop transfer their photos to a Kodak Photo CD.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Best hardware for slide scanning
Review: I work for a doctor that lectures around the nation. Two years ago, he decided to go digital. That meant scanning all his 35mm slides and preparing them for PowerPoint. I checked out all the flat-bed scanners with the attachments for slide scanning, and finally decided that purchasing two scanners (one flatbed and one for slides) was the best way to go. I never regret that decision. We have scanned over 6,000 slides and still plan to be doing more. Here's a hint for those needing to do a large amount of scanning - buy the automatic slide feeder and then write your own batch commands in PhotoShop to save yourself repetitive work (like rotating the slides 90 degrees, saving them etc). I have also found that the scan quality is better than some of those scanners promoted to be the top of the class.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Best hardware for slide scanning
Review: I work for a doctor that lectures around the nation. Two years ago, he decided to go digital. That meant scanning all his 35mm slides and preparing them for PowerPoint. I checked out all the flat-bed scanners with the attachments for slide scanning, and finally decided that purchasing two scanners (one flatbed and one for slides) was the best way to go. I never regret that decision. We have scanned over 6,000 slides and still plan to be doing more. Here's a hint for those needing to do a large amount of scanning - buy the automatic slide feeder and then write your own batch commands in PhotoShop to save yourself repetitive work (like rotating the slides 90 degrees, saving them etc). I have also found that the scan quality is better than some of those scanners promoted to be the top of the class.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Love It!
Review: The best scanner for 35mm shooters in the market place. The quality is great. It's works well with negatives & slides, it's easy to use, and has great production features!


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