Film Scanner for IMac? Which is best to use

zephyrzar

I am looking into to getting a film scanner to transfer all my 35mm black/white and color film to my computer. I have heard that the Nikon Coolscan 4000 or 5000 has problems with the IMac. I was wondering if anyone could recommend a film scanner compatible with the mac? Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you
zephyrzar :dunno

Art Scott

Heidelberg on ebay....Heidelberg is the best

Comes with own PC windows based system............

iotashan

zephyrzar wrote:

I am looking into to getting a film scanner to transfer all my 35mm black/white and color film to my computer. I have heard that the Nikon Coolscan 4000 or 5000 has problems with the IMac. I was wondering if anyone could recommend a film scanner compatible with the mac? Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you
zephyrzar

I suggest buying the scanner from Amazon and trying it yourself. They have a pretty generous return policy.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=coolscan&x=0&y=0

http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=901888&#general

zephyrzar

Thank you for your suggestions.

ziggy53

zephyrzar wrote:

I am looking into to getting a film scanner to transfer all my 35mm black/white and color film to my computer. I have heard that the Nikon Coolscan 4000 or 5000 has problems with the IMac. I was wondering if anyone could recommend a film scanner compatible with the mac? Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you
zephyrzar

Many people prefer "VueScan" software instead of the stuff supplied by the manufacturer and VueScan is available for the Macs and most Mac OSs (OS 9 through OS X 10.5):

http://www.hamrick.com/vsm.html

P.S. Both of the Nikon scanners you mentioned are likewise supported.

zephyrzar

I will look into that. Thank you.

ziggy53 wrote:

Many people prefer "VueScan" software instead of the stuff supplied by the manufacturer and VueScan is available for the Macs and most Mac OSs (OS 9 through OS X 10.5):

http://www.hamrick.com/vsm.html

P.S. Both of the Nikon scanners you mentioned are likewise supported.

colourbox

I have the Coolscan 5000. In my experience the hardware does not have any problem with the Mac (I have a Mac Pro). If there is a problem, it is with the Nikon software, which often does not keep pace with OS X. I think that's a big reason a lot of people drive these scanners with VueScan as ziggy53 mentioned. I also use VueScan instead of the Nikon software.

But VueScan is additional cost and not quite as friendly looking as NikonScan. I would say you get the scanner, and if the Nikon software's working fine, just go with that. If you have lots of problems then you might try VueScan. Or Silverfast, but that's even more money.

redleash

I am using the Epson Perfection 500 photo scanner and I really like it. It offers a standard "home" setting and also a Pro setting that allows you to manage the resolution, color, etc.--I haven't figured out all its bells and whistles yet. I have had some really good luck scanning some 50-year-old slides and negatives, both color and B&W, with mostly excellent results.

It does prints, slides, and negatives and I find the software pretty easy to use. I'm using it with an iMac on a USB port and haven't had any problems. Well, the only problems have been with super scratched negatives--they just weren't in good enough shape to use. But with decent slide or negs, I've been able to get some nice-looking digital files, after some cleaning up in Aperture or PS to clone out scratches.

I've been especially pleased with the color capture from these old films. Here's one I got from a 1961 color slide:

colourbox

I've always used the Nikon film scanners with my Macs, but yes, the reviews I've seen of the film scanning capabilities of the latest Epson flatbeds are quite positive. Take this review for instance.

What it comes down to is what you are scanning for. If you have a modest budget and want to make some good prints, the Epson 500 ($200) should be great and economical. If you are making midrange pro scans for very large prints, a good dedicated film scanner like a Nikon ($1000+) is a step up, with the Imacon scanners a distinct level above that. If you have the most demanding requirements, critical jobs requiring the utmost in dynamic range and color fidelity, like a prominent coffee table book, then you would get them drum scanned on something like the Heidelberg above, a machine most ordinary people could not afford and probably don't have room in the house for.