Used Nikon LS-50 vs. New Plustek Opticfilm 7600iAi

Sean · Mar 7, 2011

I need something to scan 35mm color neg at decent quality. My choices in NZ are not the greatest. There is a used coolscan ls-50 in good shape (I am still confused about what model this is in the US? Is it basically a 4000?), but for nearly the same price there is the Plustek. Or, should I forget scanning all together and get a local lab to do imacon scans at $4 a frame? There will be some hassle involved in outsourcing scans but if it is THAT much better I am open to it. I am mainly scanning for web and maybe some quality 8x12 prints. My work always leans toward the subject matter side and not the technical side, so decent scans should probably cover it. I need to make a decision in about 7hrs (that is my window on the used nikon). I know the Plustek has multi pass technology where the nikon is a single pass, but apparently the Nikon with vuescan can emulate this? I'm slightly worried over a used scanner if it were to have issues. I also can't seem to find if Plustek has any "ICE" functions, or is this something that can be done with 3rd party software anyway? Thanks!

gmikol · Mar 7, 2011

The LS-50 was the "Coolscan V" in the US. It's a slightly down-market LS-5000, but I'm not sure exactly what the differences are, beyond that it doesn't take the roll feeder (SA-30).

I tested the older Plustek 7500i, and it's a decent scanner. It can achieve ~4000 DPI in 7200DPI mode (but then you have to down-sample, of course). Bundled with SilverFast it it probably makes a decent scanner. But it doesn't have AF, nor multi-sampling (I believe the LS-50 does, though it's not critical for C-41 due to relatively low densities). Each frame has to be advanced individually, vs. 6-frame strips with the SA-21 on the Nikon. Plustek doesn't have ICE, per se, but it does support SilverFast's iSRD, which is an IR-based scratch and dust removal.

It's kind of a toss-up between the 2...different pluses and minuses. Sorry I can't make a firm recommendation, though.

You said something about a local lab? What about getting them scanned at 2000 DPI on a Noritsu or Frontier minilab? This is what Costco (membership-discount store) or Target (discount department store) around here does at the time of development...not sure if they'll do it after the fact. My local lab (Portland, OR USA) charges $7.50 a roll (if they're uncut) for this service, either at development or after. Some may offer 4000 DPI scanning...2000 DPI isn't quite enough for an 8x12, but certainly enough for web use or smaller prints.

Good luck...

--Greg

Sean · Mar 7, 2011

gmikol said:
The LS-50 was the "Coolscan V" in the US. It's a slightly down-market LS-5000, but I'm not sure exactly what the differences are, beyond that it doesn't take the roll feeder (SA-30).

I tested the older Plustek 7500i, and it's a decent scanner. It can achieve ~4000 DPI in 7200DPI mode (but then you have to down-sample, of course). Bundled with SilverFast it it probably makes a decent scanner. But it doesn't have AF, nor multi-sampling (I believe the LS-50 does, though it's not critical for C-41 due to relatively low densities). Each frame has to be advanced individually, vs. 6-frame strips with the SA-21 on the Nikon. Plustek doesn't have ICE, per se, but it does support SilverFast's iSRD, which is an IR-based scratch and dust removal.

It's kind of a toss-up between the 2...different pluses and minuses. Sorry I can't make a firm recommendation, though.

You said something about a local lab? What about getting them scanned at 2000 DPI on a Noritsu or Frontier minilab? This is what Costco (membership-discount store) or Target (discount department store) around here does at the time of development...not sure if they'll do it after the fact. My local lab (Portland, OR USA) charges $7.50 a roll (if they're uncut) for this service, either at development or after. Some may offer 4000 DPI scanning...2000 DPI isn't quite enough for an 8x12, but certainly enough for web use or smaller prints.

Good luck...

--Greg

Thanks for the info! Looking at the finances I better pass on the nikon since it's a lump sum payment I can't quite swing right now. If I decide on the plustek I could finance it at a decent rate. Initially I think I'll take your advice and try a batch scan at the time of development. This looks to be $6NZ and provides a 16mb tiff for each frame.

pellicle · Mar 10, 2011

Hi

Sean said:
Thanks for the info! Looking at the finances I better pass on the nikon since it's a lump sum payment I can't quite swing right now. If I decide on the plustek I could finance it at a decent rate. Initially I think I'll take your advice and try a batch scan at the time of development. This looks to be $6NZ and provides a 16mb tiff for each frame.

as mentioned the ls-50 is the ls-v ... essentially equal to the ls-4000 (and the LS-5000 went from 14 bits up to 16 bits per channel).

The reason you'd go for a LS-4000 over a LS-V / 50 is the fact that the 4000 is compatible with bulk handling options and will also be cheaper. The reason you'd go the other way is that the V supports USB 2.0 while the 4000 is firewire only.

I have an LS-4000 so depending on what you have to scan and what you need done I would be happy to do it for you here if you're willing to post across the Tasman to Australia.

I'm not a bureau but I think I know what I'm doing well enough.

BTW the TIFF's they're offering aren't really high density as 16MB tiff's are so "wow" as the scanner will make 5649 x 3635 pixel image from a typical 35mm frame which at even 8 bits is more like 60 Megabytes

PS some more detail on the 16MB TIFF

1934 x 3006 Pixels at 8 bit / channel (normal) as a TIFF = 16.64 MB (17,446,864 Bytes)

PPS

look for someone who can do the scan on Noritsu gear and twist their ear to comprehend you want the high res version.

some useful reading for you :
http://cjeastwd.blogspot.com/search?q=noritsu

good starter reading on that list is:
http://cjeastwd.blogspot.com/2009/03/noritsu-vs-nikon-ls-iv-ed.html

pentax4ever · Apr 12, 2011

The Plustek 7600ai has multiexposure and multisampling. There are lengthy reviews of the scanner at Luminous Light and Imaging Resources. Both reviews liked the scanner.

gmikol · Apr 12, 2011

In my mind, multi-sampling is when multiple samples are taken without moving the sensor and then averaged, and multi-pass scanning is when multiple complete scans are made, with the results averaged. The downside of the second method is the potential for mis-registration between different passes, and increased time compared to multi-sampling.

So does the Plustek 7600 have *multi-sampling*? I don't have any direct experience with it, but I have used the 7500, and it only supported multi-pass scanning. If the 7600 supports multi-sampling, that's a meaningful improvement.

--Greg

pentax4ever · Apr 12, 2011

gmikol said:
In my mind, multi-sampling is when multiple samples are taken without moving the sensor and then averaged, and multi-pass scanning is when multiple complete scans are made, with the results averaged. The downside of the second method is the potential for mis-registration between different passes, and increased time compared to multi-sampling.

So does the Plustek 7600 have *multi-sampling*? I don't have any direct experience with it, but I have used the 7500, and it only supported multi-pass scanning. If the 7600 supports multi-sampling, that's a meaningful improvement.

--Greg

It is multiscanning. I have not seen a registration issue with the scans I have done this with. The Silverfast people say that this is "Multi-Sampling with Auto-Alignment" using Silverfast SE or AI Studio.

gmikol · Apr 12, 2011

That's good...I didn't know that Silverfast did auto-alignment with the multi-scanning. Vuescan doesn't do that.

--Greg

Used Nikon LS-50 vs. New Plustek Opticfilm 7600iAi

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