Nikon Scan 4.0 3 Download
Galina Schoultz
I'm an Apple user and learned that Nikon Scan is not supported anymore in the latest Apple computers. It is my understanding that the Nikon CS 5000 is capable of doing some interesting tricks with its original software. Now I'm wondering what I will be missing out on my 5000 by not using the original Nikon Scan software. Maybe it's worthwhile to buy an older computer dedicated to the scanner and run the Nikon Scan software? What will be the newest or best option for this purpose?
I've used Vuescan in the past with a Nikon CS 4000 and was not impressed with the whole setup. However, this was 5 years ago, so maybe there are different solutions now? Also, I've learned that the multi-scan feature in Vuescan is more of a multi-exposure feature and not the same as what Nikon Scan is doing in this regard. Many confusing information on the www.
In any event those who still have this ancient beast in working condition, the last was manufactured no later than 2004 and time is not kind to the delicate mechanics that control the scanning mechanism, would know if the near universal scanning support, near, in OSX recognizes the Coolscan and can operate its basic functions.
Thanks Ellis. I had Silverfast before and at the time it was terribly unstable. Very expensive too. I bought the package for a Nikon LS 4000 (about 6 years ago) and it froze up all the time. Everytime when the problem was solved with the help of the support team, it crashed again when the OS had an update. I ended up buying Vuescan and that performed reliable, but I didn't like the interface.
Could be that Silverfast is now a reliable alternative, but I read on their site that they replaced several Nikon Scan options with a 'better' solution... Somehow I doubt this claim and think I'm much better off with an old dedicated computer and run the scanner the way it was designed. Will be even cheaper than buying an additional licence. I just checked: I have a licence for the LS 4000, for the Epson V750 AND the Epson V850. Still, they charge me EUR 314,00 for an extra licence for the LS 5000.
Thanks bmoag, I think I will first dive into the concept of buying an old dedicated computer for this scanner. The LS5000 should be in perfect condition, just serviced and a one year guarantee. I intend to use it for a long time to come. Have to, because I sold all my digital camera's and started using my golden oldies again. With this I rediscovered the joy of photography.
I've been using a Coolscan 5000 for maybe 10 years now. After Nikon stoped upgrading their software, I(MacBook Pro 2014, OS 10.14.69 I switched to Vuescan and have no problems. I have an automatic slide feeder, and the thing just works and works and works. I think Vuescan would be the cheaper, and better alternative to buying an old Mac that can run the Nikon Software
Just use Vuescan, you get used to it and it supports most features you need. I use it on my different scanners (5000 and 9000) and recently I use it in combination with Negative Lab Pro which revolutionized my color negative scanning.
I have the 35mm and smaller, Nikon Coolscan IV and V and whilst they work well with Vuescan I do prefer the extra facilities and power of Nikon Scan 4.02 and most people viewing me images tend to agree.
I have the 5000ED as well and have been using VueScan ever since Nikon decided not to issue new software to support the Mac Intel chips. I find it works better than the NikonScan, which I always found lacking. It even support the ICE dust removal built into the scanner and the auto-feeders. Since you already have a license, it would be the fastest and least expensive option for you.
I assume the different software programs will deliver different results, especially in colorwork. My workflow with the Imacon is such that I will try to produce a scan that is rather flat but includes as much detail as possible. Post-processing will be done with PS, always.
For me it would be perfect when the output is some sort of RAW-scan that contains all possible information that this scanner can extract. I believe the multi-sampling can only be used with Nikon Scan, but I'm not sure whether I will need this (color and BW negatives). Further I need the batch-scanning option with the filmstrip adapter and it would be nice when loading and finding the frames is working without problems. I think I've read somewhere that Vuescan is not the best option for this. Anyway, I will find out next week.
I tried Vuescan but wasn't impressed by the package. It crashed several times and the interface is terrible. I tried Silverfast, but couldn't get the film adapter to work properly. Finally decided to give Nikon Scan a try. Now the problem with that is that it is not suported anymore. But... with a little help of uncle Google I managed to get it running under Windows-10, via Parallels on a MacMini that runs natively on Mac OS 10.14.
The software looks old, but the results were instantly better than from Vuescan and Silverfast. Perhaps it's just me, but I like the old style interface. It's so simple, yet intuitive. And all the original functions of the scanner are fully supported. I'm quite pleased with this victory, because getting it all up and running was a major challenge for this digital caveman.
The scanner features a Nikon lens with ED glass and a RGBI LED set for consistent backlighting of the Negative or slide film. It features Digital ICE for dust and scratch removal during scan, and colour restoration for faded and colour casted film. The LS4000 uses a FireWire 400 (IEEE1394) interface which works fine but might be a problem for people with computers without FireWire. Some of the other Nikon Coolscan scanners feature USB connectivity which might be more compatible with most current computer hardware.
Since the software has not been updated since 2007 it is not really compatible with todays operating systems. This is why people like to use third party software and drivers like VueScan or SilverFast to use the Nikon Coolscan scanners. I tried both software suites but still think the older Nikon Scan 4 software is easiest and gives me consistent and best results with the least amount of effort.
Since scanning and editing digitally is a little different from importing images from your SD card I will sketch the workflow from step by step. Read on so we can get more in depth into the whole process.
Now that we did our first time Nikon Scan 4 setup we can actually start scanning our Colour Negatives. There should still be a film strip with 6 negatives in the scanner; if not, put one in now and open Nikon Scan 4 again.
Since I am working on an old PowerBook G4 machine to drive the scanner I will now transfer the files from the PowerBook G4 to my Mac Pro over the network, but you can use a large thumb drive or USB/FireWire harddrive too of course.
Below you will find a few more shots taken with various cameras and film types but all scanned with the Nikon LS4000. I hope you have enjoyed reading and checking out the photos in my article and as always feel free to subscribe to my newsletter to receive an email when I publish a new article, or to leave your thoughts in the comments bellow. Donations are really welcome too since a lot of time goes into writing these articles. Donations can be made through Paypal contact me if you wish to donate. Thanks.
These ancient scanners and archaic software are temporary solutions either until something burns out or the old computer gives up the ghost. I had a Minolta that did not operate properly with VueScan because the USB port was too fast for the device. This might be the real killer of film when one or two scan solutions persist (all sub-optimal) and the concurrent cost of scanning at a lab rises.
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