Full Review: Nikon Super Coolscan 8000 ED!
By
Mike Tomkins
(Friday, September 7, 2001 - 01:40 EDT)
Rounding out our reviews of Nikon's new scanner models, Dave Etchells looks at Nikon's top-end 4000dpi pro film scanner...
This completes our roundup of Nikon's new scanner models, and it looks like we've finished up with a bang. (Figuratively speaking, of course.) The Super Coolscan 8000 ED handles both 35mm and medium-format film, delivering a full 4000 dpi across the entire width of 6x7 (up to 6x9) 'chromes. (That means scans a total of 10,000 pixels wide!)
The level of detail it delivers is truly incredible. We also were very interested to find that the illumination system of the 8000 ED is quite different from that of the smaller Coolscans. The downside is that it seems this makes the Digital ICE defect-removal technology a bit less effective on the 8000 than on the smaller models. BUT, the very (very) good news is that the Super Coolscan 8000 ED has a remarkable ability to "see around" minor dust and scratches: The raw scans are phenomenally clean, and the end results after applying Digital ICE are notably superior to the 35mm-only models.
At less than $3,000 for a high-end scanner capable of handling medium-format film, the Super Coolscan 8000 ED looks like a great bargain for practicing pros. Read the review for all the details!
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