Nikon CoolScan 5000 ED Slide & Film Scanner

For those like me who put off the purchase of a good slide scanner, it is too late. Nikon quit making both the Coolscan 5000 and 9000 a couple of years ago and the only alternative is a less desirable flat bed scanner. However, good scanners are still available on Ebay, but for an price up to three times the original. They are worth it. I chose the Coolscan 5000 because it appears to be more directly set up for slides while the 9000 handles a variety of formats. The Coolscan 5000 is precise and creates an accurate digital depiction of the slide it is scanning. A stack loader type devise can also be used to process them because the scanning process does take time. The scanner includes digital ice to clean dust and specks off the slides, but using canned air is recommended. The software takes some learning, but it is easy to obtain clean, sharp and satisfactory results. There is a specific setting for Kodachrome which was my main slide film. The only drawbacks are that it does take some time to scan each slide, more than just a few seconds, and the machine makes a bit of noise. These are minor issues. I am very happy that I finally obtained one, but be sure to check the machine when it arrives. Through experience from a non-Ebay vendor, I found that rough handling due to poor packaging can damage them.

I have been after a Nikon Coolscan for a long time. I shied away from them when they were available new as they were quite expensive. Now they are discontinued the price for a secondhand unit is as much as old retail and the demand, if anything, has risen. That said, I decided to jump in as I wanted to have access to the best quality scan available to convert my slides and negatives into digital format. I am still learning how to get the best results out of the scanner but it has delivered exactly what it has been manufactured to deliver. As with all Nikon products the quality is excellent and if you are looking for a way to convert your archives at the highest level I would not hesitate in obtaining one of these units.

This device is as advertised. It does a great job of scanning in detail, and the optional settings provide the opportunity to tailor the image according to the situation - too bright, too dark, wrong ASA film used, etc.

I have scanned only slides at this point, but plan to use it for 35mm negatives as well as other size negatives.

Overall, I am pleased with this purchase.

Fine product. It captures more far more detail than my previous scanner, an Epson V500. I am using it to scan years of negatives and slides into digital form, and I only want to do it once. This is the right machine for the job.

Extensive research pointed to this product.

After making several attempts over a period of a year I managed to buy this discontinued item.

It is everything I expected. Digitizing memories of family that have left us is why I purchased this scanner. I've been able to recover pictures that originally would've never made it into a photo album due to poor quality.

Easy to use, excellent output, worth every penny.