Nikon Scan on 10.10 or later?

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Level 1

78 points

Nikon Scan on 10.10 or later?

Hello all,

After Googling my ancient Wacom Intuos-2 tablet I found some interesting information on how to use it in Sierra or perhaps High Sierra. This information is on a site called ifixit.com, which seems to be a very handy site for all sorts of repairs etc. I read the procedure and it did indeed seemed to be plausible. Since my MacPro 2010/12 is awaiting a new(er) GPU, I decided to do the procedure on my MP 2009 in OS 10.10. Well, it worked perfectly and even though the Intuos-2 is obviously very old technology, it has indeed been revived. I'm also entertaining the idea of upgrading the MP 2009 4,1 to 5,1 after reading the post here which also contained the link to ifixit.

Now to my question: I doubt that this could work, but thought I'd pick the community brain for some opinions at least. I have a Nikon Super Coolscan 4000 that I can no longer use of course due to the incompatibility of the Nikon Scan driver. I have tried VueScan with less than acceptable results in my opinion. I always found the Nikon Scan driver to be rather easy to use and produced very good scans. As the title implies, I'm wondering if there might be a way to revive the Nikon Scan driver to work in OS 10.10 or higher.

So there's your mission for the morning, should you choose to accept it.

Gary

Mac Pro, macOS High Sierra (10.13), 3-1TB HDs, 2-2TB HDs, NEC PA271W

Posted on Aug 31, 2018 4:46 AM

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Answer 1

Johnb-one

Level 6

9,180 points

Aug 31, 2018 3:44 PM in response to Garnick

Hi there Gary-it’s me, John. ( yup-he’s back again-guess that memo didn’t get thru- just a little joke)

As you know, or might have figured out/guessed, Nikon doesn’t make film scanners any more, which is a shame, and it doesn’t support anything more than OS 9, maybe the earliest versions of OS X. Sure doesn’t do Sierra, luckily there’s something you can do. Check out this link-looks promising

https://www.silverfast.com/show/scanners-nikon/en.html.. doesn’t look like it’s free though-oh well

John B

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Answer 2

Garnick Author

Level 1

78 points

Aug 31, 2018 4:55 PM in response to Johnb-one

Hi there John-it's me, Gary, and I'm glad you're back and that you didn't get the memo😁. Like my GPU in transit by snailmail, which seems to be more snail than mail recently. But of course that's my fault for not arranging a faster delivery alternative. Live and learn, hopefully. I believe there's a saying that goes something like this, but if there isn't there should be and I'm coining it as of this moment - "You learn more from your failures than from your successes". The problem with that is the painful learning cycle that accompanies the failures.

Oh yes, the Nikon Scan Software. After many years of using the Nikon Super Coolscan 4000 ED I had to make a choice when Nikon opted to desert it. I did a lot of film scanning for my customers, followed usually by a print order. I still have the scanner and it's in great condition. As mentioned, I have tried Vuescan inside and out, but could not get rid of some noise in the mid shadow areas of my test negative. I had just moved the scanner to clear a bit of space on my desk, and thought I might put it on the market and see what I can get for it. However, after I completed the procedure mentioned above to revive my Intuos-2 Tablet for Sierra, I decided to look for a possible "Hack"/procedure for bringing the last version of the Nikon Scan driver up to a more recent OS.

I have two Epson flatbeds, the latest one being the V750 model which does a pretty darn good film scan when used to its max. From my first scanner in 2002 to this day I've been using the SIlverfast Software for both Epson scanners, old and newer, with great results. I'm also aware of the Silverfast version for the Nikon Scanner, but even with my discount due to owning two versions for the flatbeds, the price for the Nikon Scanner is about $350 USD, and probably $450 Canadian. Therefore I'll likely continue to use the V750 for all film scanning, although that market is drying up as well.

Thanks John, and have a great long weekend.

Gary

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Answer 3

Garnick Author

Level 1

78 points

Sep 1, 2018 8:44 AM in response to Garnick

Hello again John,

I just downloaded the Demo version of the Silverfast Nikon Scanner app. Just want to run a couple of tests to make sure the scanner is working properly before I list it. The last time I tested it in VueScan it seemed to be working well, except for the issue I mentioned. That might have been just something I overlooked in the settings. I will definitely not be ordering the full version of Silverfast for the Nikon at $650 CDN.

Gary

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Nikon Scan on 10.10 or later?

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