Nikon LA-2000 Photo, Slide & Film Scanner

I have just put a bid on one of these on eBay. I am hoping to use it in conjuntion with the slides from my Pentax Super Programme. has any one had any experience of this scanner please?

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Kind regards, HazyJ

This is old and SCSI only. I assume you are running an old PC (or an old Mac) with SCSI?

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K3ii, K-5, K-x, DA150-450mm, DA16-85WR, DA16-45, DA18-55WR, DA18-135WR, DA35 F2.4, M100mm F4 Macro, DA55-300mm, FA50mm 1.4, AF360 Flash, AF540 Flash

Possibly just Windows 95. Maybe it could be forced to run in compatibility mode.
Is it this one? Don't believe there is an LA 2000!
Does it come with its accessories, i.e. slide/neg carriers. Without them it'll not be much use.
Do you a SCSI port on your PC and suitable cables?

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John K

A lot of care has to be taken when buying scanners - many are for old operating systems, or connect through old hardware ports, and have not been updated. Some third party software is available to make some of them workable but there's no guarantee and it's an extra cost to consider which may impact how much of a bargain you're getting.

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Pentax hybrid user - Digital K3, film 645 and 35mm SLR and Pentax (&other) lenses adapted to Fuji X and Panasonic L digital
Fan of DA limited and old manual lenses

Thanks for the information everyone.

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Kind regards, HazyJ

I have the last variant of the Nikon Coolscan - anything pre-Win7 is ok. Nikon didn't support drivers for anything after Vista, so you might have to invest in VueScan - some people say a one-off payment keeps you supported for some 'time' but it seems not if you are transferring from one machine to another....

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AKA Welshwizard/PWynneJ
Assorted Pentax/Nikon/Mamiya stuff

There are a number of USB scanners that you might find easier to use:

Nikon Coolscan LS-5000 (expensive)
Nikon Coolscan LS-IV (LS-40) (much more reasonable)
Nikon Coolscan LS-V (LS-50) (in the middle)

These work with Hamrick VueScan software, but you'll need to buy this otherwise the scans have a watermark on the images. There are ways of getting these scanners to work on new versions of Windows - and instructions can be found on-line, but it isn't particularly straightforward. I'd also see if you can get it with Nikon's software, as often this goes missing.

Some normal flatbed scanners can do a reasonable job with slide and negs now too such as the Epson Perfection series (e.g. V500 Photo.) Possibly just as good as the LS2000. They also benefit from being able to handle large format originals too, 645, 67 and so on.

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John K

The Vuescan 'Pro' license is 'forever' and on any machine. I run it on a Win 8.1 system with Coolscan III without any problem. The Nikon Coolscans were built to last. The usual problem with them is that grime collects on the mirror. It is not difficult to take the cover off and carefully clean it though. The stepping motor also sometimes sticks if it's not been used for a long time. If you get it make sure that you get all the bits - strip film holder etc. And a SCSII cable.

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Flickr Stream

I was GIVEN a Nikon Coolscan with some cables but on various forums was told it is so difficult to get the card and other things to make it work on modern computers .

Nikon Scanner by Peter Elgar, on Flickr

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been a member of Pentax Club since the Ron Spillman era! Got COMPUTERISED at last - DIGITISED? Taken the PLUNGE - BUT FILM STILL RULES !!!

A fine collection of serial adaptors and dongles there - not much use though.

What you need is a PCI SCSI card to go into your PC - assuming that you have a spare PCI slot. I use the Adaptec AHA-2940AU card - about £15 second hand from eBay. You probably won't be able to find drivers for any operating system past Windows XP, but Vuescan does not need a driver, Use the free demo of Vuescan to test if it works. Sometimes the scanner needs to be powered up first before booting up the PC.

SCSI to USB converters did exist, but were expensive and rarely worked properly.

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