Nikon Coolscan Series

CreativePro Staff

Nikon Coolscan Series
The Nikon Coolscan series is two scanners, the Coolscan III and the Super Coolscan 2000 (LS-2000). Both are personal scanners for removing surface film imperfections, perfect for saving hours of retouching time.
Nikon Coolscan III
Although the “little brother” of the duo, the Coolscan III boasts an average scan time of 20 seconds at 2700 dpi optical resolution, 30-bit color depth and Digital ICE™ technology for removing surface defects.
The Imaging Resource covers the scanner extensively in their review, comparing the smaller unit to the Super Coolscan and providing examples of test results. They conclude “While not quite up to the performance of the LS-2000, it will likely be more than adequate for the needs of most photo enthusiasts, and even some professionals… It would be an excellent choice for any serious 35mm or APS photographer.”
Nikon Super Coolscan 2000
The big brother of the two easily garnered far more press and praise. It has the same scan time, same optical resolution, same Digital ICE™ technology, but is bulked up with a much greater dynamic range (up to 36-bit color depth, which as ZDNet says in their review, is drum scanner territory). Other ZdNet reviews PC Magazine Technical Excellence Awards, Digital Imaging Winner, and Top 100: Printers, Scanners & Multifunction Devices extol the Super Coolscan’s strengths, but don’t offer as much info as they could.
Like their review of the Coolscan III, the Imaging Resource review is long but detailed. While not spending much space comparing the scanner to competitors, the investigators delve into the intricacies of the scanning process. They rave “Without a doubt, the Nikon Super CoolScan 2000 is a world-class scanning instrument. Its excellent "default" performance minimizes the amount of tweaking needed to produce superb scans from common subjects… If you’re serious about your 35mm or APS photography though (whether professional or amateur), it would be hard to find a more suitable scanner.”
For a complete summary of the Nikon Coolscan Series, visit our Nikon Coolscan III and Nikon Super Coolscan LS 2000 product pages.