I have acquired the Nikon Coolscan III LS-30 film scanner and it's an awesome tool for the digital darkroom. However, I have some questions regarding it's scans for black & white. I was wondering if anyone else has had the same problems.

1. Whenever I scan b&w photos with ICE ON, I get a weird image superimposed over the original. It looks like a large postage stamp covering about 50-70% of the frame. Is this normal? What could be wrong?

2. Also, if I turn off the ICE and scan b&w photos normally, it is still grainy compared to color negatives of the same ISO speed. Is b&w more difficult for the scanner, possibly shadows are its weakness.

Thanks, Eric

-- Eric Yuzon (canonshooter@excite.com), October 14, 1999

Answers

Eric, DIGITAL ICE needs to be turned off in black and white scanning, as it works only on colour emulsions, as explained in the Nikon Reference Manaual CD supplied with the scanner. Also check the preferences section and ensure colour management is turned off. 1. Checkout www.nikontechusa.com for a comprehensive forum of FAQ and Q&A issues. 2. Also look at downloading the new Nikon Scan 2.5 from the same site for further improvements in performance. Excess grain is not a feature of the LS-30. It is also worth checking the firmware release of your unit, as several improvments have been made since production started just on a year ago, several of which enhance scans when contrast and density are low/thin. We may be a long way away down here in Australia, but hope this helps. Good luck John S

-- John Swainston (johns@maxwell.com.au), October 31, 1999.