SCSI to USB for Nikon Coolscan III

[SebastianOakley]

This is a long shot,

I recently saw a deal I could not pass up with a Nikon CoolScan III AKA Ls-30 - working with all the original cables etc.

However, I have run into a problem, whilst this was a very cheap deal, I can't find a SCSI to USB adapter anywhere.

This is a message to see if anyone on here might have one, preferably based in the UK or US that might let me take one of their hands (willing to pay)

if you might have one or know where one could be bought pleasure let me know!

Cheers,

Seb

[Paul_Roark]

The adapter(s) I bought failed to connect my Nikon to my USB port.  I will be very interested if you find something that works.  The driver software used may be part of the problem.  The good news is that my 100mm Canon L macro, adapted to my Sony a7r, can copy a medium format negative and make a file that is as good as the Nikon Coolscan 8000 I have used to be able to make.  (But it's more work.)

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

...The good news is that my 100mm Canon L macro, adapted to my Sony a7r, can copy a medium format negative...

Paul, that is interesting... what sort of contraption do you use to connect a medium format negative (or slide) to the lens? And what kind of illumination?

[langier]

The software that seems to make all the older scanners work is VueScan which is quite cheap, IMO, and works well. I use it with my turn of the century Epson scanners and it does a good job. Updates are free and come every few weeks to few months.

However, it's the interconnection from SCSI to USB that is probably the roadblock that you may not be able to solve. It may be easier and less hassle to find an older computer that still has a SCSI port from the 1990s than to try to hack some cabling though someone probably has done this. There may even be some kind of bridge-box from years ago that had the electronics that transposed the wiring/signals from the legacy hardware to more modern but that could be me just dreaming.

For ease of use and speed, I use a good-quality macro lens on my m43 or Nikon digital bodies and my 5000°K light table to shoot my old color transparencies and b&w negatives. Much faster than using my Coolscan via Firewire. Probably not as good as scanning the film, but more than adequate when practicing good craft! Because of the diffuse light source, the scratches/dust seem to be minimized though the auto dust/scratches on the Coolscan is hard to beat scanning everything but Kodachrome.

[Steve_777]

A quick search showed various sources on ebay and other sites.  Here is a link that may be of interest.  I do not have any experience using any of these adapters however.

https://www.bestcablesplitter.com/50-pin-scsi-to-usb-adapter/

Steve

[SebastianOakley]

Thank you for the replies so far been most helpful!

[Paul_Roark]

Paul, that is interesting... what sort of contraption do you use to connect a medium format negative (or slide) to the lens? And what kind of illumination?

I still have my darkroom setup.  So, I use my old enlarger, modified a bit.  The camera is attached where the head and bellows used to be.  The cold light head is now on the baseboard.  (I think this is a rather normal "copy stand" type of setup.)  The negative is in a traditional enlarger negative carrier and lays on top of the light source.  The frame of the enlarger allows me to adjust the height so as to have the "35mm" wide dimension of the digital Sony just barely cover the width of the negative.  With lights off in the darkroom (dim light from a small window allows me to see), I take 3 shots -- one centered on the MF negative, and the others capturing the ends.  I have a 1/8" thick x 2" wide by about 2 feet long aluminum "rail" held tightly to the baseboard that the light head (with negative) slide against to keep the images aligned.  They merge easily in Photoshop.  I use a level to make sure the camera and negative are parallel.

The weak point in the system is the grain of the MF negatives (usually Tmax 100).  We're now accustomed to a digital image quality that is way lower in noise than Tmax film.  In retrospect, using the then-popular compensating (long agitation cycles) development approach to enhance film sharpness was a big mistake.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com

[Paul_Roark]

Correction: I use my Beseler MF color head, not the cold light head.  The Beseler head's rectangular shape helps keep the negative aligned as it it moved along the baseboard guide.  (You can see how long it's been since I actually bothered with a negative.  My stash of 2 1/4 B&W negs is my "retirement" if/when I can no longer physically get to good photo opportunities.)

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

Thanks, Paul.

The days when I had my Durst medium-format enlarger are long gone. Today, there are slide holders that screw into a macro lens (likely a 50-55mm)  as a filter, but that doesn’t work with medium format.

[digitaldog]

Spend $250, plug and play.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/174998202112?hash=item28beb4a700:g:68EAAOSwBL1heuID

[Lessbones]

This is a long shot,

I recently saw a deal I could not pass up with a Nikon CoolScan III AKA Ls-30 - working with all the original cables etc.

However, I have run into a problem, whilst this was a very cheap deal, I can't find a SCSI to USB adapter anywhere.

I really hope you didn't pay more than ~$50USD for that... I've never actually seen a SCSI to USB adapter... I don't believe there's any way for the USB protocol to support the bandwidth of SCSI (well, with USB 3+ it would be possible, but nobody has cared to make one since that was introduced).  Last time I checked, the few SCSI to Firewire interfaces that existed were going for quite a bit, but I see some FR1SXs on ebay right now for under $200.

Honestly, just look out for a Minolta Scan Dual III or IV-- they usually go for less than $100, and have usb interfaces.  The problem more recently is that all the assholes selling them will sell the film holders separately, since they command as much if not more than the machine itself.  In fact, there doesn't seem to be a single one WITH the film holders on ebay at the moment.  The resolution and speed of either one is better than that ancient Nikon--

[Rhossydd]

I recently saw a deal I could not pass up with a Nikon CoolScan III AKA Ls-30

Did they pay you to take it away ? :-)

USB-SCSI adaptors have never had a great reputation and if you do manage to track one down getting it to run on a modern OS will probably be impossible due to a lack of 64bit drivers.

Andrew's suggestion of buying an old system to use as a scanning station is probably easiest, but I couldn't see being worth the expense or effort myself. It's a 20 year old scanner and there are far better film digitising options available now.

[Dave Gurtcheff]

I had a similar issue about 6 or 7 years ago with a used, mint Nikon medium format Super  Coolscan 8000 ED. I had my repair guy install a new firewire board and the scanner would not work. I found out that Nikon included a firewire board with the scanner, and the scanner was fussy as to whose firewire board it would work with. A forum member offered to give me the original firewire board since he no longer had his scanner. I installed his board, but still had the issue of the scanner driver/ software. That same member suggested Vuescan. I can attest the Vuescan software works beautifully. As a bonus, it also drives my Epson flatbed scanner better than the Epson software, and you need only learn one interface. I also tried a SCSI to firewire adapter, that also did not work. Good luck.
Dave in NJ

[SebastianOakley]

thanks for all the comments - I think it might be back to the drawning board on this one and confess I messed up and should of got one with USB interface.

We live and learn!