Nikon scan with osx leopard

[smthopr]

Does anyone know if there is a version of nikonscan software that works with os 10.5.8?

I tired nikonscan 4 with my ls8000 and it crashes on open.  I've got vuescan, but sometimes nikonscan is a lot more convenient.

Thanks!

[Mark D Segal]

No, not possible. Nikon scan is a discontinued product that will not be updated. use either SilverFast or Vuescan.

[smthopr]

Thanks. Just remembered that I have an old G4 Mac mini. Maybe that will work...?

[francois]

If you can't run Nikon Scan on your recent Mac then Vue Scan might be an alternative.

[Mark D Segal]

Thanks. Just remembered that I have an old G4 Mac mini. Maybe that will work...?

There's nothing so special about NikonScan that makes it worth regressing three generations of computer technology just to use that. Try it and you won't believe how quickly you'll discover why it's not a great idea. You'll find it much more efficient to use current software on a current OS.

[smthopr]

I just wanted to use nikon scan when I want to work quickly and avoid messing with the frame offset in vuescan...

[Mark D Segal]

By frame offset, you mean when it feeds-in out of alignment, the process of aligning the image in the scanner so it is correctly framed in the scan window?

[smthopr]

I think that's what I mean...

[Mark D Segal]

OK, I don't use Vuescan very often, but according to Sascha Steinhoff, page 106 of his good book on this software, the application (presumably you are using the most recent version) is supposed to analyze the frame gap and use that information to align the image correctly. He says if for some reason it doesn't work automatically, you can turn that feature off and use a fairly simple procedure he describes for re-alignment. If that's what you mean by wasting time fiddling with alignment I see the point. I never ever used Nikon Scan so I have no idea whether it did this correctly all the time. However, as things stand at this juncture I think you have three options; from the looks of it, you may be choosing between the least-worst:

(1) Use Nikon Scan on your old computer and suffer the performance hit relative to current technology;
(2) Use Vuescan and take a risk of having to fiddle the periodic frame that doesn't align correctly on its own;
(3) Try SilverFast 8, which has a neat graphic frame alignment tool that works quickly, (you can download a free trial and see how you like it); unfortunately the Nikon version is rather costly, but a very nicely redesigned application.

[smthopr]

Thanks Mark. I'll try downloading the newest version on vuescan and see if that helps. 

[jmwscot]

Nikon Scan will run in OSX up to and including Snow Leopard. At least it does on my machine - MacPro 2 x 2.66 GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon 8GB 667 MHz F8-DIMM. It will not run on Lion which is my main operating system. I have Snow Leopard installed on a separate drive with Nikon Scan, so have to reboot into that to scan.

Hope this helps.

John

[Mark D Segal]

Nikon Scan will run in OSX up to and including Snow Leopard. At least it does on my machine - MacPro 2 x 2.66 GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon 8GB 667 MHz F8-DIMM. It will not run on Lion which is my main operating system. I have Snow Leopard installed on a separate drive with Nikon Scan, so have to reboot into that to scan.

Hope this helps.

John

Interesting and your fortunate, because this seems to be "touch and go". Here is Nikon's own statement about compatibility from the Nikon Scan 4.0.x download page:

Mac OS 9 (9.1 or later), Mac OS X (10.1.x, 10.2.x, 10.3.x, 10.4.11) (PowerPC Macs only, Intel Macs are not supported*).

==

NOTE: Mac OS 10.5.x and 10.6.x are not supported and not guaranteed to operate properly with Nikon Scan software. We suggest the use of third party software such as Vuescan or Silverfast with either of these operating systems.

==

*While complete support for Intel Macs has not been announced, we are able to run version 4.0.2 successfully on our test Intel-Mac systems without issues. Install 4.0.0 first, then the 4.0.2 update before running Nikon Scan. Please allow a slightly longer than usual install time.

I'm wondering whether operating the computer in 32-bit rather than 64-bit mode is what makes the difference?

[peterkaruna]

For what it's worth, I'm running NS 4.0.3 for Vista on a Windows 7, 64-bit, Boot Camp partition (and also using Parallels) and so far, it's running my 5000ED perfectly.  After partitioning and installing Windows 7 (and Parallels, which is not necessary) I followed the instructions here as though I was on a 64-bit Windows machine:

http://axelriet.blogspot.ca/2009/10/nikon-ls-40-ls-50-ls-5000-scanners-on.html

I'm on a Late 2011 MBP with 10.6.8 and NS runs very briskly.  Nikon chose to support NS up to and including 32-bit Vista.  Too bad we didn't get support for the Mac.  Perhaps some kind and knowledgeable Mac person will help out the Mac community with this kind of fix.

Hope this helps someone.

peter