I had been looking for an Nikon LS-2000 scanner on ebay for a couple of weeks, but I could never seem to get a good bidding price on one with the accessories I wanted. The LS-2000 is an older SCSI based scanner, and in the age of Firewire and USB nobody really wants a SCSI based scanner anymore. The LS-2000 is a decent scanner, and being SCSI comes pretty cheap.
I did a shot in the dark search on Craig's List for LS-2000 being certain I would not find one. Much to my surprise a guy up in Spanish Harlem had one for sale at a reasonable price.
After getting it home and scanning a few images, I noticed some haloing around certain images and objects. I began to think I had purchased a defective scanner. I did a quick google search for 'ls-2000 nikon halo', and in the first result I found a site informing me that my scanner was most likely in need of cleaning, and it directed me to a site that went through the disassembly and cleaning of an LS-2000 scanner pretty much step by step.
I immediately disassembled the scanner to find a very dirty mirror and lens. I cleaned the scanner, and after a few false starts of reassembly and disassembly to connect a cable that was left disconnected, I was pleasantly pleased with the results.
This is truly a tale of the wonder of the Internet. I used the web to research older slide/film scanners for reasonable quality at a reasonable price. I found the scanner I wanted on a web base classifieds board, and when the scanner I purchased turned out to be malfunctioning, I found the information I needed to get it working properly again. What more could I ask for? Did I mention the internet also has porn and pirated DVDs?
Here is a scan of the skater in Tribeca Park a second time after I cleaned the scanner, and a link containing images for comparison.
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