filmscanners: Nikon Service

[Hersch Nitikman <hersch@silcom.com>]

A couple of weeks ago or so, I posted a message about the warranty service 
Nikon USA had given me on my LS-30, in glowing terms. They had repaired the 
intermittent banding, etc., that had been plaguing me. They had replaced 
the main circuit board, and on my first scan, those problems were gone. 
Immediately after posting the message, I scanned another image, and found 
the focus was way off, and I could not do anything to correct that! I got 
on their 800 number immediately, and was told that it would have to be 
shipped back. The lady promised to get a free UPS shipping coupon to me 
overnight. Actually, it was the morning after the next day when FedEx 
brought me the prepaid coupon.
I repacked the scanner, and took it to our local UPS, and was promised it 
would go out by a UPS plane that night. Tracking confirmed that it had been 
delivered on the Friday following, 4 days after I had first received it. 
Two weeks later, I was informed it had been repaired, and shipped (by UPS 
Ground this time). When it was delivered today, I unpacked it, and 
connected it, and ran a test scan on Vuescan 7.1.6.  The first preview came 
out dark but the scan was perfect.
I checked the packing slip, and they recorded the work done the first time, 
and added: Replaced Focusing Motor, Stage Motor, Photo-Interrupter 
(whatever that is) General check and clean, and Lube Stage Motor. It seems 
to me that I have a remanufactured scanner at this point! There is hardly 
anything else I can think of other than the optics that they haven't 
renewed, and there is clearly nothing wrong with them. The scans of some 
~20-year-old negatives are just gorgeous...
Other than their insisting on working on someone else's equipment while I 
was suffering withdrawal pains, I can't thing of anything negative to say 
about their service. I can only say that I am totally satisfied that they 
have made good on their promises. All that it cost me was the ~$11 shipping 
and insurance when I first sent it in. I also have a 90-day warranty 
extension, in case something goes wrong with the repair. I think I'm home 
free right now, and I now have over a dozen rolls to get developed, and 
scanned.
Hersch