Scanning 35mm slides

[Genghis the Engineer]

To my annoyance, my slide scanner (a Jessops own-brand about 3 years old) seems to have packed up on me. I shall endeavour to get it working, but can't honestly say I've great hope.

In the meantime, I'm likely in the near future to need to convert a fair number of 35mm slides into digital images for some lecturing/teaching/writing purposes.

So, can anybody make any recommendations? I'm pretty open minded about farming out/purchasing/etc, what is the current best and most cost effective way of solving the problem?

G

[Conan the Librarian]

I would suggest that you enquire of these boys...

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/forum.asp?forum=1034

You will most likely get a better balanced view there than here, as most of us will be limited to personal exp of just the one slide scanner.


Conan

[seacue]

I've used two scanners.

My Epson 2400 has provisions for scanning slides and the reults are not horrible.

I have borrowed old Olympus ES-10 film / slide scanner. Its results are pretty good but I keep wanting to refocus.

Both are enough of a pain to use that most of my slides remain unscanned.

My view is that your time would have to be worth relatively little to consider scanning a lot slides yourself. For a small number of slides, the cost of the scanner amortized over the few scans would make it uneconomical to do the scanning yourself.

To be honest, I haven't enquired about the price of commercial scanning services. Sticker shock might change the view I expressed above.

seacue

[Genghis the Engineer]

For the record, the cheapest commercial scanning service that I've come across is £20 for 50 slides, or £30 for 100.

G

[Conan the Librarian]

Genghis, I think you may have the answer there. However, if you have over 1,000 slides to do, then you might find that soimething like the Nikon Coolscan or another dedicated slide scanner might be economic.

The reason that I dodged your question earlier, is that of many threads that I have read on the aforementioned photo forum. many users have stated major frustrations with quality and colour management. Even though I do a fair bit of scanning, I will make my excuses when faced with slides.

A plus with a bureau service, is that they will be responsible for providing a level of quality that is quite good (one hopes) but if they ain't - you can go back to them and complain.

£30/100 is cheap. Think I know which I would do.


Conan

[Keith Discovering]

Hi Genghis,

Good advice from Conan.

I've got a Nikon Coolscan and just bought a multi feeder which works great. 50 slides, batch scanned and you're off. If you go this route, I suggest you buy Vuescan (scanning softweare) which does the job automatically.

Caveat Emptor: Now all this comes at a price, so weigh it up carefully. If you sell photos too, it'll pay itself back in no time or if you've got LOTS of scanning to do AND you'll use the scanner in the future, buy a Nikon 4000 or 5000.

Also try Ebay and see if one's going second hand. The mad rush towards digital may mean you'll get one cheap.

All the best

KD

[Loose rivets]

Just what I wanted to know.

However, do these machines also scan old 35 mm black and white negs? I have hundreds of these to be copied.

LR

[Keith Discovering]

Negative film is no problem at all on the Nikon :ok:

[Bumz_Rush]

same problem, cost vs cost effectiveness... any recomendations...... Bumz

[Genghis the Engineer]

Thanks for the advice chaps, although I'm afraid that I'm now going to upset you all by ignoring it to a certain extent. There are two reasons for this

(1) Logistic changes at home mean that I could do with a second inkjet printer.

(2) Whilst high quality is a good thing, flexibility and speed are much more important to me personally - and I don't really want to pay £30/100 to scan in a collection of several thousand (mostly aircraft) slides in case I might need one or two of them in a hurry.


So, after due deliberation, I've ordered myself an Epson RX500 (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000UYS6M/qid=1129714935/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_0_1/026-1774182-4506869) which is a combined printer/scanner with an included transparency scanner. Reviews elsewhere seem very flattering about everything except for a tendency to paper jam (which I can live with).

I don't suppose that the quality will be up there with the latest dedicated Nikon scanner, but people speak highly of it, the price is good, and I needed a second printer anyhow.

Once I've had a go with it, I'll let you chaps know how good it really is!

G

(And if the quality isn't magazine saleable - I can always use a mail-order service for the occasions when I need that - but mostly what I need is to generate illustrations and powerpoint slides.)

[Conan the Librarian]

Genghis, I use the Epson R800 printer and 3170 Photo Perfection scanner.The procedure is going to be largely the same, and it is both fiddly and time consuming. Make sure that you have a very full box of teabags.

For my own scans, I don't use the bundled Epson idiotware with the scanner and use Silverfast AI which gives far more control and quality. I recommend you to have a look at it as with the time that it takes to get ANY scan into your machine, you may as well get the best quality that you can. (and it IS excellent)

I have to be honest - I am not sure if there is a version of Silverfast for the R500 if it is a combined device, but if there is, then as I say, it is well worth a look


Conan

[Genghis the Engineer]

Ah, the same software authors as my current Epson CX3220 then! Thanks for that heads up, will look it up.

G

[Groundgripper]

Are the cheaper versions of the Silverfast software such as SE as good (although not as comprehensive) as the AI version?

I ask because I have just acquired a Jessops own brand (Primefilm 2700) scanner and am very disappointed with the initial results using the software supplied with it, CyberView X-SF driver and NewSoft Presto! applications. I admit that I haven't yet played much with it, the first few scans were very fuzzy and I found it impossible to get the colour balance and density right.

GG

[Conan the Librarian]

(Edit! Sorry - misread the previous post, but the answer still serves well. SE is good, but go and have a play on the website to see what I mean)

Sadly, no, is the short answer. Because Silverfast is so sh*te hot, only the better printers and scanners come with a bundled, but cut down version of Silverfast.

The Silverfast site is confusing and the various products and versions are not the easiest to decipher. However, a visit is well worth your time, unless you are about to drop off the perch.

They seem to have an aviation bent too. Might even get the authors on here as Pprune members!


Happy Hunting,


Conan

[innuendo]

I have scanned a number of my slides with an entry level Minolta 35mm scanner and a couple of points are worth considering.
IMO a scanner that has the ability to remove dust specs is essential. I believe Nikon call theirs ICE technology. If you do not have that you will have to spend an inordinate amount of time in your image editor fixing this and the results will still be evident.
Another point, if you go for a second hand model be aware that some of them have a problem with slides on Kodachrome film. There is something in the dyes that reacts badly.
There is also the risk that some of the older scanners are not supported with drivers for the latest versions of Windows. I believe that some of the older Nikons are in this situation.
Try a search in DPReview, this subject comes up all the time.
If there is one constant refrain it is that it is time consuming however it does give you back up if you have some valuable images.
I lost almost eight years of slides that covered my Air Force time in a house fire so that may justify your efforts.

[Conan the Librarian]

Funny - but I think you hit the ultimate nail on the head, If you are going to digitise your film/slide/print collection, it is a long hard and often miserable job. If you do it once, you want useable results in the future. Five quid saved, for a lifetime of images (and maybe not just yours) is, unless you get it right, a complete waste of time.

After the onerous task is carried out, you need for peace of mind as much as anything, to know that the job has been done well. As I have said, I use Silverfast and many others will use different packages. The awful reality, is this. That after fishing out out originals from wherever, then spending a lot of time (Don't con ourselves - this is exactly what it will take) that the job is not equivalent to the originals. This is a horrible job. But if it is done once, it is done for ever and you have digital masters that are not dependant on time or condition to be reproduced in their full splendour. What I say, is that you should do the job just once - but do it very well. Otherwise, it is ultimately worthless. There are memories for instance, in Pprune, that cannot be reproduced and will wane with time. When you die, the gift to future generations will be what you have left them

The differences between prosumer and consumer markets are legion. But this is a long and time consuming job Often, there will not be a second chance, so get it right when you do it.


'scuse me - i need to take a pic with my mobile phone....

Apologies for the rant :-)


Conan

Oh - a PS don't forget to back them up and keep them safe :)

[innuendo]

Conan, I went through the Silverfast site but still have a question. Does the program identify your particular scanner and process the data from there on. I was trying to find a list of supported scanners or have I got it wrong as to Silverfast's function?
Thanks.

[Conan the Librarian]

When you download or purchase, there are a few dialog boxes, in which you can specify the manufacturer and exact model.

If you are buying, then I suggest you download the movie clips that are available. They are superb for showing how to get the best from it and also the ideal workflow


Conan