Hi All:

This kinda relates to ARSC because I'm sure all of us have dabbled in multi-media at one point or 
another.

I have a bunch of 35mm slides I'd like to digitize. They are all good condition and almost all are 
Kodachrome or whatever the film type was that holds color and doesn't fade. So they are vivid and 
not scratched or dirty, despite being 50-60 years old.

Back the last time I thought about this, years ago, a Nikon scanner with an auto-feed mechanism cost 
a small fortune and took several minutes per slide (this was back in the early Pentium IV days). I 
have a faster computer now (Dell Precision Workstation T3400 with loads of memory and fast hard 
drives), and am wondering what the recommended hardware options are. I'm not wedded to Nikon, but I 
do want a solid scanner with an excellent auto-feed mechanism. I'd love to load in a few dozen 
slides and set-and-forget, with the scanner software writing some sort of non-lossy format (PSD, 
TIFF or something else). I'll then look at the results in my image-viewing software and decide which 
warrant further Photoshop work. Ideally, the scanner would be unlike my Epson large-format scanner 
in that it turns out a nicely contrasted/nicely-color-balanced image from the getgo and doesn't 
require Photoshop in most cases.

I notice there are a variety of slide scanners on the market, varying widely in price. I don't have 
to go dirt-cheap, but I want value if I pay extra, not just a brand name. I need "good quality 
personal-use strength" not "industrial strength." Total project will be a few hundred slides, not 
thousands and not intending to use this thing every day for years.

Recommendations appreciated. Thanks in advance!

-- Tom Fine