On 18/09/2012, Tom Fine wrote:
> 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.
>
Kodachrome lasts very well in the dark, but will fade quickly in
sunlight. Keep them covered.
> 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 am getting excellent results with a camera (Sony NEX-5N) and bellows.
The lens is an Olympus 80mm macro, designed for 1:1 reproduction.
It is important that each slide is individually focussed. This is easy
with a camera, but not all scanners have a focus mechanism.
But of course a camera setup does not load slides automatically.
Slides should be in glassless mounts. In particular, anti-Newton-ring
glass will give an ugly granular texture on the copies. Hama DSR mounts
are good, cheap and still available.
> 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
Regards
--
Don Cox
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