Slide Scanner

[sanyasi]

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A friend asked me about obtaining a slide scanner so she could digitize their slides. I was going to recommend the Nikon Coolscan--I had seen them for years and the price seemed right. In looking for them at BH Photo, it appears that Nikon is out of that line of business.

 

Is that true, and if so, can someone recommend an inexpensive alternative?

 

Thanks

 

Jack Siegel

[kokoshawnuff]

For batch scanning and nice web quality images, a flatbed would work great (like an Epson V500 or V700), for high quality enlargements, but limited to one-scan-at-a-time, a Plustek 7600 is a great option for the price

[Guest Holy Moly]

Scanning (35mm) is PITA......

 

Sorting, dust removing and the scan prodedure itself.....a lot of time will be consumed.

There is on solution for this:

 

https://reflecta.de/

 

The Reflecta 6000 scans in batches. I don't know what kind of slides (carton/plastic) will be accepted. The brand name of the Reflecta my be different outside Europe.

 

Another very expensive solution might be the Nikon Coolscan 5000 with an optional slidefeeder.

Only second hand available, but be careful because this model is used in professional scan service shops and due to the heavy wordload they could be worn out.....

 

My proposal : get a second hand Reflecta from a reliable seller, scan the slides and sell to the next poor guy who will scan......

[andybarton]

Don't forget, you don't need to scan every slide...

[Guest Holy Moly]

Don't forget, you don't need to scan every slide...

 

Yes, but often the perception changes over the years.........

[CalArts 99]

Don't forget, you don't need to scan every slide...

 

That's right. People do tend to forget these days that they already have the best archived image in the form of a piece of film.

 

If you want to do decent scans from 35mm reversal film yourself, the Coolscans are okay for a consumer CCD scanner. Both Vuescan and Silverfast still develop software which supports them. Nikon no longer offers software except for legacy operating systems. You can find both the 5000 and the V used on eBay (but unfortunately for more then they cost new.) The big downside is hardware support if something mechanical happens.

 

Personally I feel the best bet is to choose the frames you want to use on the computer (web, email, basic viewing, etc.,) and have a shop do the scans on a commercial flatbed to DVD or your own supplied hard drive or flash drive. You won't need big files. The cost will be less than investing in software and hardware, and especially your own personal time. And then later you can choose frames for big prints and have them done on a drum scanner. There's a reason why Nikon doesn't make nor support film scanners anymore.

 

Film is great material and properly stored will last a long time (it's not like the old days of cellulose acetate and unstable VPS or fading Ektachromes.) Film is still probably the best archive material overall.

[Doc Henry]

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For batch scanning and nice web quality images, a flatbed would work great (like an Epson V500 or V700), for high quality enlargements, but limited to one-scan-at-a-time, a Plustek 7600 is a great option for the price

I have both Epson and Nikonscan.and as Koko said, you can also have nice pictures with Epson (or Plustek).

Please look at these links :

for Plustek:

http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/film-forum/153571-plustek-7600i-se-very-good-money.html

and for Epson:

http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/film-forum/160651-epson-v700-750-very-good-our.html

Best

Henry

[philipus]

Scanning does take time. I use a Nikon Coolscan V and can do a roll per hour, give or take. It is tedious. That said, I don't mind doing it because I usually do light Photoshop editing of the just-scanned image when a new image is being scanned.

 

While I scan most of the photos on rolls I take these days, I only scan the images in my archive which I want digitally.

 

However, consider digitizing the negs/slides using a DSLR.

 

See for instance this thread and this thread.

 

I have tried this a bit (described in the first of those threads) and it does appear that I can get more detail from a frame using my 5Dmk2 than with the Coolscan.

 

An advantage of scanning, though, is digital ICE which removes dust or lighter scratches. Unless the slide/neg is really clean (obviously scratches can't be removed), one may have to spend time in Photoshop to remove dust from the digital image and that takes time.

 

That said, I was very much impressed with the simplicity of DSLR digitizing. Most of my negs/slides have no scratches because I store them carefully, so dust is the only thing I have to fix. And with proper cleaning before digitizing I pend little or no time in Photoshop. Plus one can digitize tethered, too.

 

There are various ways to set up a digitizing rig, anything from just using a simple lightbox, a tripod/copystand and a macro lens to a bellows system to "slide duplicators".

 

Here are some links on DSLR digitizing that may be of assistance:

 

Hybrid copy - British Journal of Photography

Slide Copying: Scanner vs Duplicator

Digitise slides using a slide duplicator? - Photo.net Canon EOS Forum

Discussion Forum | Alamy

Illumitran Slide Copiers

Firstcall Copystand 920

Camera Scanning | dpBestflow

 

If your friend prefers saving time and has the money, however, the best - and most expensive - is to let a professional lab do it.

 

Good luck

Philip

[sanyasi]

Thanks for everyone's assistance. I had recommended the Nikon Coolscan to them a year or so ago, but given its demise and apparent lack of updated software drivers, my friend has decided the most economical approach is to send the slides out to a service.

 

Thanks again.

 

Jack Siegel

[gyoung]

The Epson 750 does a good job of E6 but not so good on kodachrome, but much slower than the NIKON coolscan

 

Gerry

[Pecole]

A friend asked me about obtaining a slide scanner so she could digitize their slides. I was going to recommend the Nikon Coolscan--I had seen them for years and the price seemed right. In looking for them at BH Photo, it appears that Nikon is out of that line of business.

 

Is that true, and if so, can someone recommend an inexpensive alternative?

 

Thanks

 

Jack Siegel

 

I have scanned about 1,500 slides with my cheap Epson Perfection V300 Photo, using the reversible "6 frames on 35mm strip/four 4x4 frames for slides under plastic or cardboard" included accessory. Handy, relatively fast (45 seconds per frame, all included), offering various options and an excellent quality.