keywards Posted April 20, 2008 Share #1 Â Posted April 20, 2008 Advertisement (gone after registration) I wonder if anyone can explain the best way to scan slides without ending up with loads of dust being picked up in the scanning process. I am happy with setting the scanner and am carefully cleaning the slides before the scan but do not seem able to avoid the dust issue. I have several hundred slides which need to be scanned for a particular project and the process seems most laborious and time consuming. Any prods in the right direction would be much appreciated. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted April 20, 2008 Posted April 20, 2008 Hi keywards, Take a look here Slide Scanning. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
rob_x2004 Posted April 20, 2008 Share #2 Â Posted April 20, 2008 If you have the time to walk away from your set up, then a four pass scan and ICE will help. The dust isnt always on the slide, but gets carried in with the negative carrier, and may well already be inside your scanner. Do a final clean after you mount in the carrier and before you insert, and then if the preview indicates dust, take it out again and blow it down. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted April 20, 2008 Share #3 Â Posted April 20, 2008 Keeping one of those slightly charged cleaning cloths over the scanner when you are not using it helps a lot too. Â As does keeping your workspace clean and tidy (ahem...) Â What sort of scanner is it? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stunsworth Posted April 20, 2008 Share #4 Â Posted April 20, 2008 Buy a scanner with ICE. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Overgaard Posted April 20, 2008 Share #5 Â Posted April 20, 2008 An air spray (without oil and other stuff in it - make sure it is clean air) will help. That is the usual way: Â Keep the space clean Dust of the slides with air Scan Fix the remaining dust in PotoShop Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ron110n Posted April 20, 2008 Share #6 Â Posted April 20, 2008 Here's one more... I use an eye loupe (Peak Anastigmat Lupe 4x) on a film sitting on a light box. Then your static brush / compressed air combo can tell if it's a dust, scratch or slime missed by your fixer. Â -Ron Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
robsteve Posted April 21, 2008 Share #7 Â Posted April 21, 2008 Advertisement (gone after registration) Since going digital, I have also found the visible dust brushes for sensor cleaning do a great job on slides too. Â Robert Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveB Posted April 21, 2008 Share #8 Â Posted April 21, 2008 Scanned film can yield some wonderfully lush images. Velvia and Provia scanned looks unique when compared to digital captures. Lots of people feel the same about B&W. Â However, the workload is truly daunting. Dust, cropping, multiple passes, then post-processing - it all takes forever. Â Plus, unless you have some sort of cartridge slide feeder you are tied to the scanner. I don't think I can process more than about 12-15 slides in an hour. Probably less than that. Roll film and APS is easier, but a magazine for handling slides is something I wish I had. Â As much as I like my Nikon Coolscan, it has the most annoying little groaning noise while scanning. It sounds like a cat trying to cough something up. Â It's the only way to deal with legacy material though. I have Kodachrome slides from 50 or more years ago taken by long dead colleagues that are just gorgeous. Persepolis, Petra, the Pyramids... Sometimes it's worth the effort to scan. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamey Posted April 21, 2008 Share #9 Â Posted April 21, 2008 If I come across a very dirty slide and cannot remove the dirt, I stick it under running water, I then clean it using a cotten bud, remember to soften the bud with water before you clean the slide this way it doesn't scratch the slide, I have been doing it for years, and it has never given me any problems. Â You can practice this proceedure using some unwanted slides if you have any. As long as the water is flowing this should avoid getting your slides demaged. Â But make sure you leave it to dry under room temperture, better on warmer days as it dry's quicker, and if possible remove it from it's mount. Â If the dirt shows up in the scan there is always photoshop. Â Good luck. Â Ken. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
leica dream Posted April 21, 2008 Share #10 Â Posted April 21, 2008 Sorry to show my amateur naivity, Steve, but what is ICE? Richard Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stunsworth Posted April 21, 2008 Share #11 Â Posted April 21, 2008 Richard. it's a system for automatically removing dust and scratches from film. It used an infra-red beam to identify dust - the dust is opaque to IR light. The system work very well, but can't be used with conventional B&W film. Â Most dedicated film scanners, and many flat-bed scanners have the function. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
leica dream Posted April 22, 2008 Share #12 Â Posted April 22, 2008 Thanks, Steve. That is another bit of very useful information into my memory bank for when I get around to scanning my slides. Richard Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
keywards Posted April 23, 2008 Author Share #13 Â Posted April 23, 2008 Hi, Thanks for all of your comments. My scanner has ICE and I am very careful to clean everything - comes from darkroom processing disciplines. In fact the scanner died with a bang yesterday so I am looking to buy a new one. This is an Epson 4990 Photo and I have never been completely happy with it. My wife is a textile designer and it has been used for her work as well but, regardless of how careful one sets the software settings, the colour reproduction on her materials is never good. At college she scans with Canon and Mac and has no problems whatsoever there. I am looking at Canon scanners to replace the Epson. IN truth the Epson has been failing for some time with little glitches here and there. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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