Scan Slides to Hard Disk Copy

[tallurianil]

I've taken a huge set of pictures on Slides using a Nikon F5 about 4 yrs ago. I am trying to look for a scanner or a facility that would help me scan these images onto the hard disk.

Is there a good scanner that can do good justice to a slide?

I tried the Nikon CoolScan 2000 and was not impressed, any thoughts or ideas ?

[yelvertoft]

tallurianil,

It all depends on how many slides you want to scan and what you intend doing with the resulting images. I have recently bought a flatbed scanner with a slide scanning attachment. It's ok for doing a few slides and printing them in 6x4 - this is all I intended using this device for.

If you want to scan a large number of slides and do some large prints from them, then you are going to have to invest several hundred dollars in a dedicated slide scanner. One with an auto-feed capability is essential if you intend scanning high volumes of legacy photos.

Regarding which specific model to chose, I suspect out member nirofo is probably in a good position to answer this, he scans from slides and produces some truly stunning images.

Regards,

Duncan.

[tallurianil]

Thanks Duncan, I have over 300 slides to scan. I would like to have some decent 8X10 prints at a minimum. And as you rightly mentioned, a flat bed helps for a decent 6x4 But, I am looking at a larger print. I will wait for any more inputs from fellow members.
- Anil

[nirofo]

I use a Nikon CoolScan 4, 35mm film scanner (slide or negative), it produces very good images that will easily print to A3 exhibition standard, providing of course you have a good slide to start with and you've got a good A3 printer such as the Epson R1400. The CoolScan 4 is a great piece of equipment if you have a lot of slides or negatives to scan and you are still using film. If you only have a few hundred or less to scan and are only looking for prints up to about 6x4, then you would be better off going for one of the Epson scanners with a built in slide scanner.

nirofo.

[Jimbo]

Several years ago I started to do the same thing. I had 7000 slides and some were starting to fade etc. I was told to look for the scanner with the highest D Max rating. I was told that a D Max below 4 would be "iffy". I found that if the advertised scanner did not have a D Max of at three it wouldn't show as a rating. I went through three different brands of flatbed with light top scanners and the best one I could find at the time was the Epson Perfection 1650 with a D Max of 3.5. I have completed the task and if I was to do it over again I would buy, beg or borrow a dedicated slide scanner. They have a D Max of 10 or higher.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/scantek.htm

After glancing at this article you can disregard most of what I said regarding D Max. (maybe) The workshop I attended did stress the importance of it however.

[tallurianil]

Jimbo / Nirofo:
Thanks for your inputs. Nirofo, the slides are of top quality, infact I sold some of the slides at a premium. I didn't want to sell the others since they meant a lot to me, I am passionate about them. Some were wildlife, especially the shots of the Bengal Tiger and the landscapes of Arizona and Utah.

I was not aware of a D Max Jimbo. But will check it out. I checked with a few imaging companies and they were charging anywhere from $1.25 to $ 3.00 per slide, Thought I may buy a scanner myself. I will check out a scanner above the 3.5 mark, hope it fits my budget.

Appreciate your help, any other recommendations?

[Robert Davis]

I was in the same situation. I found a Minolta Dimage Scan Dual IV - company now out of business. $250. New In the box. Scanned 300 + slides - fantastic software and resolution. Look for it

[miketoll]

I've got a Minolta Dimage Scan Elite 5400 which is superb (UK designation), the mark II is even better but Minolta have gone from the photographic business as said elsewhere. If you can find one though I would highly recommend it. Nikon do the Nikon Coolscan V ED and the Nikon Super Coolscan5000ED which are well thought of in UK magazines.These dedicated film scanners will give the best results, the higher the D Max the greater the range of shadow to highlight detail can be scanned and these top scanners should all be able to handle a slides contrast ok, the Minolta had the highest resolution and top D Max if I recall correctly. ICE 3 or ICE 4 are well worth having for automatic dust removal which can save hours of cloning without losing quality.

[Leif]

In the past if you wanted a high quality scan you either had to pay a lot for a drum scan, or buy a dedicated film scanner as flatbeds were not really that good. However the most recent flatbed scanners, such as the Epson V700, are rather good. You will find some excellent scanner reviews at www.photo-i.co.uk.

I use a Minolta 5400 to scan Fuji Provia 100F and Kodachrome 64. As Mike says, it uses ICE to remove scratches and dust and I see no reduction in image quality.

To get accurate colours for a given emulsion I created a profile using a Q60 slide from www.coloraid.de. Unfortunately I could not find a source of Q60 slides for Kodachrome and consequently scanning Kodachrome is a pain as I have to adjust the scanner RGB levels manually.

I also own a cheap Epson flatbed scanner and I was surprised to find that it gave accurate colours (to my eyes) without the need to create a profile.
This might be a characteristic of flatbeds.

I also use a digital camera to copy slides. I bought a Nikon ES-1 slide copier which I attach to the front of a Nikon 60mm macro lens mounted on a Nikon D200. I insert a slide in the end, point it at a light box, and take a photo. I find that the quality is superior to the scanner as the camera has better dynamic range. The only catch is that the ES-1 is designed for use with a film camera, and so to prevent the slide being cropped, I had to add some extension between the ES-1 and the lens. I did this using 5 used glassless filters. (It took a surprising amount of force to smash the fliter glass.) I find it a bit fiddly to use the ES-1 as it has a tendency to collapse (it trombones) and adjusting the slide position is not easy.

If you don't want to buy an ES-1 (~£60), you can simply mount the camera on a tripod, and point the camera at a light box. Getting the correct separation is a bit fiddly. Make sure the room is totally dark apart from the light box. Oh and use a Rocket Blower or similar to remove dust from the slides.

I have some example scans using the Minolta 5400 and the D200 + 60mm lens + ES-1. I can post some crops if anyone is interested.

Leif

[tallurianil]

Thanks for your inputs, Leif, I definitely will try to photograph the slide, never done that before but, sounds interesting to try. Will let you know how it works.
Thank you all for your help. Keep the ideas coming.
- Anil