Scanning Slides

[stockcerts]

I posted this thread somewhere else, and didn't get a reply....so here it is again.

I have many carousels of slides from my military days. I would love to get them all scanned and create some IMovies with the scanned images.

Does anyone here have a recommendation on a good scanner that does a nice job with slides? I'm potentially looking at scanning hundreds of them. I'll probably need adult beverages to make this a palatable task.

 

[Doylem]

I bought a Nikon Coolscan V ED to 'digitise' a LOT of 35mm slides. The machine is terrific: VERY simple to use, astounding quality... and the way it deals with dust and marks is nothing short of miraculous...

 

[Keebler]

I posted this thread somewhere else, and didn't get a reply....so here it is again.

I have many carousels of slides from my military days. I would love to get them all scanned and create some IMovies with the scanned images.

Does anyone here have a recommendation on a good scanner that does a nice job with slides? I'm potentially looking at scanning hundreds of them. I'll probably need adult beverages to make this a palatable task.

you could also find a reputable store nearby who offers scanning. photography stores usually offer this service and it's not that expensive either. They use either the coolscan as mentioned or more professional models. It depends on whether or not you want to resell the coolscan later (if you bought one and used it) and/or whether or not you want to learn the process and spend the time doing it. Some folks do, some don't.

Myself - I bought the Epson V700 Photo scanner b/c it handles slides, transparencies and regular photos. I use Silverfast from lasersoft imaging to remove dust and scratches. i found the DICE automatic dust and scratch removal is too arbitrary - ie. it tends to remove non-dust issues, which look like dust or anomalies. SilverFast allows me to circle the stuff i don't want on the slide and the scanner just ignores those areas, automatically repairing them.

Just some more info for you.

 

[Lovesong]

I would have to agree with the Coolscan recommendation. I have a Coolscan 5000, and the quality I get out of my scans is incredible. The difference between the 5000 and the V is the fact that the 5000 can pull 16-bit images (as opposed to the 14-bit from the V), and that it has a 2-line pass (as opposed to the 1-line in the V).

I would suggest you skip the Silverfast. The software is overpriced, stuffed, and unless you don't have photoshop, or are a complete newb in terms of image editing, there is no need for all the bells and whistles Silverfast offers. I would suggest Vuescan- it's simple, intuitive, stable and does one thing- scan. That, and it's about a third of the price of Silverfast.

 

[-hh]

I would have to agree with the Coolscan recommendation. I have a Coolscan 5000, and the quality I get out of my scans is incredible. The difference between the 5000 and the V is the fact that the 5000 can pull 16-bit images (as opposed to the 14-bit from the V), and that it has a 2-line pass (as opposed to the 1-line in the V).

Plus Nikon's bulk slide feeder fits on the 5000. It doesn't fit on the V.



-hh

 

[Keebler]

I would have to agree with the Coolscan recommendation. I have a Coolscan 5000, and the quality I get out of my scans is incredible. The difference between the 5000 and the V is the fact that the 5000 can pull 16-bit images (as opposed to the 14-bit from the V), and that it has a 2-line pass (as opposed to the 1-line in the V).

I would suggest you skip the Silverfast. The software is overpriced, stuffed, and unless you don't have photoshop, or are a complete newb in terms of image editing, there is no need for all the bells and whistles Silverfast offers. I would suggest Vuescan- it's simple, intuitive, stable and does one thing- scan. That, and it's about a third of the price of Silverfast.

totally disagree about the silverfast slam. there are different versions so you don't need all the bells and whistles and you don't NEED photoshop. it runs standalone quite fine. i just can't see how something automatic can better something manual and visual. When i have too many projects on the go, I'll have a local shop use their coolscan and it doesn't seem to remove what I think it should. Granted, perhaps they're not maybe using all the right filters and settings, but i my slides always turn out nicer in terms of dust/junk removal. I will say this about SF, which i'm not impressed, as of last month, they didn't support the intel machines. It's only on my G5 for now

Another idea for the OP - maybe you can rent a Coolscan? I've thought about this. the 5000 runs anywhere from $850 to 1000.... pretty expensive for a round of scans. if you were running a business, then it makes sense.

 

[Lovesong]

totally disagree about the silverfast slam. there are different versions so you don't need all the bells and whistles and you don't NEED photoshop. it runs standalone quite fine. i just can't see how something automatic can better something manual and visual.

I guess it's just me then. I guess I know enough about PS, what I need to do to get my slides out the way I want them, and more often than not, I'm just looking for something that will give me all the controls I need, and none of the extras I don't. Before I got my Coolscan, I used Image Capture, instead of the EpsonScan software. Why? Because it was simple and stable.

I understand the automation part of it. Yes, it is a lot easier to let the software do everything for you. But it's not fair to say that Vuescan is that dumbed down.

The other thing that frustrated me about SF was the fact that if one were to own 3 scanners, they would need to pay for three different copies of the software. Vuescan works equally well with my Coolscan, the lab's V750, and my crappy 3190.

To each his own I guess. I just feel that a scanning software should do one thing, and one thing alone. It's likely that I'm just obfuscating things.