35mm Slide Scanner

I am looking at various scanners that will take 35mm slides and was wondering if any TC users have some input on my decision? I have a large collection of 35mm slides I want to scan and make prints from and also to have as a digital archive but so far, my search for a relatively inexpensive scanner has produced no results.

I was looking at the HP Scanjet 4370 (+/- $100) which will handle both 35mm slides and negatives but some of the reviews have cited software problems with no available patch to cure it. Some of the others I have looked at have had bad reviews stating blurry scans and such. I was reading these reviews on Amazon.com

Suggestions???

Thanks,
TTT

I'm an architectural photographer by trade, a friend of mine is a wedding/portrait photographer. We both use Epson photo flatbed scanners for negatives and slides and really like the results. I use the Epson Perfection 2450 Photo, he has the newer (and faster) 3200. Both will handle up to 4x5 and support enough resolution for really nice 24x36 prints. Not as good as a drum scanner, but in prints of this size, plenty good enough.

Classic Silver Line Boats

[ Edited by: SilverLine 2006-02-06 08:24 ]

So,

You just put the slide into the scanner bed and wo-lah?

I have a ton of Eli slides. Must try this. Thanks!!!

I also use an Epson scanner, which has worked well for slides. It's the Epson Perfection 1650 Photo. This model number is no longer being made but I'm sure there is an equivalent made by Epson. It was only around $100 and received favorable reviews on Amazon.com for its slide scans: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00005M259/103-6589932-5110227?v=glance&n=172282.

Despite one review to the contrary on the Amazon page, it is compatible with Mac OS X, with a software download from Epson.

The way it works Ben, it comes with an accessory that you place on the scanner bed which has 4 holes of standard slide size, so you can set up the software to slide 4 at a time.

I scanned all our family slides at the highest resolution possible into TIFF files, and then export them to JPEGs if I want to email them or post them on the web.

Here's a couple examples of slides of my parents at the 1962 Seattle Worlds Fair that I scanned and exported to JPEG (so they are much smaller than the original scans):

The color is a bit cool, but is from the original slides, not caused by my scanner. If I experimented with the scan settings I might be able to correct the color a bit. But after scanning over a hundred slides I got lazy. Scanning them at high resolution isn't fast, it takes about 5 minutes per slide. There was also some dirt on the slides that showed in the scans.

I haven't used this particular slide scanner, but the Archaeological Research Center for the state of NC uses one that is made (I believe) by Nikon. It is very compact, smaller than an egg box; you just pop your slides into a cartridge and off it goes. It's a bit pricey - roughly $600 - but it produces AMAZING images that you can save in either .tif or .jpg formats depending on how much drive space you want to use. I was impressed with its compact size and speed as well as the quality of the images. I also like the fact that you don't have to worry about positioning the slide just right to keep your images from being cockeyed. I'll try to get hold of the guy at the ARC to make sure of the brand name - if it isn't Nikon, it's one of the other top camera brands.

amiotiki

... consider the nikon coolscan 9000ed... not too shabby... not super high end, but will get you from point "a" to point "b" in good shape for 35mm and a few other formats... firewire interface...

... an external drive (minumum of 180GB) would be a good little extra, too..

... whenever possible, buy the absolute best quality possible... you get what you pay for... and always load up on RAM, keep your computer lean and mean... dump all that extra crap that dell, apple and hp force on you... whenever possible, have someone build your box from the ground up...

[ Edited by: alohabros 2006-02-06 17:58 ]

I have the Nikon Coolscan IV. Works for me...

The way it works Ben, it comes with an accessory that you place on the scanner bed which has 4 holes of standard slide size, so you can set up the software to slide 4 at a time.

Crap! Not knowing what that was, I tossed it a long time ago. I'm just gonna put one on and wing it. Hanx!

... take the slides to costco... some dude was sending his digital photos there and paying something like 2 clams per 11" x 14" print... lightjet quality prints... that's cheap...

Thank you for all the information!!!

TTT :)

I would recommend the Epson Perfection 4490, it's a flatbed and film combo, and works well with 35mm. The Nikon Coolscan V ED is also a good choice if you want a dedicated slide scanner. This guide has some advice on what to look for: http://www.pickyguide.com/computers_and_software/slide_scanners_guide.html

I have an attatchment that goes onto the end of my sony digital camera. It cost me about 60 bucks on ebay. It works pretty damned well.

Heres one

http://cgi.ebay.com/SLIDE-COPIER-FOR-SONY-DSC-F717-F707-F828-OLYMPUS-C-8080_W0QQitemZ130077752026QQihZ003QQcategoryZ116190QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Check the Tiki Gardens post in Locating Tiki to see what it did for me. A heck of a lot cheaper than a couple hundred bucks.

heres the entire search listing

http://search.ebay.com/SLIDE-sony-dsc_W0QQfromZR8QQssPageNameZRC0021QQsubmitsearchZSearch

Now I had to use photoshop to get the colours corrected, but these were highly redshifted. I shoot them at 5.1 meg and I can get in on details really close if I like. Since its a camera, I can do some in camera adjustments to saturation and contrast. I can also shoot them in black and white or sepia with a click of a button.

The attatchement has two slots for slides, and you just point it at a light source, click and you've got a jpeg of your slide.

It may not be for everyone, but it did work wonders for the old pana-vue sized slides. Before when I would get them scanned at a photo place, their slide scanners would crop them horribly.

[ Edited by: TikiGardener 2007-02-12 00:24 ]

I have an Epson Perfection 1660(?) and it works just fine. It took a bit of tweaking to get it adjusted right for contrast. But, I have not had an issue with it in years. My only problem is that I must go through the Epson menu to use it as a slide scanner. Through Photoshop, it only works as a positive scanner. But, that's not too big a burden.

I've got a Epson Expression 1600 and it does really well.

I used to shoot all my pictures as slides back in the day. Most of what I shoot now is digital. I've got a lot of 35mm slides and I wanted to convert some of them to digital. I tried the scanner route and for me personally I didn't like the results. I bought a special lens for my Honeywell Pentax SLR that's used to duplicate slides. I shoot the slides on film and then send the film to what used to be Ofoto, now Kodak, and they develop the film, digitize the image, and return the negatives. I liked that better than using the scanner. I don't think my scanner is a slouch, HP Scanjet 5370C, but the results from having it done by Kodak for me were better and easier. I'm showing 2 pictures I took in Costa Rica in 1985 that were 35mm slides that I digitized with the method described.

[ Edited by: khan_tiki_mon 2007-02-25 11:19 ]