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Problem scanning slides
Jan 12, 2015 15:09:52   #
lwerthe1mer Loc: Birmingham, Alabama
 
I am committed to reviewing and scanning perhaps 2,000 old slides of my children growing up (they are now ages 40 and 38). When I pulled out my trusty Kodak Carousel 650 and all of my circular carousels containing photos, I found that my slide projector is broken. I have never been good at repairing electronics.

I have found a replacement on eBay for $70 (including shipping) which purports to work. The seller is rated "one-star" and I am reluctant to deal with him.

Should I take a chance on the eBay projector for $70? Is there another, reliable source for a replacement projector? Should I buy another type of scanner, empty my carousels and view the photos through different technology?

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

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Jan 12, 2015 15:15:37   #
keoni Loc: LA & HI
 
I have the same projector, I have minor problems with, one of my daughters is looking on ebay, several months ago there were about 25-30 and almost all were priced under $50. Good luck finding what you want. :)

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Jan 12, 2015 15:16:49   #
rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona
 
lwerthe1mer wrote:
I am committed to reviewing and scanning perhaps 2,000 old slides of my children growing up (they are now ages 40 and 38). When I pulled out my trusty Kodak Carousel 650 and all of my circular carousels containing photos, I found that my slide projector is broken. I have never been good at repairing electronics.

I have found a replacement on eBay for $70 (including shipping) which purports to work. The seller is rated "one-star" and I am reluctant to deal with him.

Should I take a chance on the eBay projector for $70? Is there another, reliable source for a replacement projector? Should I buy another type of scanner, empty my carousels and view the photos through different technology?

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
I am committed to reviewing and scanning perhaps 2... (show quote)


I think the overall quality of the images, once converted to digital will suffer if you use a projector. Your best bet is to use that $70 to help purchase an actual scanner. The results will be much more professional in their appearance.
--Bob

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Jan 12, 2015 15:29:13   #
lwerthe1mer Loc: Birmingham, Alabama
 
rmalarz wrote:
I think the overall quality of the images, once converted to digital will suffer if you use a projector. Your best bet is to use that $70 to help purchase an actual scanner. The results will be much more professional in their appearance.
--Bob


I intend to use the projector to simply view my slides and pick out those which I want to scan. I will then send the selected slides to a service for this purpose. Any recommendations on a service?

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Jan 12, 2015 16:05:32   #
rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona
 
lwerthe1mer wrote:
I intend to use the projector to simply view my slides and pick out those which I want to scan. I will then send the selected slides to a service for this purpose. Any recommendations on a service?


You might save yourself some money then and just look for a slide viewer. I think that might be a better solution than purchasing a projector to just evaluate which slides you wish to scan.

The only scanning service I'd use is one that is local to me. They provide excellent quality in any imaging.

Tempe Imaging Center.

They are associated with Tempe Camera, while I am not. I'm only a customer.

http://www.tempecamera.biz

--Bob

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Jan 12, 2015 16:33:20   #
KennyMac Loc: Lynchburg, VA
 
lwerthe1mer wrote:
I intend to use the projector to simply view my slides and pick out those which I want to scan. I will then send the selected slides to a service for this purpose. Any recommendations on a service?


You might want to consider just buying a "slide viewer" or a light table. Amazon shows slide viewers starting at $10. They all probably use 2 AA batteries. I used to use one to do just what you're doing.
Ken

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Jan 13, 2015 08:16:02   #
jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY
 
lwerthe1mer wrote:
I am committed to reviewing and scanning perhaps 2,000 old slides of my children growing up (they are now ages 40 and 38). When I pulled out my trusty Kodak Carousel 650 and all of my circular carousels containing photos, I found that my slide projector is broken. I have never been good at repairing electronics.

I have found a replacement on eBay for $70 (including shipping) which purports to work. The seller is rated "one-star" and I am reluctant to deal with him.

Should I take a chance on the eBay projector for $70? Is there another, reliable source for a replacement projector? Should I buy another type of scanner, empty my carousels and view the photos through different technology?

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
I am committed to reviewing and scanning perhaps 2... (show quote)

I had the same problem a few years ago, and bought both a slide projector and an 8mm movie projector on ebay. Good price, good equipment. I would only buy from sellers with high ratings.

I've had lots of slides scanned by ScanCafe, about .30/slide. Anything other than 35mm costs a lot more.

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Jan 13, 2015 09:03:19   #
jgitomer Loc: Skippack Pennsylvania
 
My experience is that the retirement community sales are the best place to find inexpensive photo gear. Look for retirement communities where the tenants/homeowners association runs either a thrift shop or periodic sales of goods donated by new residents who are downsizing.

Some patience is required to wade through the kitchen appliances, VHS and Beta players, and old stereo equipment in order to find the photo gear which is either ridiculously overpriced or just as ridiculously underpriced.

Over the last two years I purchased a Kodak 850 slide projector for $15, a Kodak 4250 slide projector with a stack loader for $25 (I bought it for the stack loader) and an old Panasonic 4MP digital camera for $10 (Now I have a lens that says Leica :lol: ).

Jerry

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Jan 13, 2015 09:20:50   #
JimBart Loc: Western Michigan
 
You may want to try craigslist or better yet check out local rummage sales or garage sales. May be cheaper and in better condition. Found an old 8 mm movie projector that way

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Jan 13, 2015 10:42:32   #
JFleming Loc: Belchertown, Ma
 
Check this one out -
http://www.buydig.com/shop/product.aspx?sku=PF7200U&ref=pricegrabber&omid=122&utm_source=Pricegrabber&utm_medium=CSE&utm_item=PF7200U&CAWELAID=1474767503

I bought one of these from Costco on-line and it does a decent job of scanning my old slides.

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Jan 13, 2015 11:27:20   #
lwerthe1mer Loc: Birmingham, Alabama
 
Thanks to everyone for your helpful responses.

I located my exact slide projector on Amazon for $165.95, but, based on comments from all of you, I decided not to spend the money. Instead I have ordered a slide viewer which will suffice for sorting my slides.

Thanks also for the recommendations of companies who can digitize slides. I was aware of ScanCafe, and am now aware of a smaller company, Tempe Camera, http://www.tempecamera.biz. I may use Tempe Camera based on Bob's glowing recommendation.

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Jan 13, 2015 12:11:37   #
lhdiver Loc: Midwest
 
Check your local thrift store, I've picked them up for $5, also garage sales, estate sales, etc.
A slide duplicator that fits your slr camera works well to "duplicate" the slides & you have a nice sized file to work with.

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Jan 13, 2015 12:14:55   #
lwerthe1mer Loc: Birmingham, Alabama
 
Having decided to use a "slide viewer" for my project rather than a projector, I have a broken Kodak Carousel 650 which I plan to throw away unless someone has a use for it. Anyone can have the projector by simply paying postage.

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