Jolly Roger Loc: Dorset. UK

I made something to use for scanning my slides (After sorting through them I chose approx. 1500). Which I copied part time over a few days.
Basically I used some matt black art board. Made a rectangular tube approx. 12" long. I blanked off the front end after cutting out a circular hole to allow the lens to fit inside it. The other end I made an end piece with a rectangular hole in it (to allow the slides to be either landscape or portrait. After that glued some strips of art board to make a frame to hold the transparency. Outside of that I fixed a translucent diffuser. (A piece of translucent plastic).
This assembly was secured to a small piece of plywood, to stop it moving and sat upon a window ledge using daylight for illumination. the camera/lens fixed to a tripod, with a remote release attached. The lens was pushed about one inch through the circular hole. Then carefully lined up to the slide, keeping it square on both planes. Set the camera on aperture priority and snapped away. Once into the rhythm I was taking about 3 or 4 a minute.

balticvid Loc: Queens now NJ

I have 15,000 slides I'd like to put on some discs.
They are all in Gepe(or Leica)universal 2X50 slide tray magazines.
The trays are for Leica and Rolli projectors. These magazines were very popular in Europe. Each tray holds 50 slides.
All slides have been heavily audited.
Would their be a quality scanner that would except these magazines?
Or am I asking too much. Thanks.
Walt

Edia Loc: Central New Jersey

My old Epson 2400 scanner has a slide/negative holder and converts 4 slides or 6 negatives at a time.

CLP1943 Loc: Wisconsin

Hi travisdeland. I hope you do not think it was me responding about your search. It was lev29 commenting to you about your "quick search".

I appreciate your taking the time to search and get back to me. I'm looking for all the suggestions you guys might have. Thanks.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Try a used Bowens Illumitran 3 --- about $150 on eBay. You need a T - adapter for your camera and a 60mm enlarger lens, but the result is a copy stand for slide transfers! I used one for 8 years to compose or copy slides for multi-image shows.

lev29 Loc: Born and living in MA.

Dear travisdeland,

CLP1943 is correct. I apologize as I assumed you knew that what your quick search found isn't that impressive compared with the ilk of a Nikon Coolscan. I thought you were trying to state how futile an Internet search is. Forgive me for construing your post as being a negative contribution on the whole.

CLP1943, please understand that I was trying to help you formulate an approach to your obtaining a solution. Whether I deserve any "credit" or not, it looks like the # of responses to your Topic took off after I mentioned the Nikon Coolscan.

Sincerely,
lev29 😃✌🏼️😎

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

It depends upon the quality of scan you need and want.

The best quality is achieved with a high-end, dedicated film scanner. For example, I use an older 4000 ppi Nikon film scanner that produces 130MB, 16 bit TIFF files at it's highest quality setting (which I've used to make 11x14 and larger prints). It does so one slide at a time (mounted slides) or with an accessory can handle a batch of up to 40 slides. It also can process film strips or entire uncut rolls of film without an accessory. But, each image scan takes some 10 minutes at the highest quality setting, so whenever I do a batch I set it up and let it run overnight.

There are more modern slide scanners designed to handle batches that do so a little more quickly, but they are rather pricey. Braun Multimag and Pacific Image Powerslide each can handle up to 50 mounted 35mm slides at a time and cost $1800 and $1000, respectively.

Plustek and Pacific Image make some one-at-a-time dedicated film scanners that cost between $300 and $500, with as much as 7500 ppi, that are quite capable.

Yes, it's possible to use a slide copier attachment with a DSLR instead. For decent quality, you need a good macro (or enlarger) lens and a steady light source. The quality won't be quite as good as a dedicated film scanner and the process will be rather slow... loading one mounted slide at a time, focusing on it and then snapping the duplicate image.

Either of those will usually be better than using a flatbed scanner. With flatbeds the resolution is lower and their optics just aren't as good. Also, with most flatbeds you're shooting the scan through a pane of glass, which further degrades image quality. Higher quality flatbeds might be okay to digitize medium and large format transparencies and negatives so long as you aren't planning to make huge prints from them. But 35mm and smaller film formats generally require too much magnification for most uses, which the flatbed simply can't handle well (an 8x12" print from a standard 35mm size image is about 13X magnification). Keep in mind that flatbeds are basically designed to make 1-to-1 copies... such as an 8.5x11" copy print from an 8.5x11" original. The dynamic range of flatbed scanners also typically are not as wide as dedicated film scanner DR.

There are also cheaper film scanners... under $200, some even $100 or less. In general, those aren't worth a damn unless you just need low quality scans for little more than 4x6" prints.

An alternative is to send your slides out to a service to have them scanned. The lower cost services such as ScanCafe (as low as 22 cents per slide) will make you 8 bit JPEGs around 1.5MP to 6MP that are probably enough to make 5x7" prints, but not very much more. Higher quality scanning services are available, can be done at 9000 or even higher ppi and 16 bit, but will cost a whole heck of a lot more per image.

You might consider buying a higher-end film scanner and using it to digitize your images. Once the images are digitized, unless you plan to continue shooting more slide film, there may be no reason to keep the scanner. So you might turn around and sell the scanner after you've completed the project. Doing that you may be able to recoup a lot of what you spent.

Any way you approach it, though, if you choose to make the scans yourself it's going to be a rather time-consuming project. You need to clean the slides, load them, focus on them, preview them and make any adjustments. Higher-end film scanners make this easier with faster image previews, autofocus and other automation, and provided software that can correct color tints, remove dust specks and scratches, is able to handle some of the trickier types of film (such as Kodachrome) and more. Just work at it steadily and a little at a time.

Nikonist Loc: Ellensburg WA

If you have a macro/micro capable lens (and a slide projector) then you can use your DSLR. If you want to get such a lens, here's an excuse.
This is what I did: http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-296208-1.html#4997551

kelso007 Loc: Circle Pines Minnesota

Architect1776: what settings do you kuse for slides on the 750/850.

rlscholl Loc: California

This site may help:
http://filmscanner.info/FilmscannerRangliste.html

Kuzano

And reconditioned... Selling for more than when they were new 10-15 years ago.

lev29 Loc: Born and living in MA.

Really? Why would that be? Should I deduce from this that they don't make 'em as well as they used to?

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

1200 dpi then make adjustments to the slide thumbnails.
For negatives scan as they are and different dpi depending on size for speed and clarity.
If I desire to print the slides 16x20 I go to 2400 dpi and they come out excellent.
Photo 1 was with a Canon F-1, 100-200mm lens and a Booster T finder then scanned. Zoom in on the detail, I don't see too much loss in detail from a flat bed scanner. Kodachrome mounted slide left mounted.
Photo 2 is my Daughter Canon FTb, 50mm f 1.4, Kodachrome slide as well.
Photo 3 was taken by my mother's father on a trip to WV. This was scanned from a negative.

Manti Temple, Utah

(Download)

My daughter

(Download)

A Family in WV taken in about 1916

(Download)

campkid3 Loc: Middle Tennessee

Just received this email today - you might investigate this avenue ....
Join The Millions Of Americans Digitizing Their Memories...CLICK HERE
http://thefamilyinsider.com/03/?utm_source=1122&utm_medium=100167&utm_term=24316139&utm_content=291&utm_campaign=GU&aff_id=1122&camp_id=9826&clk_id=24316139&sub_id=100167

BBurns Loc: South Bay, California

When I liquidated all of my Canon FD stuff, I made it a point to hang onto the 50mm Macro, the Auto-Bellows & the slide copier.
Specifically because I can mount my 5D MkII with an adapter onto the bellows and have a 21mp copier for some of my select stuff.
The rest of the stuff was sent out. I don’t care if all of the half blurry grandkids shots are copied on a 5 or 6 meg gizmo.