kodachrome slides: i am retired after years and years of taking kodachrome slides - switched a number of years ago to digital - with the spare time i have now i would like to put the...

mrtoad90 Loc: western north carolina, usa

i am retired after years and years of taking kodachrome slides - switched a number of years ago to digital - with the spare time i have now i would like to put the slides into a digital format - any suggestions to help with this process would be helpful

if you suggest a scanner - which one do you recommend

thanks

mr toad

GWR100 Loc: England

I have a Canon MP980 and have converted hundreds of slides and its very easy and all are perfect. Don't bother with the cheap converters, they don't work. Hope this helps.

mrtoad90 wrote:

i am retired after years and years of taking kodachrome slides - switched a number of years ago to digital - with the spare time i have now i would like to put the slides into a digital format - any suggestions to help with this process would be helpful

if you suggest a scanner - which one do you recommend

thanks

mr toad

ASR666 Loc: Singapore

I have an Epson V600 which I used to convert my Dad's slides from the 50's - 70's. It has a slide attachment which made the process pretty easy. I used a software called Vuescan to scan the images - gets rid of scratches and fungus and you can then use Photoshop if you like.

mrtoad90 wrote:

i am retired after years and years of taking kodachrome slides - switched a number of years ago to digital - with the spare time i have now i would like to put the slides into a digital format - any suggestions to help with this process would be helpful

if you suggest a scanner - which one do you recommend

thanks

mr toad

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

ASR666 wrote:

I have an Epson V600 which I used to convert my Da... (show quote)

Yes, the Epson V600 is a very capable scanner.

mooseeyes Loc: Sonora, California

I have an "Epson Perfection V700 Photo" scanner. It comes with everything that you need to scan 35mm film, 35mm slides, medium format, and 4x5 film.

Very high resolution scans of color negs, color positives, as well as B&W film. This scanner also works well for scanning flat media and prints.

The software that comes with it is great. This scanner also has a built in dust remomval system, and other nice features. I used to have a high end UMAX flatbed scanner and a Polaroid 35mm film/slide scanner. My Epson V700 Photo replaced both of my old outdated scanners, doing a much better job than either of my prior scanners.

If for some reason my Epson V700 Photo would happen to die on my, I would buy another one of these, without hesitation!

Nikonian72 Loc: Chico CA

My problem with slide scanning is not the hardware nor software, but proper dust/spot-removal of the two slide surfaces. Canned air does not remove the most stubborn spots. I am discouraged with streaks left on slide after cleaning with "approved" solutions, or with denatured alcohol, or with isopropyl alcohol.

What dust-removal process works best, just prior to scanning?

ASR666 Loc: Singapore

I've found canned air to be the only non-destructive method that works. Other methods such as washing, liquid cleaners, etc. leaves streaks or results in pigment loss. Also, all these methods don't remove fungus which is the biggest problem with old slides. There's no way to effectively remove fungus that I'm aware of since it binds with the pigment and surface. So, I scan the slide at a high enough resolution and then use the software to extract as clean a copy as I can. Hope this helped ...

Nikonian72 wrote:

My problem with slide scanning is not the hardware nor software, but proper dust/spot-removal of the two slide surfaces. Canned air does not remove the most stubborn spots. I am discouraged with streaks left on slide after cleaning with "approved" solutions, or with denatured alcohol, or with isopropyl alcohol.

What dust-removal process works best, just prior to scanning?

Nikonian72 Loc: Chico CA

ASR666 wrote:

I've found canned air to be the only non-destructive method that works. Other methods such as washing, liquid cleaners, etc. leaves streaks or results in pigment loss. Also, all these methods don't remove fungus which is the biggest problem with old slides. There's no way to effectively remove fungus that I'm aware of since it binds with the pigment and surface. So, I scan the slide at a high enough res and then use the software to extract as clean a copy as I can.

Not the answer I want to read. I was looking for the magic solution.

Mpeter45 Loc: Springfield, Illinois

Used to be software called Digital Ice, it was made by a company called Applied Science Fiction in Austin, TX. It was later acquired by Kodak. It was very good at scratch and dust removal. Does this count as a magic solution?

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

Mpeter45 wrote:

Used to be software called Digital Ice, it was made by a company called Applied Science Fiction in Austin, TX. It was later acquired by Kodak. It was very good at scratch and dust removal. Does this count as a magic solution?

Works pretty well with Nikon scanners.
Four passes: R, G, B, then an infrared scan.
Anything picked up on the IR scan gets "fixed".
Only works with dye based images, color slides, color negs and chromogenic B&W.
Does weird stuff with B&W negs and radiographs as the IR scan thinks the silver in the image is dust.

There is a special setting we use for Kodachrome slides.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_ICE

Mpeter45 Loc: Springfield, Illinois

Another thing to consider is the quantity desired. My experience is that with flatbed scanners is that while there are some decent models, they are painfully slow at the resolutions needed for slides. I have a Cano 9900 that scans at 3200dpi shock is okay for slides, but it takes really long time per slide. For reasonable times, you should use a dedicated slide scanner. You know. Wal-Mart will scan slides for very little . How good, I don't know.

Pablo8 Loc: Nottingham UK.

I have a Kodak dust remover, which consists of two rows of brushes (vertical) approx' 8 inches high, and two metal plates that emit a negative static charge to the negative / film / tranny as it is passed between the plates and brushes..The unit is plugged into the mains electric to give the necessary dust removing charge. I don't suppose they are made now, as mine is over 30 years old.

FilmFanatic Loc: Waikato, New Zealand

ICE does not work on Kodachrome, except for via Silverfast, I believe. Vuescan doesn't have that ability

DOOK Loc: Maclean, Australia

I second GWR100. I also have a Canon MP980 & it has converted thousands of slides to digital. It has also printed over 5,000 CD/DVD labels (sorry, got off the subject there).

selmslie Loc: Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

Nikonian72 wrote:

...What dust-removal process works best, just prior to scanning?

Unfortunately, Digital ICE will not work for Kodachrome or B&W.

Film cleaning solutions are not much help either since they are likely to damage the film surface. Canned "air" can also damage the surface if held too close as it may contain harmful chemicals.

The only solution I have found after scanning over 25,000 slides and negatives is to brush off the dust with a camels hair brush. As a last resort you can try washing and re-mounting the slide.