Convert Color Slides to Digital
Mar 25, 2015 12:28:49 #
PeterGdev wrote:
Does anyone have personal experience as to the most effective way to do this? I have approx 2000 to convert, and while those from Kodak still show perfect color, I will have to correct the Agfa slides as they have shifted to a purple hue.
Over the past three years I have gone through over 10,000 slides and digitized 4000 that I felt I wanted to keep. I use an Eposn photo scanner for normal resolution images and an OpticFilm 8200i for high resolution images.
Mar 25, 2015 12:31:33 #
@Silvermeteor:
Diffuse the monitor through milky plexiglass, then use a slow shutter speed that evades the monitor's scan rate, and there's no reason you can't use a calibrated monitor as a white light source.
But if you just lay the film chip on the bare monitor and use a high shutter speed, all hell breaks loose! You'll pick up the RGGB or RGB pattern of the monitor pixels, under the image, in addition to getting occasional dark color banding from the horizontal scan rate of the monitor.
Diffuse the monitor through milky plexiglass, then use a slow shutter speed that evades the monitor's scan rate, and there's no reason you can't use a calibrated monitor as a white light source.
But if you just lay the film chip on the bare monitor and use a high shutter speed, all hell breaks loose! You'll pick up the RGGB or RGB pattern of the monitor pixels, under the image, in addition to getting occasional dark color banding from the horizontal scan rate of the monitor.
Mar 25, 2015 12:39:05 #
Silvermeteor
Loc: South Carolina, USA
burkphoto wrote:
@Silvermeteor: br br Diffuse the monitor through ... (show quote)
I knew there must be something I was overlooking. It comes from lots of practice. lol
Thanks for the reply.
Mar 25, 2015 13:02:41 #
Mar 25, 2015 13:56:15 #
A few months back I copied around 1,000 selected slides of my own plus around 500 for a friend of mine. I didn't want to buy a dedicated scanner as once I had gone through the process the scanner would be redundant.
So using matt black foam board I made a rectangular box,approx. 12 " long. Cut a circular hole at one end, to accept a macro lens and taped a slide projector's manual slide holder at the other Then fitted a translucent piece of perspex outside of that (diffuser). Pointed it at a window and fired away.
If you wish to see the results go to my topic "Is anybody there?"
So using matt black foam board I made a rectangular box,approx. 12 " long. Cut a circular hole at one end, to accept a macro lens and taped a slide projector's manual slide holder at the other Then fitted a translucent piece of perspex outside of that (diffuser). Pointed it at a window and fired away.
If you wish to see the results go to my topic "Is anybody there?"
Mar 25, 2015 14:03:35 #
burkphoto wrote:
Yeah, ICE is great stuff. It does not like Kodachr... (show quote)
still have several static master brushes and I do use them for film scanning I've always wondered how much radiation I've absorbed over the years.
Wonder what would happen if you had one of those brushes in your carry on luggage ..would they let you board your flight after the strip search, the clearing and shut down of the terminal by the swat teams from three counties, etc.
Mar 25, 2015 14:28:35 #
There is a saying, "there is a cost to doing business". You will have to decide how much you want to spend, and how much your time is worth:
1) The first option is to pay someone to do it. There are several sites that will do it for around 38 cents per slide, and then sometimes give 10% off so you'll pay around $700.
2) The second option is to buy one of the scanners recommended. I have a PlusTek and it scans one slide at a time at a high quality level. To do each slide I do a pre scan do any necessary adjustments necessary, and then scan. This process probably takes 3-4 minutes per slide. That's a lot of time.
It sounds like you've never done this before and will probably never do it again. There is a cost whichever way you go so you'll have to decide. You may just pay the money to have it done in the next few weeks and be done with it.
1) The first option is to pay someone to do it. There are several sites that will do it for around 38 cents per slide, and then sometimes give 10% off so you'll pay around $700.
2) The second option is to buy one of the scanners recommended. I have a PlusTek and it scans one slide at a time at a high quality level. To do each slide I do a pre scan do any necessary adjustments necessary, and then scan. This process probably takes 3-4 minutes per slide. That's a lot of time.
It sounds like you've never done this before and will probably never do it again. There is a cost whichever way you go so you'll have to decide. You may just pay the money to have it done in the next few weeks and be done with it.
Mar 26, 2015 10:40:23 #
I really appreciate the time that everyone took to respond with their personal experiences. I find this forum incredibly useful to get unbiased and highly relelvant feedback as all commercial prejudices are removed. Today even the Amazon "reviews" are driven by Amazon incentives so objectivity is lost.
It seems that the the trade-offs are cost, quality, and speed - and this project is somewhat unique as I am never likely to need the equipment again in the future.
Need to make a decision and get on with it.......
It seems that the the trade-offs are cost, quality, and speed - and this project is somewhat unique as I am never likely to need the equipment again in the future.
Need to make a decision and get on with it.......
Mar 26, 2015 10:50:38 #
PeterGdev wrote:
I really appreciate the time that everyone took to... (show quote)
Consider buying and selling a used scanner...
Mar 26, 2015 11:10:29 #
I have between an archive of between 25 and 30,000 trannies
Most are Kodachrome 25, some 64 Shot over the last 50/60 years. I use a Nikon LS 4000 and a Nikon Coolscan 4 to scan about 50 or so a week.
If I was in your shoes I would either speak to a company that does proffessional scanning and negotiate a deal on price and numbers or look at purchasing a good dedicated film scanner and then sell it off when finished scanning
Most are Kodachrome 25, some 64 Shot over the last 50/60 years. I use a Nikon LS 4000 and a Nikon Coolscan 4 to scan about 50 or so a week.
If I was in your shoes I would either speak to a company that does proffessional scanning and negotiate a deal on price and numbers or look at purchasing a good dedicated film scanner and then sell it off when finished scanning
Mar 26, 2015 13:02:41 #
hj
Loc: Florida
I agree.... on eBay 'cause you won't need it after conversion.
burkphoto wrote:
Consider buying and selling a used scanner...
Mar 26, 2015 13:24:03 #
hj wrote:
I agree.... on eBay 'cause you won't need it after conversion.
If it last that long, I had a Canon scanner that I wore out after about 4,000 scans. Lower end model but produced good results. My Epson V300 has about 1,000 on it, so I have not killed it yet.
Mar 26, 2015 15:44:19 #
WayneL wrote:
If it last that long, I had a Canon scanner that I wore out after about 4,000 scans. Lower end model but produced good results. My Epson V300 has about 1,000 on it, so I have not killed it yet.
We used Epson flatbeds in the lab where I worked. Never wore one out. A drop of oil on the rails after a few years got rid of a squeak that developed... The thing actually got better with age due to software updates!
We also had some 1999 UMAX Mirage IIs with Binuscan Photoperfect software. That stuff was incredible. We got perfect scans from prints, and perfect color separations for yearbook production. I wish I had one of those around now.
If you want to reply, then register here. Registration is free and your account is created instantly, so you can post right away.