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06-17-2008, 09:49 AM   #1
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How to make Slide films digital

Hello,

My Geology professor wants to convert all those fablous slides he shot with K1000 into a digital format..there are 1000s of them..which are the different methods of making them digital? Mention Pros n cons of each method please..

thanks,

Hrishi

06-17-2008, 09:58 AM   #2
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I know of 3 ways to do it

1 - get a dedicated slide scanner, and DIY this takes time, I used a minolta Dimage II scanner took 4 years to do 20,000 frames (1/3 slides 2/3 print film). Newer scanners may be faster look for one that takes a minimum 4 slides at a time

2 - some flat bed scanners can scan slides and negs's but resolution is not as good, may be faster than dedicated film scanner, and also cheaper and more useable for other things.

3 - send them out to be scanned. cost is probably in the range of $.19 to $.25 per frame (based upon some magazine articles I have seen.

Regardless of method, cataloging will be a real problem. Have him sort them first in to groups. with numbers etc. because you never know when he will want to go back to the origonals
06-17-2008, 11:18 AM   #3
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Someone in the forum (I don't remember who) suggested scancafe.com. I haven't used them yet, but I may give them a try.
06-17-2008, 12:03 PM   #4
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I have scanned my few thousands negatives/slides using Minolta Dimage III (or IV). They only accept 4 mouted slides so the scanning process is time consuming. I think I have seen an advertisement for a scanner that can take a whole tray of slides and scan them. Sort of like a projector. Though this requires a lot of time allocated for such project. If I knew how long it will take me to scan all my slides/negatives, I would gladly pay the $0.20 per slide to have them scanned professionaly.

06-17-2008, 03:16 PM   #5
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Some previous discussions:
06-17-2008, 04:15 PM   #6
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I'm also a little involved with the Sigma DSLR board at dpreview, and they had 2 DIY slide scanners the last few days
Here's link 1
And link 2

In general Sigma owners appear to be more hands on than Pentax owners (their cameras have more quirks, so they have to be) so I wasn't a bit surprised to see them there.
06-17-2008, 05:15 PM   #7
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QuoteOriginally posted by hrishi Quote
there are 1000s of them..
If there are 1000s of them, and if they are all mounted slides, I would buy one of those slide scanners accepting entire trays. Scanning an entire tray then is automatic and scanning dozens of trays won't take long.

Otherwise, as mentioned earlier, dedicated film scanners give the best quality.

An interesting solution are slide holders you can screw in front of a macro lens and you digitize slides/film stripes as fast as you can swap them. You need a a proper light source or overcast daylight, though.

06-17-2008, 06:10 PM   #8
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Send them out to be done or.....

Find a responsible teenager on summer break, willing to make an easy $10 per hour listening to thier iPod while scanning in slides all day!
06-17-2008, 06:33 PM   #9
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Thanks for the quick reply guys...I think I'll suggest him to buy the dedicated film scanner..I'm confused on one part though-whether it supports both negatives and positives..

All the slides are aerial photographs which he himself clicked and are BEAUTIFUL..I dont mind to scan them listening to ipod for the entire day if he agrees to give me a copy of them..scientifically if u ask, each photo is PERFECT n priceless...

OR even better option will be to ask him buy me a macro lens so that I'll shoot them all n many more

He he, that will be something- to shoot photos of 1: 5000 from at 1:1!!
06-17-2008, 06:39 PM   #10
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Hey, isnt there any SEARCH option in the pentaxforums.com? coz even this topic seems to be covered many times like a few other I had posted..

actually its too time consuming to keep a track of all the topics being covered in different forums..A SEARCH option would have been helpful..

Also, while uploading a photo while replying, my photo doesnt get posted..dunno why..My internet speed is decent..
06-17-2008, 06:57 PM   #11
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QuoteOriginally posted by hrishi Quote
Hey, isnt there any SEARCH option in the pentaxforums.com? coz even this topic seems to be covered many times like a few other I had posted..

actually its too time consuming to keep a track of all the topics being covered in different forums..A SEARCH option would have been helpful..

Also, while uploading a photo while replying, my photo doesnt get posted..dunno why..My internet speed is decent..
SEARCH:
film scanner site:pentaxforums.com - Google Search
(because I find the site's search too cumbersome, actually...)

NEGATIVES:
Yes, a film scanner supports both.

Another note...

If you go for a film scanner, don't ignore the software side. There is scanning software (e.g., SilverFast with Nikon scanners) which scans multiple times with different exposures to obtain higher bit depth. May be worth a consideration if some of the photos are higher than 8 Bit contrast.
06-18-2008, 05:36 AM   #12
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I use a Bower Slide Duplicator that attaches to the digital camera lens. I know this isn't very hi-tec but for my budget it works well.
06-18-2008, 08:12 AM   #13
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QuoteOriginally posted by pentax4ever Quote
I use a Bower Slide Duplicator that attaches to the digital camera lens. I know this isn't very hi-tec but for my budget it works well.
How do you get around the crop factor, or is it a "non-factor" when using a lens attachment?
06-18-2008, 05:39 PM   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by volosong Quote
How do you get around the crop factor, or is it a "non-factor" when using a lens attachment?
Cropping is limited with the lens but I usually do my cropping on the computer.
07-01-2008, 03:30 PM   #15
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QuoteOriginally posted by volosong Quote
How do you get around the crop factor, or is it a "non-factor" when using a lens attachment?
I have an old 'Ohnar' slide copier that I used successfuly on my Canon EOS 600 and Ae1p



Used on my K10 the crop factor does crop the edges of the slide, but I think they still sell them so perhaps the new, dedicated, one would be ok?
They do need a lot of light though.

I read somewhere about someone using a good lightbox with a matte to tale one slide and a camera mounted on a tripod above it. Apparently he got good results, but again it might be slow? Maybe worth it for a few?
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