Slide scanner vs. shooting slides up on a screen

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

05/21/2008 01:53:17 PM · #1

and shooting them with a camera. My wife's father has a bazillion boxes of old slides. Some of his images are really great! He passed away and I wanted to make a book of his photography for family and others to enjoy. The only problem is I have to get those slides transfered somehow and I want to know what you guys think. Part of my wants to just shoot them up on a screen because I have all that gear, but if a slidescanner is better then I would probably go with that.

jeger

Canon EOS-5D

05/21/2008 01:54:47 PM · #2

A slide scanner is definitely the best way to go. Any other method won't be as clean and crisp. Plus you are able to control the settings.

scalvert

Canon EOS-5D Mark III

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

05/21/2008 02:05:58 PM · #3

C: None of the above. This inexpensive approach will give you the best results with the least amount of effort.

05/21/2008 02:27:38 PM · #4

I did the same thing last year with my great gardma's slides. I didn't have a scanner and I didn't want to spend a lot of money since there were so many. I set up my tripod, made sure I was in a nice dark room and set up the projector and started shooting. I used my p&s because it uses double a batteries and I just made sure I had the batteries all charged and I got it done in a week. I made mine into a movie and added music, gave them out as xmas gifts to my aunts and uncles.

05/21/2008 02:50:02 PM · #5

Originally posted by icu1965:

You wouldn't want to post an example would you? ...I would be forever grateful.

MelonMusketeer

Nikon D7000

Nikon MF 50mm f/1.4

05/21/2008 03:19:58 PM · #6

If there are a lot of them that you want to archive, and you are going to shoot them yourself, using your camera, you can use a dark room and project them through a piece of waxed paper or, even better, frosted glass. When you get them in the computer, you can reverse them (left right) in processing and adjust color balance. That way you can keep the camera lined up squarely with the projectior. If they are in trays for the projector already, this may make doing the shoot a lot quicker and easier for you. Be aware that light level will change quite a bit from slide to slide, so you may want to bracket or shoot manual to get the best results. Be sure to focus each one on the screen before you shoot it, and it's better if the screen is at least large enough to see to focus sharply.
I use an old Chroma Pro slide/film copier, which is a lot like a color enlarger in reverse, with the light in the base, and the slide fits in a holder. The camera goes on a post with a rack so I can move it up and down to frame the shot. I use a Micro Nikkor 55mm and extension tube to get the 35mm slide to fit full frame in the camera.
Samples.

05/21/2008 03:23:10 PM · #7

That works for me. I am going to give it a try tonight. Then I might just go with

scalvert suggestion. I am just worried about loosing my slides in transit.

05/21/2008 04:06:25 PM · #8

Originally posted by Jason_Cross:

You wouldn't want to post an example would you? ...I would be forever grateful.

I would be glad to. Give me a few minutes and I'll dig the disks out of my files and post a couple for you!

05/21/2008 04:21:00 PM · #9

That is so nice of you!

05/21/2008 04:25:40 PM · #10

Here are a couple examples along with my disclaimer :) My grandma was not very good with a camera and you'll probably have a better set up if you have a more modern slide projector. I used her slide projector which I had to manually focus in on each slide and I had to manually change slides. I could have rented a slide projector for $25.00 a day, but I had no idea how long it was going to take to go through 3,000+ slides!
[thumb]680832[/thumb] [thumb]680833[/thumb] [thumb]680834[/thumb] [thumb]680835[/thumb]
edit to fix the thumbnail

Message edited by author 2008-05-21 16:26:11.

05/21/2008 04:28:36 PM · #11

That is fantastic. I think the results are very good as well. This will probably work for me. I am excited to dig into this project. I might start this evening.

One question, How large did you blow the photos up to before shooting. Did you keep them smaller, or make them huge?

Those photos remind me of that show "The Wonder Years".

Message edited by author 2008-05-21 16:31:53.

05/21/2008 04:32:36 PM · #12

I kept them relatively small. I set the camera up next to the slide projector and about 3 feet in front of the screen. That set up worked for me because if I moved to far away the colours seemed to fade a bit. I also found that when I was closer to the screen it was easier to focus my projector, but if yours has an autofocus you might not have that same situation. Just do a couple of test shots and figure out what looks best and if you have to put your gear away you can mark it with tape so that you know where to put everyhting back the next time you get it out.

05/21/2008 04:35:59 PM · #13

Originally posted by Jason_Cross:

Those photos remind me of that show "The Wonder Years".

LOL, the one of the kids are my aunts and my dad. My dad is in the grey and the poor twins were dressed identical until they graduated high school! It was probably taken in the early 50's, but I don't think Winnie Cooper lived down the street ;)

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

05/21/2008 04:36:01 PM · #14

I will post some up this weekend. I am going to get going on it tonight.

scalvert

Canon EOS-5D Mark III

05/21/2008 04:50:30 PM · #15

FWIW that may suffice for your needs, but ScanCafe results would be MUCH sharper, the color would be restored and much of the dust removed.

05/21/2008 04:53:15 PM · #16

How much does ScanCafe charge for a bazillion slides?

Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8 L IS

05/21/2008 04:59:01 PM · #17

I think it was .24 a slide and then dust removal was .09 and then you only actually end up buying the ones that you want, which is pretty cool. It looks like a great way to go, but I just don't need anything that quality unless I find some real gems that need printed, then I will probably send those out.

kirbic

Canon EOS R5

05/21/2008 07:18:30 PM · #18

Here's another option. This would require the adapter I linked to, plus a macro lens, plus possibly an extension tube. I suspect that using the 55 Micro Nikkor and a 13mm tube, as stated, would give 1:1 magnification and thus result in a somewhat cropped image with your D50. You'd want to decrease the extension so that you are able to achieve less than 1:1, specifically 1:1.5 so that the 35mm frame fills your APS-C frame.
I built a duplicator like this that I use with my Canon 5D, and it does an absolutely outstanding job, equal to a 3000dpi scan, but without the ability to do automatic dust removal. The slide scanners have four channels (Red, Green, Blue, and Infrared) and the infrared channel is used in the dust removal process. Dust is always a problem with slides.

05/21/2008 07:23:18 PM · #19

I thought about buying one of those, if my grandma had taken better pictures I would have spent the money on it.