PVC Pipe Slide Scanning technique?

I read on another forum about a method for scanning slides w/ a digital camera which used a section of PVC pipe as a mount for the slide -- does anyone have any experience w/ this, and could you explain the set up? It looked like it produced a very good image.

Thanks in advance

 

I never heard of that technique before. But it seems like it might work. Try an experiment or test to see if it works.

 

This appears to be a commercial version of what you're talking about. There seems to be a variety of parts required depending on what camera you have.

http://www.photosolve.com/main/product/xtendaslide/index.html

 

In my experience, it's a little more fussy than a piece of pvc pipe and some holders. I built a slide duplicator in 1970 out of a piece of stiff cardboard tube, a lens mount from a cheap, busted lens, some duct tape, and a fairly strong close-up lens. Getting a good image was really hit or miss, and was obviously a "second-generation" result at best.

Commercial duplicators get pretty pricey, and take some time to set up for each shot. By the time you're done, it may be easier and about as cost-effective to buy a dedicated slide scanner. I think I got a Minoltta Dimage (2880 dpi) for about $225 a few years ago. I was pretty happy with it, as it quickly scanned six slides at a time.

I got an Epson 4990 Photo scanner last year. This is a fairly high end scannner with lots of accessories, and it does a fabulous job.

In the end, it depends on how may slides you want to scan. I didn't have all that many slides that I wanted to convert. The more slides you have, the more you will want to look at something like the Nikon Coolscan.

 

That looks like it - thanks for the link. Interesting! I don't have a scanner yet, so I'm looking for a method to efficiently convert some of my slides over. I've been projecting them onto a screen then taking a digital photo - it works ok. I may have to experiment w/ this some.

 

I think that now-a-days the easiest and cheapest way to convert slides to digital is to do the following. Set up your slide projector and screen, then take the pic with the digi camera and then upload it to the net. Between my brother and I, that is the cheapest way that I know of and we are going to try that method in Aug or Sept. when I get my Canon DSLR. I will be sure to let you all know the results. But I think that it will work out great.

 

I've also done this. I think you lose some resolution unless its a high-end projector and screen--and even then you lose some.

 

We are using a Konica-Minolta Dimage Scan Dual IV slide/film scanner. We have scanned about 3500 slides at 2800 dpi and the results are excellent, especially focus and color-balance. Unfortunately, if you want the best results, you must spend the money. This unit cost under US$250, including shipping, but is well worth it. We tried most the other options mentioned, and the results are not worth the effort or the time.

 

Nikon Slide Scanner

I have a Nikon Coolscan V slide scanner... Should give me killer files but have had less than sharp results. Anyone out there have a similar beast that can give me optimum settings to get the tack sharp prints that I want?

 

Phil,

I have the previous model, the Coolscan IV. I too had similar "complaints" when I first got it but then I realize that the less than tack sharp was due to the original negatives. Almost all the negatives that I wanted to scan were from cameras before autofocus was invented. Garbage in, garbage out. For kicks, I was able to locate some negatives that were from 35mm rangefinder cameras. Wham, tack sharp since focus is less critical with rangefinders.

What source are you using? Slide/negatives from AF cameras or manual focus? I suggest you get a negative/slide for an AF camera that is supersharp (as evidenced by enlargements, etc.) and scanning that to see. My old negatives all produced 4x6 (or 3-1/3 x 5 back then) prints and at that small size it's hard to see if everything was in focus or not. Realize that people blow up their scans to 100% on 19" monitors. A far cry from 4x6 prints.

 

Thanks for the info. I shoot with a DSLR now but have been trying to scan some of my old slides from the 80's and early 90's. I'll have to get the old magnifying glass and look a little closer at the original!

 

I'm in the same situation as you. Went totally digital in 1999 with a Coolpix 950. Now shooting a Nikon D70.

I have BOXES of negatives since I started shooting SLRs when I was 15 with my father's camera.

 

I finally figured out how to scan slides on the Epson Perfection 4990 Photo scanner. Forget Nikon Coolscan! This Epson is the full equivalent of a $40,000 drum scanner. At about $479, it's cheaper than the Coolscan, and can scan up to 11 x 14, in all sorts of formats. Ken, I'm mailing you a disk on Monday or Wednesday with some sample scans.

 

Pete, does it have Digital ICE? Without that you'll spend hours cleaning up each scan. That's the main reason I got a Coolscan two years back.

 

MK,

Yes it has Digital Ice. But if I turn on the Epson dust removal feature, ICE goes away--I can't turn it on. The Epson dust removal yields great, clean scans. I'm scanning at 4800 dpi. I can't believe the results! Much better than any Coolscan I've used at 4000 lines. My Coolscan died in 2002--but I'm glad I waited.

 

Boxcab,

Digital ICE is software from a company called Applied Science Fiction, now a subsidary of Kodak (they bought them a few years back). This software is built into the scanner as firmware and works in conjunction with the hardware.

It's basically dust removal and color correction as well as grain reduction, all problems when scanning negatives/slides at high resolution which typcially film scanners can achieve. Even though a negative/slide looks clean to the naked eye, the scanner picks up the "microscopic" (not quite!) pieces of dust and they appear as white specs on the resulting scan.

Yes, you can clean these up with Photoshop but I can guarantee it will take you hours to do one photo (don't ask me how I know!).

Since this is a licensed technology, you'll find that scanners with ICE cost most, not dramatically more but significantly more.

The key with ICE is time savings for dust removal. ALL negatives/slides have dust, you can't eliminate it unless you scan in a clean room.

 

Pete,

How long does it take to do a single scan? The only thing I don't like about my Coolscan is its relative slow speed. I've got THOUSANDS of negatives to scan!