Slides to CD

[bcarll]

Last week my mother gave me all my dad's slides to have. Total of 1200 slides that have my life story on them as well as my brother and sisters. I thought it would be nice to have them put on CD until I got a quote from a local camera shop of .75 each slide. Is this about normal costs or should I look elsewhere? I really didn't give cost much thought until I did the math and wow it really is a lot of money. Any suggestions?

bcarll

[pixelzombie]

photo cd scans once cost $1 a piece and they weren't very good, then kodak tried pro photo cd scans and i think they were $5 an image..they weren't too bad for the price, you may want to consider getting a slide scanner if you're going to scan that many images...

[videosean]

Assuming .75 - 1.00 per services will give you less than stellar results... do you have access to a digital SLR with a macro lens? 1200 x .75 = $900 and you'd most likely be spending more than that on a DSLR, lens, tripod and light table if you don't already have those things and wanted to go that route but the results should be quite nice if you're good with a camera (or good with google to find tips on settings and techniques) and it's WAY faster than scanning. If you have a decent digital camera you could try experimenting just to see the results you get. Being able to focus on the slide film itself close to the lens (macro) without lens distortion is the key.

A 35mm film frame is 24mm x 36mm or .95" x 1.42" roughly. An 8 megapixel image is 3456x2304 pixels. So if you fill the camera frame with your slide image you're looking at a resolution of around 2400 ppi. A 10 megapixel camera only gets you up to 2500 ppi.

http://dpreview.com/ - best reviews of digital cameras anywhere IMO. They show results/samples (distortion, vignetting) of fixed lens cameras that have macro abilities.

I'll let everyone else handle the scanner recommendations since that's not my preferred method for digitizing mass quantities of photos or slides

[Dave.Cox]

That's really not a bad quote, most of the ones that I have seen start at about $1.00, and that just for scanning and copying to a CD or DVD. No retouching. I usually do it for about $.50, for the same level of service.

[Frank Lopes]

You should look into the Epson 4990 scanner.

They cost around US$380 to $400 and come with an adapter that will scan 9 or 12 slides at a time.

It includes Digital ICE which will help you tremendously cleaning dust, dirt and scratches that the slides might have.

Originally Posted by bcarll

Last week my mother gave me all my dad's slides to have. Total of 1200 slides that have my life story on them as well as my brother and sisters. I thought it would be nice to have them put on CD until I got a quote from a local camera shop of .75 each slide. Is this about normal costs or should I look elsewhere? I really didn't give cost much thought until I did the math and wow it really is a lot of money. Any suggestions?

bcarll

[Kraellin]

when i first looked at the $0.75 tag i thought that sounds high. but, would i want to scan 1200 slides by hand? it would probably take 2 or 3 days at my aged pace

i like videosean's idea of taking that $900 and buying a dslr, but i've never used a camera to copy slides. does that work, videosean? how do you handle the transparent slide? oh, i re-looked... a light table. ok.

dedicated scanner is a very good option, especially one that will do bulk work and i'm guessing you could save hundreds and then have the hardware for future use. having the scanner itself will also give you some software for color correction and so on. i have one and like it, though it's not a batch loader, so single slide by slide is all i do.

and my last advice would be ask that shop you looked at if they do bulk and bulk pricing. you may be able to get a decent discount for that many slides.

[bcarll]

Well at this point I am thinking about the SLR camera and some sort of bellows with a light table installed. Scanning is so slow and you are bound to the computer while scanning. With camera usage you can be somewhat portable and take it with you to another location. Another thing to remember is all these slides are in magazines with metal carriers on each slide. To scan them would require the carriers to be removed. If I just lay them on a light box I don't believe I woud have to take them out of the carriers. I love phtography but have never done close up or macro work as this would be so a new and learning experience for me also. Still taking suggestions so please offer comments.

bcarll

[Kraellin]

well, there ya go then

be a bit careful here now. dont confuse macro with wide angle. you do not want wide angle here. you want macro. i ventured into macro years ago. and where i've forgotten quite a bit from back then, i do remember such things as extension adapters, reversing adapters and a special lens, i think sorry, it's been a while. but i'm sure someone here will have more exact data if macro is the way you want to go. oh, and i dont think you'd need a bellows with macro and a light table.

[pixelzombie]

i say run a test with both a scanner and the macro setup to see which will give the best results...

[skydog]

This is a book I've been wanting to buy...just haven't had the time...http://www.amazon.com/Scanning-Negat...m_cr_pr_sims_t
Please let me know what you end up doing and the results you achieve. I too have many many slides and negatives I would like to convert. Currently I have been looking at the Coolscan from Nikon and the V750 flatbed from Epson. The flatbed could be used for more applications, but, from what I've read, the Coolscan provides better results. I think it is a trade off between cost, speed and quality.

[pixelzombie]

a friend of mine use to have a coolscan and i was surprised how well the images looked and this was some time ago..i would imagine the latest coolscan would be even better..i have used a high-end flatbed for large format transperancies and the quality wasn't bad but nothing like what a drum scanner would give you..the few 35mm slides i tried on the flatbed were just ok...

[Tom K]

I have used a macro lens to dup slides ( 2x2 )s ... Be careful of two things.

Be sure the film is flat or it will show and because of the shallow depth of
you may see a wavy image.

Be sure that all light comes from behind - any light falling on the front
of the slide will show will show up as a glare or a shine..

Good luck ....Tom

[bpurvis]

The Nikon Super Coolscan 5000 ED will run you about $1,200 but the results are nothing short of spectacular. You can get a batch slide feeder for another $500, but if you are only going to do your own slides, it may not be worth it. I use mine for my business and it's worth every dime. I can be restoring some of the slides at the same time others are scanning.

I charge around $1 per slide, but I always end up doing more restoration than I intend to. When I know I can make an image better, it's so hard not too! It may not be good business, time wise, but I do this because I love it.

I did a lot of research before starting and $1 per slide is really not bad if it's being well done. A lot of companies do a cheap job and give a cheap product. Don't use them. Some even send overseas! There are also companies that will charge as much as $3 per image, which is a little pricey for most people. My recommendation is, if you have the time and Photoshop skills to do a quality restoration of the scan, buy the scanner and do the work yourself.

If you don't want to take the time - and it really does take a lot of time - then do some research. A reputable company should be using this scanner or the step up. A lesser scanner will not give you the same results. Your slides should be looked over individually and at least minor tweaking done for that price. Make sure they do the work on site. Then send a minimal number of your less precious slides and see the kind of results that you get. If you are happy, you can always do the rest in batches to spread out the expense.

About shipping... remove the slides from the carousel holders and bundle them in groups of about 50 and rubber band them in both directions. I put a strip of paper around the bundle to make sure the bands don't press against the slides. (You can write the date on the paper.) Put the bundles in a zip loc bag, then put the bag(s) in a very sturdy box. There should be padding around the bags inside the box. Use FedEx or UPS so you can track your shipment and don't send ground. The longer it is in transit, the more chance there is of damage to the package. Sound like overkill? If they are lost or damaged, they are irreplaceable.

I recommend that you make sure whoever does your slides will do them to your satisfaction. You will only have this done once. If it is not done as well as possible, you will always regret it.

I know this is a really long post. Sorry. I'm very passionate about preserving memories like this. The other thing is storage. Always store your slides indoors, out of heat and dampness. I just did a batch of 2,300 slides that spent a couple of years stored in the barn! It made me so sick to see the damage. Mold will eat the emulsion and when that is gone, there is no bringing it back. Take care of your slides. The memories on them are so precious!

Becky

[bpurvis]

Sorry, I just noticed that this was an old post.