Scanning Slides with a conventional scanner

50Twuncle

knightstyle wrote: »

Ask around if anyone has a slide scanner, I have one you can borrow in North East Lincolnshire.

I am some 200+ miles away from.you - but thanks

Gloomendoom

You can have my mirror thing for the price of the postage.

50Twuncle

Just realised that some of my slides are from an ancient 127 camera (not 35mm) - so I am guessing that most of the slide scanners on the market will not be able to cope with the slides and I will have to get then professionally scanned ?
Shame, because I was about to order https://www.amazon.co.uk/DIGITNOW-Negative-Positive-Resolution-Conveter-M123/dp/B01HZXLI9Q/ref=sr_1_2?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1511608876&sr=1-2&keywords=slide+scanner at only £28.99

forgotmyname

127 the large ones? 4.5mm or something, mine does them. But if you only have 100 to do then wont paying £15 be better than buying some rubbish scanner?

Just thought, you made the diffuser but what did you use for the backlight?

Gloomendoom

Your best bet is a flatbed if you want to scan medium format as well. That is the reason I have one. Whatever you use, you’ll probably spend far more time cleaning up the images than scanning them.

Uxb

50Twuncle wrote: »

Just realised that some of my slides are from an ancient 127 camera (not 35mm) - so I am guessing that most of the slide scanners on the market will not be able to cope with the slides and I will have to get then professionally scanned ?
Shame, because I was about to order https://www.amazon.co.uk/DIGITNOW-Negative-Positive-Resolution-Conveter-M123/dp/B01HZXLI9Q/ref=sr_1_2?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1511608876&sr=1-2&keywords=slide+scanner at only £28.99

Yup - in short.
127 film came in different frame sizes while still being called 127.
You will need to get a professional scanner bureau to do this
Make sure they are aware that it is 127 slides and make sure you are going to get the full negative/slide emulsion scanned.
The 35mm film scanners are all designed to scan exactly the 35mm film size and no more.

For example it is possible to cheat and to scan 126 Instamatic film (from the 1970's) on a 35mm film scanner except you get the top and bottom cut of as the 126 film is the same width as 35mm but it height is greater than 35mm. (its actually a square negative).

Gloomendoom

Uxb wrote: »

You will need to get a professional scanner bureau to do this

Either that or do it yourself using 127 film carrier in a flatbed.

Robisere

Since I made my original post here about buying a scanner, my daughter refound some slides from between 30 and 70+ years ago, which had been given to her by her maternal grandad, the FIL that I loved and respected. There were over 100, in various states of health. In the end only 51 were found to be salvageable by the local photographic shop. We had them saved to CD and USB stick, then stored and used on several family computers. The cost was £60, although I should have saved money by supplying the disc and USB stick. These are irreplaceable memories, many of family members and friends who are no longer with us. In considering that fact, I would have paid more if necessary.

When dealing with slides which are in several different formats and conditions, a professional service with a guarantee, is better IMO than buying a scanner, no matter how good the machine. The devil is in the detail: a professional will have the expensive software and the ability to use it.

Gloomendoom

Robisere wrote: »

The devil is in the detail: a professional will have the expensive software and the ability to use it.

So do some amateurs.

droopsnoot

I've got one of the Maplins scanners mentioned above, and it's OK. The slides I'm scanning are generally just record shots in any case, not perfectly-exposed photographic masterpieces, so it does the job.


Another approach (although not much use at this time of year) is to keep an eye on car boot sales for a slide projector or OHP machine. Line it up against a flat white wall, project the slides to it, stick your camera on a tripod and photograph them. With some fiddling you might get a better image than from the cheap slide scanner, and used projectors tend to be about a quid.