[Shop-talk] 35mm slide scanner?

[bjshov8 at tx.rr.com]

Probably depends on where you are.  I would guess that there is a service in my big city that would do this, but I haven't looked yet.

I was close to buying a slide scanner some years ago but didn't.  Now they are harder to find and more expensive.  One big factor is the method of handling dust.  Some scanners will automatically eliminate it, others require you to do it by hand in photoshop.  All of the scanners are slow so you spend a lot of time feeding in slides and babysitting the computer.

One day I realized that I used to see slide duplicators for sale.  They were a lens system and fixture that you mounted to the front of your camera.  Then put a slide in it and photograph the slide with your camera onto slide film, then have it processed.  I have a macro lens that will focus close enough to do this so I've been interested in trying it on my DSLR.  I would have to build something with cardboard tubes and so forth for testing.  I think the downside of this is that the contrast and dynamic range will be affected, and of course you still have the dust to deal with, but it would be faster than a scanner.  Maybe I'll try that this winter in my spare time.


> >> I'd like to have some professionals do this, but I'd rather drive to a
> >> local outfit than ship them off to Bangalore India.
> >
> > If you have a good local outfit in your area that you can afford, than
> > this might be a good option.
> >
> > For us, the India folks were the right choice.
> 
> I agree with the sentiment of wanting it done locally, but the economics 
> militated very strongly against it.