Tips for scanning 35mm slides

[Ken]

I've never scanned slides but it looks like I have a ton to do all of a sudden. My neighbor passed away and I was helping sort through some of his things. There are all sorts of photos and slides ... the top box was labeled "1949 Cleveland Air Races" and the first slide I held up looked like Tucker's purple P-63. So there may be a gold mine of images to share.

Advice, tips, etc requested. I'm in the Atlanta area.

Ken

[spartakle]

No doubt the images our of great interest and historical value if the first slide is indicative of the overall collection.
I've scanned a lot of slides but don't count myself an expert on doing it right. I would be sure and get the best scanner for the job if I didn't already have one capable of doing slides. Other then that scan at 2400 dpi and be sure to gentally brush off dust to save having to eliminate it through post-processing. Files get big quick!

[APG85]

Definitely make sure they are dust free. There are some decent slide and negative scanners on Amazon...

[mrhenniger]

Interesting thread. What kind of brush do you guys recommend be used to clear the slides. What about compressed air?

Mike

[Dave Downs]

Interesting thread. What kind of brush do you guys recommend be used to clear the slides. What about compressed air?

Mike

I use real soft-bristle 'make-up' brush from the drug store - I discarded the make-up..........

[spartakle]

As to brushing the dust off I happen to be a watercolor painter so I have a good supply of red sable brushes, which are ideal for the job but there are other soft brushes that are much less expensive at most art supply stores.

[Chappie]

I agree with the make-up brush. I dust my models the same way.

I have a 5-year old Canon CanoScan 8500F that I have used to scan slides, negatives, and photos. I only wish I could find a way to scan my old Disc Camera negatives from the Kodak Disc camera I had as a kid. I have photo of Oshkosh '82 on those negs!!!


Chappie

[Chris Brame]

I only wish I could find a way to scan my old Disc Camera negatives from the Kodak Disc camera I had as a kid. I have photo of Oshkosh '82 on those negs!!!

I've done it; here's one of the results (Chino 1983):


Basically I took a sheet of thin black cardstock and made a mask to fit the slide holder with a hole in the shape and size of the image, plus another hole that the center of the disc fit into to allow it to rotate. Seemed to work pretty well considering the limitations of the neg itself (and having to do major color correction due to its age!).

[k5083]

If these date to the 40s there are likely other formats besides 35mm in there. A film capable flat bed scanner will be best for handling the hodgepodge although it won't deliver the results that a dedicated film scanner could with 35mm. Do as little dust cleaning as possible because you WILL scratch the film. Rely on infrared dust removal by the scanner to get rid of the speck here and there; clean only if they're really caked with dust. Do you get to keep these pics? Either way, try to make sure they are taken care of because scans will never be anywhere near as good as the originals. Make sure you backup the raw scans before any editing because all editing loses information.

August

[P51Mstg]

I've been scanning a LOT and now have dedicated slide and films scanners. I've learned a lot more than I can post here..... I can say learn what you are doing first, because after you do a couple hundred or thousands and you get better you are going to have to go back to the beginning and do them all over again.

You can scan a slide on a flatbed, but its not going to come out anywhere NEAR as nice as a dedicated scanner will do.....

If you want some help, send me a PM.....

Mark H