Scanning slides

"Chrisssssss………" wrote in message

I have a Umax Astra 3450 A4 scanner which can scan slides (it has a light in the lid).
I’ve tried scanning at 300dpi right up to 7,600dpi but can notice very little difference when I zoom in.
Many scans of poorer slides provide very poor results indeed Is there a recommended dpi setting when scanning slides or are there any tricks to getting better results?
I realise that a dedicated ‘slide scanner’ may give better results, but how much better.
Any advice appreciated.
Thanks Chrisssss……….

About 4000 should be right. It might just be that your scanning adaptor isn’t up to the job. There are flatbeds that do a great job of slides (my Epson 2480, and 4780 at work for instance…)

"Chrisssssss………" wrote in message

I have a Umax Astra 3450 A4 scanner which can scan slides (it has a light in the lid).
I’ve tried scanning at 300dpi right up to 7,600dpi but can notice very little difference when I zoom in.
Many scans of poorer slides provide very poor results indeed Is there a recommended dpi setting when scanning slides or are there any tricks to getting better results?
I realise that a dedicated ‘slide scanner’ may give better results, but how much better.
Any advice appreciated.
Thanks Chrisssss……….

Ok – just had a google, and found this review:
http://www.ciao.co.uk/Umax_Astra_3450__Review_5141105
It says your scanner has 600 x 1200 dpi optical resolution. This just isn’t good enough for slides. I presume the dpi you are talking about must be interpolated, which is useless.

The scanner doesn’t deliver the results you want it to.

It has nothing to do with the resolution you scan at. The hardware simply can’t do it.

Slide scanners give marginally better results, but they tend to resolve at about 2000 ppi no matter their hardware claims.

There are exceptions, but they are expensive.

On Thu, 24 Nov 2005 08:43:28 +1100, Caitlin wrote:

Ok – just had a google, and found this review:
http://www.ciao.co.uk/Umax_Astra_3450__Review_5141105
It says your scanner has 600 x 1200 dpi optical resolution. This just isn’t good enough for slides. I presume the dpi you are talking about must be interpolated, which is useless.

I am assuming that the 1200 "optical" dpi is, in fact, 600 sensors stepped in half increments. I agree with Caitlin; 600 sensors aren’t going to give you a lot of information about a piece of film that’s only 2.4cm by 3.5cm. But they should give you enough data for a nice web shot, say 300 pixels by 500 pixels, if the slide is good enough.

—
Jim Hargan
Freelance Photographer and Writer
www.harganonline.com

On Wed, 23 Nov 2005 20:48:58 -0000, "Chrisssssss………" found these unused words floating about:

I have a Umax Astra 3450 A4 scanner which can scan slides (it has a light in the lid).
I’ve tried scanning at 300dpi right up to 7,600dpi but can notice very little difference when I zoom in.
Many scans of poorer slides provide very poor results indeed Is there a recommended dpi setting when scanning slides or are there any tricks to getting better results?
I realise that a dedicated ‘slide scanner’ may give better results, but how much better.
Any advice appreciated.
Thanks Chrisssss……….

Could that be because the device has an OPTICAL resolution of only 600 dpi?

You can interpolate all you want, but there won’t be much (if any) apparent gain.

Many thanks for the replies. Looks like I need a new scanner. Can anyone recommend a dedicated slide scanner that will do a reasonable job without costing the earth?
Or put another way, could I get reasonable results by spending no more than

On Thu, 24 Nov 2005 11:21:07 -0000, "Chrisssssss………" wrote:

Many thanks for the replies. Looks like I need a new scanner. Can anyone recommend a dedicated slide scanner that will do a reasonable job without costing the earth?
Or put another way, could I get reasonable results by spending no more than £200?
Thanks, Chrissss…….

I have one of these and it does a pretty good job…

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Nikon-LS-2000-35mm-ICE-Scanner-w-adap ters-SCSI-etc-NR_W0QQitemZ7565886594QQcategoryZ15223QQssPage NameZWD2VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

"Chrisssssss………" wrote in message

Many thanks for the replies. Looks like I need a new scanner. Can anyone recommend a dedicated slide scanner that will do a reasonable job without costing the earth?
Or put another way, could I get reasonable results by spending no more than

"Caitlin" wrote in message

"Chrisssssss………" wrote in
message

Many thanks for the replies. Looks like I need a new scanner. Can anyone recommend a dedicated slide scanner that will do a reasonable job without costing the earth?
Or put another way, could I get reasonable results by spending no more than

Caitlin or anyone, is there a scanner that
will do a good job on 16mm filmstrips?

Charles Penley

"Caitlin" wrote in message

"Caitlin" wrote in message

"Chrisssssss………" wrote in
message

Many thanks for the replies. Looks like I need a new scanner. Can anyone recommend a dedicated slide scanner that will do a reasonable job without costing the earth?
Or put another way, could I get reasonable results by spending no more than £200?
Thanks, Chrissss…….

There are some very nice flatbed scanners around now that do very good slide scanning – have a look at the Epson Perfection range. http://www.epson.co.uk/products/product_hub/Product_Listing_ Scanners.htm – even the base model has 3200dpi native resolution, and a decent film scanning unit. If you can afford the model with Digital ICE ( http://www.epson.co.uk/products/scanners/Perfection4990Photo .htm), even better.

Actually there is an Epson model I wasn’t aware of that comes under your budget, and has DigitalICE. The Epson Perfection 4490 Photo is worth a look http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1865046,00.asp –
Main 4800dpi x Sub 9400dpi
Optical Density 3.4D Max
Document Size 35mm strip film 12 frames,
35mm mounted film 4 frames,
medium format (6 x 12cm) 1 frame strip film

(I use one of their older models with Digital ICE and it’s a godsend for colour slide and neg scanning)

On Thu, 24 Nov 2005 21:59:35 -0500, "Charles Penley" found these unused words floating about:

Caitlin or anyone, is there a scanner that
will do a good job on 16mm filmstrips?

Charles Penley

Motion film or individual frames?
Most ‘filmstrips’ were 35 mm half-frame.

"Chrisssssss………" wrote in message

Many thanks for the replies. Looks like I need a new scanner. Can anyone recommend a dedicated slide scanner that will do a reasonable job without costing the earth?
Or put another way, could I get reasonable results by spending no more than

I have a Canoscan 8400f which is a flatbed but does a surprisingly good job on slides. It claims an optical resolution of 3200 pixels per inch and the scans I get are excellent. It will also put out 48 bit color if that is something you are interested in. It has dust and scratch removal (although quite slow) and only cast about $130.00. It was written up very well in PC magazine

Good suggestions from others. I’d also recommend checking out eBay for used scanners. Digital ICE will save you a lot of time dealing with dust and scratches.
Mike Russell

Excuse my ignorance, but would I need to consider Digital ICE if I already have Photoshop Elements 2 software for removing dust & scratches ?

Thanks, Chrisssss……..

Chrisssssss……… wrote:

Good suggestions from others. I’d also recommend checking out eBay for used scanners. Digital ICE will save you a lot of time dealing with dust and scratches.
Mike Russell

Excuse my ignorance, but would I need to consider Digital ICE if I already have Photoshop Elements 2 software for removing dust & scratches ?

Photoshop Elements ‘dust & scratches’ is only software based. It has a hard time to distinguish between scratches and power lines, for example. DigitalICE is hardware based and detects the dust and scratches through an infrared light source. That makes DigitalICE much more powerful.

—
Johan W. Elzenga johan<<at>>johanfoto.nl Editor / Photographer http://www.johanfoto.nl/

"Chrisssssss………" wrote in message

Good suggestions from others. I’d also recommend checking out eBay for used scanners. Digital ICE will save you a lot of time dealing with dust and scratches.
Mike Russell

Excuse my ignorance, but would I need to consider Digital ICE if I already have Photoshop Elements 2 software for removing dust & scratches ?
Thanks, Chrisssss……..

Absolutely – it works entirely differently – and is for more accurate, and effective than any software dust & scratch removal system. Digital ICE is a HARDWARE technology, and a miraculous one at that. I found this easy description of it the other day:

"The scanner architecture is fundamentally changed. Using an additional infrared light source, rays penetrate the slide/negative at an angle. Dust and scratches show up as shadows. Based on the real scanned image the software is able to distinguish shadows/scratches from real image structures and removes them automatically."

If I sound like a zealot for DigitalICE I am – I have it at work, and wish I had it on my home scanner as well.

Chrisssssss……… wrote:

Good suggestions from others. I’d also recommend checking out eBay for used scanners. Digital ICE will save you a lot of time dealing with dust and scratches.
Mike Russell

Excuse my ignorance, but would I need to consider Digital ICE if I already have Photoshop Elements 2 software for removing dust & scratches ?
Thanks, Chrisssss……..

yes

J. A. Mc., I purchased some filmstrips from the US Air Force several
years ago. They definately are 16mm in size. One roll, has approximately, 1500 frames on it. You have to view them one at a time, on a projector. (Not a movie projector but a film strip, type projector.)

There are quite a few documents on it and some historical type photographs on it.

Thanks in advance,

Charles Penley

"J. A. Mc." wrote in message

On Thu, 24 Nov 2005 21:59:35 -0500, "Charles Penley" found these unused words floating about:

Caitlin or anyone, is there a scanner that
will do a good job on 16mm filmstrips?

Charles Penley

Motion film or individual frames?
Most ‘filmstrips’ were 35 mm half-frame.

Many thanks to you all. Very helpful indeed.
I’ll just have to grit my teeth and pay up.
Much appreciated. Chrisssss…….

Verrrrry Interesting!

Probably one of the Canon Photo scanners would handle the problem. You can define the window and have multiple recognition windows set up. You would have to find a method of holding the film against one of the accompanying masks to ensure repeatability. Scan several images, slid film, scan several …. !

On Fri, 25 Nov 2005 20:18:59 -0500, "Charles Penley" found these unused words floating about:

J. A. Mc., I purchased some filmstrips from the US Air Force several years ago. They definately are 16mm in size. One roll, has approximately, 1500 frames on it. You have to view them one at a time, on a projector. (Not a movie projector but a film strip, type projector.)

There are quite a few documents on it and some historical type photographs on it.

Thanks in advance,

Charles Penley

"J. A. Mc." wrote in message

On Thu, 24 Nov 2005 21:59:35 -0500, "Charles Penley" found these unused words floating about:

Caitlin or anyone, is there a scanner that
will do a good job on 16mm filmstrips?

Charles Penley

Motion film or individual frames?
Most ‘filmstrips’ were 35 mm half-frame.

"Caitlin" wrote in message

"Chrisssssss………" wrote in
message

Good suggestions from others. I’d also recommend checking out eBay for used scanners. Digital ICE will save you a lot of time dealing with dust and scratches.
Mike Russell

Excuse my ignorance, but would I need to consider Digital ICE if I already have Photoshop Elements 2 software for removing dust & scratches ?

Thanks, Chrisssss……..

Absolutely – it works entirely differently – and is for more accurate, and effective than any software dust & scratch removal system. Digital ICE is a HARDWARE technology, and a miraculous one at that. I found this easy description of it the other day:

"The scanner architecture is fundamentally changed. Using an additional infrared light source, rays penetrate the slide/negative at an angle. Dust and scratches show up as shadows. Based on the real scanned image the software is able to distinguish shadows/scratches from real image structures and removes them automatically."

If I sound like a zealot for DigitalICE I am – I have it at work, and wish I had it on my home scanner as well.

my first scanner did not have digital ice (Minolta 35mm scanner) each scan required about 15-20 minutes of hand "spotting" in PS. I now have a Canoscan FS 4000 which has the digital ice and works fabulously, no spotting at all
UNFORTUNATELY it does NOT work with BW film, a current personal project I am doing from Old negs from 1950’s I am having to hand spot each picture