Slides to CD/DVD…too far off topic?

C
Posted By
Carl
Jan 7, 2008
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360
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2
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Closed
Being a Mac user of Photoshop Elements 4.0, thought I’d at least see what a post of this question here might bring. Here goes.

Does anyone have the time to offer any advice on this subject? Lessons learned?

I spent today going through about 1,500 slides, whittling them down to about 400, taken from 1958 to 1978.

I ruthlessly tossed any "calendar art" type photos, and believe me I had a lot, covering trips to Nepal, Rio, Africa, etc., focusing instead on keeping only those with people in them. I am down to those slides that I’d like to digitalize so I could print some to share with family and friends and to pass all along to my daughter.

So…a few questions.

Do folks find it necessary to clean their slides before scanning and if you did, what method did you use to clean them?

What kind of scanner do folks recommend? Any special attachments required? I am retired and was an amateur photographer at best and do not want to spend over $500 for a scanner. I can justify spending that much only because I would like to use the scanner to reduce several drawers full of paper files to CDs/DVDs then shred the files.

While on the subject of scanners, is there a certain dpi level below which I should not go? Any attachments I need?

How long would it take, on average, to scan a slide which was in good shape and needed no seriously tinkering?

How long would it take, worst case, to work on any one slide that was faded, scratched, etc.?

What kind of software might be required/did you use, other than Adobe Photoshop Elements 4 for Macintosh, which I have.

Many thanks to anyone taking the time to respond,
Carl
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J
Jim
Jan 8, 2008
"Carl" wrote in message
Being a Mac user of Photoshop Elements 4.0, thought I’d at least see what a post of this question here might bring. Here goes.
Does anyone have the time to offer any advice on this subject? Lessons learned?

I spent today going through about 1,500 slides, whittling them down to about 400, taken from 1958 to 1978.
I have about 1800 taken from 1953 to 2003.
I ruthlessly tossed any "calendar art" type photos, and believe me I had a lot, covering trips to Nepal, Rio, Africa, etc., focusing instead on keeping only those with people in them. I am down to those slides that I’d like to digitalize so I could print some to share with family and friends and to pass all along to my daughter.

So…a few questions.

Do folks find it necessary to clean their slides before scanning and if you did, what method did you use to clean them?
I never had to clean any of them.
What kind of scanner do folks recommend? Any special attachments required? I am retired and was an amateur photographer at best and do not want to spend over $500 for a scanner. I can justify spending that much only because I would like to use the scanner to reduce several drawers full of paper files to CDs/DVDs then shred the files.
Nikon Coolscan
While on the subject of scanners, is there a certain dpi level below which I should not go? Any attachments I need?
4000 dpi. Scanners come with everything you need.
How long would it take, on average, to scan a slide which was in good shape and needed no seriously tinkering?
Nearly every slide I ever made needed some work. But, I seldom spent more than a minute on one.
How long would it take, worst case, to work on any one slide that was faded, scratched, etc.?
The Nikon scanner can take care of the faded ones. Scratches can be difficult.
What kind of software might be required/did you use, other than Adobe Photoshop Elements 4 for Macintosh, which I have.
What you have is fine.
Many thanks to anyone taking the time to respond,
Carl
If, like me, you used Ektachrome E2 or Ektachrome E4, you will have seriously faded
slides. The Digital ROC is by far the quickest and best way to recover these slides.
Sometimes, you can get by with judicious use of the Curve tool or the Level tool, but
the ROC does a far better job. (ROC = Restoration of Color).
GW
Gary Wedemayer
Jan 8, 2008
You might try buying a more expensive scanner on eBay, scan your slides, and then turn around and sell it again. That would reduce the overall costs considerably. You might initially spend more than $500, but you could potentially recover most (or even all) of that when you re-sold it. In the meantime, you could have the use of a scanner with an auto-feed capability, where you can put a pack of slides in the hopper and let the scanner do its thing. Otherwise, plan to spend mucho hours feeding slides in one-by-one. Just a thought.

On Mon, 07 Jan 2008 23:35:25 GMT, Carl wrote:

Being a Mac user of Photoshop Elements 4.0, thought I’d at least see what a post of this question here might bring. Here goes.
Does anyone have the time to offer any advice on this subject? Lessons learned?

I spent today going through about 1,500 slides, whittling them down to about 400, taken from 1958 to 1978.

I ruthlessly tossed any "calendar art" type photos, and believe me I had a lot, covering trips to Nepal, Rio, Africa, etc., focusing instead on keeping only those with people in them. I am down to those slides that I’d like to digitalize so I could print some to share with family and friends and to pass all along to my daughter.

So…a few questions.

Do folks find it necessary to clean their slides before scanning and if you did, what method did you use to clean them?

What kind of scanner do folks recommend? Any special attachments required? I am retired and was an amateur photographer at best and do not want to spend over $500 for a scanner. I can justify spending that much only because I would like to use the scanner to reduce several drawers full of paper files to CDs/DVDs then shred the files.
While on the subject of scanners, is there a certain dpi level below which I should not go? Any attachments I need?

How long would it take, on average, to scan a slide which was in good shape and needed no seriously tinkering?

How long would it take, worst case, to work on any one slide that was faded, scratched, etc.?

What kind of software might be required/did you use, other than Adobe Photoshop Elements 4 for Macintosh, which I have.
Many thanks to anyone taking the time to respond,
Carl

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