Slide Scanners?

[Tyreman]

Can anyone provide the model or two of high quality, reasonably priced slide scanners.
Much thanks in advance

[JWright]

You may find that "high quality" and "reasonably priced" are mutually exclusive.

Try searching for Minolta and *gasp* Nikon slide scanners...

[SkipD]

If you can find a good used Canon FS4000US, you'll find a very high quality output at a reasonable price.

[HankScorpio]

I have a Plustek OpticFilm 7200 Film Scanner. It does 35mm negs and slides and is very good quality (7200dpi optical)for a decent price.

[Wilt]

Just did a quick Google and found this PC Mag write up on the Plustek very rapidly,
"If you have lots of slides and 35-mm negatives to digitize, the Plustek OpticFilm 7200 probably sounds like the scanner you've been waiting for. This low-cost film scanner ($199 direct) claims a resolution of 7,200 pixels per inch (ppi), theoretically enough to turn a 35-mm slide into a high-quality poster-size photo. Unfortunately, it doesn't quite deliver all it promises.

The Plustek OpticFilm 7200 claims a 7,200-pixels-per-inch (ppi) optical resolution, but it doesn't truly deliver. High-resolution scans are marred by artifacts similar to pixelization. And the overall quality and acceptability of each scan depends on what's in the photo."

The Canon outperformed Epson or HP scanners tested at the same time.

[HankScorpio]

I think they must have reviewed a dodgy one, mine has been flawless, the only artefacts have been where I scratched the negs in storage or development.

[René Damkot]

Nikon Coolscan.

[Ralph Merlino]

I have a Nikon Coolscan and it is top of the line, however it is not cheap.

[bohdank]

I have a Canon FS4000US which has given me very good results. Whichever one you decide on it is VERY important it can do 2-Pass, the second being IR which software can use to remove dust spots. Do not underestimate the value of this. You will never be able to get a negative or scan perfecgtly dust free and it will take forever to PP a bunch of scans. Hamrick's Viewscan is the software to use, imo, for any scanner.

If you are interested in it, I'm done with mine and would sell it since I don't need it anymore. I bougth it about 5 years ago to digitize all my negative/slides.

[Bob D.]

I have a Nikon Coolscan and it is top of the line, however it is not cheap.

Which Nikon, the model V or the 5000 or a earlier version? I have been looking this past week as I have about 1000 slides out of 10K I would like to digitize. I also have a number of 2-1/4 slides but alas the scanners for these are too much for the volume I have. I'll just send them out I guess.

I have been thinking hard about the Coolscan V (~$500), doesn't seem to be too much for under $400 that is decent from reviews I have read. I'd like to know if the Coolscan V is truly worth the price.

[SuzyView]

I have the Epson Perfection and it's a good scanner for slides.

[Junior's G7]

On average, how long does it take to scan, say 4 slides at a time?

I would love to see something that you can just feed them in and spit them out, but if the wait time is more than a minute, I think I'd have to do them selectively, not globally, so to speak - and I've got books and books of slides...

[DDCSD]

If you are simply archiving your old photos, you could pick up a used high quality Nikon Coolscan and simply sell it when you are done with it. I'd bet you'd be out almost nothing, probably just shipping. Pretty cheap long term rental. It would stink to get a cheap one, have something happen to your slides and have a bunch of cruddy scans of your priceless memories.

If it was for permanent use, it would be nice to know your idea of "reasonably priced". ;)

[ef2]

This may be offtopic, but would these scanners work for medium format film? I've recently come into possession of a Mamiya 645J, and I'm interested in playing with it, but there are very few places around here that still process medium format.

[Ralph Merlino]

Bob D,

My Coolscan was one of the first versions. I remember paying $1500.00
for it. I just recently gave it to a friend of mine.

[René Damkot]

I have a Coolscan V.
Very nice scanner. Good IQ.

The Nikon software sucks IMO. I use VueScan.

Here is a raw scan of a slide, with a 100% crop. Unsharpened.
As you can see the original is a bit OoF. IIRC this is Kodak T320 pushed 1 or 2 stops...
The colors look crappy probably, because it's a screenshot off my laptop and Skitch doesn't color manage :p

http://img.skitch.com/20080623-ddw2pfpbacg53tixaafpc5drpk.jpg

Here (http://bythom.com/coolscanv.htm)is a review of the (more expensive) 5000ED