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converting 35mm slide into digital #1
Claude's picture
by Claude
November 29, 2012 - 3:08am

Hi there
I have about 400 35mm slides that I would like to convert into digital photographs and there after improve them with aperture.

How can I convert them please?

thx

Claude

David Thompson's picture
by David Thompson
December 11, 2012 - 1:54pm

I’ll add a few words (in case anyone is paying attention)… I think it depends on what you want to do with the result.

I’ve been doing a lot of research on currently available film scanners. It’s really a challenge to find what I think is quality reviews that include measurements. Nikon and Minolta left the film scanner market, leaving a huge hole.

For a lot of 400 slides, I would probably send them out to a service. I think the going rate is about $0.80US each for high resolution scans using Nikon film scanners.

Somewhere in the scheme of things, plopping down about $500US for a mid-level scanner becomes reasonable, although there will be a lot of time and a steep learning curve to climb.

This is where I am. I’m looking to scan my family collection of slides and negatives plus those left behind by my parents. (I have Kodachromes from Korea that my dad shot with an Argus C3.) It will be a multi-year project, I’m sure.

I’m also moving back to film and want the ability to scan and pre-process slides and negatives, although I expect to send out critical materials for professional scanning with equipment I don’t want to purchase. This will be 35mm first and then MF/LF later.

So, good luck on your hunt. Let us know what you do and how it works out for you.

vidpixarts@gmail.com's picture
by vidpixarts@gmail.com
November 29, 2012 - 5:22am

Claude: the only way I know to covert slides is to scan them. Either scan yourself or pay a service. I have never used a service so I don’t know the price range.

Note there is a discussion thread on this site that is about a year old. I think it is mostly about scanning prints–can’t recall for sure. But be aware of this before you scan/convert–if you scan multiple slides on each pass of the scanner– break them into individual images before you import into aperture. Photoshop or other programs will do this for you). The reason to break them into individual images before importing into aperture is because of the way versions work in aperture. Your master is the group if you don’t break them apart first. You may do well to scan individual slide on each pass.

Butch Miller's picture
by Butch Miller
November 29, 2012 - 5:28am

Or … you could go old school and let your DSLR “scan” them … look for a slide duplicator attachment … sometimes the come with a bellows or adjustable extension tube … just be sure it will work with your field of view … most were designed to be used with a 50mm lens on full frame bodies … if you have a crop body, you won’t get the full frame of the slide.

It’s much quicker and less hassle than scanning … and you have a normal RAW image file to work with. With the proper setup, you could knock out 400 slides in a couple of hours.

Claude's picture
by Claude
November 29, 2012 - 6:31am

thank you guys. truly

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