Slide duplicator.

olympic

Any idea about a good slidedublicator?I shall try to make digital files from my slides.
Thank you for your help.Have a nice weekend.
kostas

Wil Davis

Welcome to Digital Grin.

I think you're looking for a slide scanner (a duplicator is something else). I use a Nikon Super Coolscan 4000 ED which I've had for years; I'm sure it's been superseded by something less expensive and of higher performance by now.

If you're intending to scan 35mm slides then I would think you need something which will scan at least 4000 dpi.

If you're looking at low numbers, then you might consider using a slide-scanning service rather than buying an expensive piece of hardware.

HTH -

- Wil

olympic

Slide dublicator.
Thank you Wil.
A good film scanner is better but it cost too much.I shall wait for Santa Claus soon!
Have a nice weekend.
Regards from a cloydy Thessaloniki.
kostas

DoctorIt

Moved to the accessories forum for discussion

ziggy53

You can indeed use a slide duplicator and digital SLR to convert a slide/transparency into a digital file. I actually took parts from an old (no longer complete) duplicator and a dSLR and macro lens to convert a few images.:



Here is an example from the aparatus:



The yellow arrow in the first image shows the duplicator portion of the apparatus. While I can't necessarily recommend that you go to the DIY lengths I went to, it does work. Note that I added the:

Camera
Macro lens
DIY connecting tube
Electronic flash (for illumination)

KEH.com is a pretty good site to find a used slide duplicator and I easily recommend them.

pathfinder

Opteka makes a slide duplicator. Slide duplicators were common when folks shot film, that was just about the only way to get a dupe of Kodachrome unless you had access to a professional lab.

The merits of the glass in the Opteka duplicator are debatable Some like it - http://www.flickr.com/photos/judyboy/285244496/ -- and some do not -- http://photography-on-the.net/forum/archive/index.php/t-131061.html

There used to be slide holders only, also, which allowed you to use your own macro lens as well. One could use a macro lens on a bellows like Olympus offered with the OM series years ago. I still have one as a matter of fact.

If your standards are modest, you may be satisfied with a slide duplicater. A full fledged slide scanner will be better, but cost 10-20 times more, and take longer to do a frame as well. The newest flat bed scanners do a pretty fair job for less money than a film scanner. Flat bed scanners are not as good as the best film scanners, but are acceptable for much non-professional needs.

Miguel Delinquento

Find an old color enlarger+head
In the old film and darkroom days, I would turn the Omega color enlarger head upside down and aim at the diffused white light behind a slide. The camera would sit on the enlarger rail and attached to the head carrier-based enlarging lens via a T-mount. Using Kodak copy film this worked almost as good as a commercial reproduction service. It was also quick and easy to cycle through multiple slides.

You may be able to replicate the same setup with your DSLR. Where I live in the US, at least, if you know enough photographers, they'll give you all the equipment as it is taking up valuable storage space.

M

Wil Davis

ziggy53 wrote:

You can indeed use a slide duplicator and digital SLR to convert a slide/transparency into a digital file. I actually took parts from an old (no longer complete) duplicator and a dSLR and macro lens to convert a few images.:
…snip

Hey Ziggy, that's a great idea which I'd never though of…

I like the set up (I even have an old Sunpak Auto Zoom 5000, plus all the brackets and fittings); I have pretty extensive Minolta system (1970/80 vintage) which includes slide copier & focusing rail. Perhaps I'll resurrect that and use it with my current gear to see how it compares to scanning (it would certainly be a lot quicker!)

Thanks for the idea!

- Wil

ziggy53

Wil Davis wrote:

Hey Ziggy, that's a great idea which I'd never though of…

I like the set up (I even have an old Sunpak Auto Zoom 5000, plus all the brackets and fittings); I have pretty extensive Minolta system (1970/80 vintage) which includes slide copier & focusing rail. Perhaps I'll resurrect that and use it with my current gear to see how it compares to scanning (it would certainly be a lot quicker!)

Thanks for the idea!

- Wil

You're welcome (for the idea).

What is not obvious from the image is that I later had to add 2 layers of inkjet paper to the front of the flash, to cut illumination (already at 1/128th power) and add diffusion, and the translucent tube that I used worked well to add some "bias" light to the slide being sampled, effectively reducing the contrast back to more reasonable tonal values for the digital camera.

Compared to a Minolta Scan Dual IV film scanner it worked better and scratches and dust were subdued. I recently took re-possession of an Epson V500 flatbed which I like better still since it has Digital ICE and can do medium format fairly well. (I have not tested the Epson for Kodachrome or B&W film yet.)

Miguel Delinquento

So you prefer the Epson V500 over the Minolta for slides? I purchased the Minolta fairly recently for slide conversion and have been unimpressed. PITA to get going, too much dust, and VueScan is underwhelming as well. Conventional wisdom is that flatbeds are inferior for slides, but I'm more interested in results.

M

ziggy53 wrote:

You're welcome (for the idea).

[deleted]

Compared to a Minolta Scan Dual IV film scanner it worked better and scratches and dust were subdued. I recently took re-possession of an Epson V500 flatbed which I like better still since it has Digital ICE and can do medium format fairly well. (I have not tested the Epson for Ko]dachrome or B&W film yet.)

ziggy53

Miguel Delinquento wrote:

So you prefer the Epson V500 over the Minolta for slides? I purchased the Minolta fairly recently for slide conversion and have been unimpressed. PITA to get going, too much dust, and VueScan is underwhelming as well. Conventional wisdom is that flatbeds are inferior for slides, but I'm more interested in results.

M

I should qualify that the Epson V500 is fine for images to print up to around 5" x 7". For larger images, up to around 8" x 10"/8" x 12" or so, the Minolta Scan Dual IV can do better, but it takes a lot longer to post process for the things that the Epson does with more automation.

For larger than that it is best to use optical printing from the negative/slide.