Will a flatbed scanner scan 35mm slides or do I need a special slide scanner?

Question

I have seen flatbed scanners that claim they can scan slides, I have also seen high dollar scanners for slides only. My family's history was captured by my Dad on slides and I am looking to convert them to digital images. There are so many that paying someone to do it would run into the thousands of dollars. Would the flatbed scanner do the job for me or do I have to invest big dollars in the slide scanner

Answer 1

Yes. The flatbed scanner will do the job if has the slides/roll film adapter = a so called photo-scanner. I am using Canon 4400F with good results in scanning 35mm slides and rolls. Just look for at least 4800 dpi (Canon 4400F can scan at 9600dpi but the final jpg file is too big to be practical) optical resolution and to be able to scan in batch mode = NOT slide by slide or frame by frame.

Answer 2

If these are heirloom photos, buy a dedicated scanner. You'll be MUCH happier by buying a scanner designed to take slides than you will with a flatbed scanner with attachments.

Flatbed scanners simply don't have what it takes. They are lower resolution than the dedicated scanners, the film/slide adapters are flimsy, and the software is not exactly cutting edge. Those 'multi-purpose' flatbeds are better than nothing, I guess, but you can get a VERY GOOD slide/film scanner for less than $1000 USD.

Also, if you have any photos of special significance, you may want to consider having them professionally scanned anyway. It takes practice to lean to scan photos well. And if any of the special slides are in a delicate state, they may not hold up to excessive handling. So I would target them for special consideration

Answer 3

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RE:
Will a flatbed scanner scan 35mm slides or do I need a special slide scanner?
I have seen flatbed scanners that claim they can scan slides, I have also seen high dollar scanners for slides only. My family's history was captured by my Dad on slides and I am looking to convert them to digital images. There are so many that paying someone to do it would run into the...

Answer 4

I have an Epson Stylus Photo RX 620 which I LOVE as a flatbed scanner/printer, but I found the film/slide scanner to be horrible.

If you want to do a nice job, get a dedicated scanner. I have a Nikon Coolscan V-ED and it is wonderful. It's easy to use, also. There are a few others out there that are a bit cheaper, but my only experience is with this unit. Popular Photography reviewed a few film scanners a while back and that article led me to choose this scanner. I have never regretted it. Well, I regret that I ever wanted to scan slides when it comes time to spot out the dust and fingerprints, but the scanner is great.

Answer 5

Dedicated film scanners do a better job than flatbeds. It depends on what you plan to do with the image once it's scanned. If you need prints or high quality digital, then I would get a dedicated film scanner. If just for viewing on a computer, then a flatbed may do.
Either way, prepare to spend a LOT of time scanning slides!
Good luck!

Answer 6

You should buy a scanner with a dedicated light & 'mask/template' for slides.
They're a bit more expensive than an ordinary flatbed scanner but the expense is worth it and required.

When scanning a slide the lid of the scanner will light up, shining through the slides (which are place into the plastic template/mask) and the slide is then projected onto the scanning ccd pard of the scanner. You may even notice the light that usually project's upwards might be dimmer or even off.

I attempted to rig up my own light (there are curved templates and hints on the net) but it didn't work for me - for several reasons.

1) I couldn't dim the light of the moving scanning piece, hence the scanner scanned the surface of the slide rather the the 'projected slide image.

2) It is very difficult to get a balanced bright light above the slide - some areas are brighter and darker.

3) One has to fiddle with contrast/brightness etc in the scanning software to try to get it to even scan properly.


In short get a proper scanner, they're not much more and it will easier due to many reasons - the slides will be properly masked, when imported via twain drivers into photoshop etc, with the edges already 'found' by he software. brightness/contrast with work, the light source will be calibrated to the scanner (vs 'warm' light, or 'cold light' and the associated difference that makes to whites in the images scanned.

Finally scan in the highest 'real' (not extrapolated') possible resolution that you can get or justify the storage thereof.

For example I scanned my fathers slides 'real size' (2 x 3cm or so - the size of the slide) at a resolution of 3200DPI. This lets me 'zoom' waaay in to correct them easily, i will then resize them and down-sample to a printing resolution and size. Storage can be an issue - each of my slides was about 30mb and I scanned 300+ of them (about 10gb).

To sum up. Buy a proper scanner. You won't regret it in the long term.

Answer 7

The new Epson V700 series scanners are getting good reviews. A dedicated film scanner wiil do better though. It depends on how much detail you really need. Whatever you get make sure it has digital ICE. It automatically removes the ever- present dust spots automatically. It doesn't work very well with Kodachrome slides however.

Answer 8

A dedicated scanner does the job better. Go to ebay and try to find one. I have one, but it will not work with windows xp. I used it all the time with windows 98 and now it just collects dust. You will get better quality with a dedicated scanner or you could just take your film to walmart or somewhere and get them to scan them to a cd. Hope this was helpful. Good luck.