On Jan 22, 2006, at 9:53 AM, Volker Kuhlmann wrote:
taking about 45 mins per slide for scanning, retouching and entering
its info into a database.
What sort of data base setup do you use?
Something I put together myself using MySQL and a bunch of php scripts.
The best method I can think of involves a digital SLR with
appropriate macro lens and a slide copier, although sensor crop-
factors can get in the way of this.
Do you have experience with this? With what slide copier?
Sensor aspect ratios would only add a black area in one direction, if
you frame it carefully. An ImageMagick loop should deal with that.
A slide copier is a camera accessory that's been available for
decades. It's basically a slide holder with a white plastic
diffuser, and fits onto the end of a set of bellows. With the right
lens fitted to the bellows you'll get a copy at 1:1 magnification.
It may be possible to buy slide copiers that are especially designed
for digital cameras. Or just set up a light box with the camera held
at the right distance using a copy stand. The whole approach is
basically the same: you just need a way to hold the slide and camera
at the right distance from each other. It does require a macro lens
though, and they aren't exactly cheap.
Regarding the crop factor, the problem I'm talking about isn't black
bars... it's more to do with the fact that you'll no longer have 1:1
because the sensor is smaller than the film unless you've spent a
truckload of money on a 24x36 DSLR. I know someone who's tried this
with his bellows setup and APS-sized sensor and couldn't make it work
because he couldn't get the magnification low enough to reduce the
35mm slide down to the sensor size.
I hear Vuescan is quite good but I've not used it.
What do you use? I wouldn't consider anything less than vuescan.
The driver that came with the scanner. It does the basics well; the
rest happens in Photoshop. I did try Vuescan a long time ago but I
didn't like it for some reason.
- Dave
