Slide scanner

I've had a look back through the forums and it seems that the most recent topic on scanners was about 4 years ago.

I need to buy a scanner to scan 35mm slides.
I thought I might get a Nikon Coolscan but I've searched online and I wonder if they even make them any more.

Does anyone have any scanners currently on the market they can recommend?

Martin, I've included a link to B&H which has many 35mm scanners for sale. Although they show the Nikon Coolscan 4000 is not available through them any longer. However, Amazon shows 2 left for sale as new.

B & H

Amazon

I would seriously consider using a service bureau if you have a lot of scanning to do. Having owned a Canon 4000 dedicated flim scanner the consumer machines are pretty slow. They produce good results. The older machines will eventually lose parts and service support and you will be left with a paperweight. For about $100, you can get the Canon LiDE 700F Canoscan Flatbed Scanner, which has negative and slide carriers - the results are actually pretty good, and it is way faster than the old-school dedicated scanners.

Try renting one from BorrowLenses. They have a good one at a cheap rental rat.

Take a look at the products from Plustek. They are still being produced and are compatible with newer operating systems.

I'd be leery of buying a scanner that is out of production, especially if you have a 64 bit OS. The reason for this is that you may not be able to get 64 bit drivers and software. Also, if the thing breaks, you may not be able to get parts. Just a thought.

Just my opinion, but if you have a lot of scanning to do, and you want control over the scans, having your own scanner rather than using a service bureau may be a better option. You could go with a scan lab that does custom scans, but the cost would be prohibitive.

--P

I use a Epson V750 Pro for my old Kodachrome 35mm slides (color correction profiles available with Silverfast 8 Ai) but I also use it mostly to scan my medium format Ektachrome and Velvia 50, as well as older 4X5 transparencies. It does a great job especially using Silverfast 8 Ai and a betterscanning.com adjustable film holder with ANR glass.

The V750 has an (approximately) 2200 ppi optical resolution when set to scan at 2400 ppi. Scanning at (interpolated) higher values will not result in a better scan; just a bigger file. Most of the reading I have done indicates that the best scans of 35mm film result from true 4000 ppi resolution, or higher. However, the Epson is more flexible than a slide scanner in that you can also scan documents, as well as other film sizes.

How many slides are you looking to scan, Martin? Also, are they in good shape, i.e. not faded or color shifted? If so, a flatbed scanner with a holder and software that allows batch scanning may be a good choice. If the slides are less than optimum, you'll have to scan them one at a time so that you can correct each one for color shifts and/or fading.

Scanning is a skill in itself. A good scan depends a great deal on the skill of the operator along with a good machine and software.

--P

Thanks for all your tips.
Preston, I'm probably looking at about 100 slides. I'm in no hurry. I just want to scan them into my library and then stash them away somewhere.