Best set up for "scanning" slides with digital Camera

Hello

 

I would like to digitize my father's collection of slides. I have a

minolta dimage scan elite II scanner and realize that it will give

me the best results. I do not have enough free time (or patience)

to scan each slide with the dimage.

 

Instead, I would like to digitize all of the slides using my 20D

camera. The family would then be able to view them easily using a

computer or dvd player. If I needed to make a print, I would use

the dimage to scan the slide.

 

I have thought about projecting the slides with a slide projector

and then taking a digital picture of the image. I have also thought

about using a macro lens to photograph the slides while on a light

box.

 

I assume that using a macro lens and a light box would result in a

better image, but would appreciate advice on what others think would

work best.

 

I also would appreciate advice on what type of lens/light box would

work best for "scanning" the slides. I do not have a good macro

lens and was thinking of purchasing the canon 100 mm macro lens.

Would this lens work for this project, or should I look at getting

something else?

 

Thanks in advance.

If you have the scanner and a way to take a picture of the slides would you test it and see what gives you better results and compare both?

You may find the following comparisons instructive:

 

http://www.andromeda.com/people/ddyer/photo/slide-transfer.html

 

It's noticeable that even Ohnar doesn't seem to have bothered to produce a slide duplicator to use with crop DSLRs (which would require less than lifesize magnification to capture the full frame).

Maybe you should consider an Epson 4990 to do batch scans. It won't give the same quality as your Minolta, but it will probably give better results overall than the other methods you are considering.

 

http://www.photo-i.co.uk/Reviews/interactive/Epson%204990/Page%201.htm

A slide copier on a macro lens is much faster than any scanner. The colour and resolution are on a par with a flatbed scanner, but it is faster. Use a flash for illumination, and shoot with the camera tethered to the computer. you get a better view that way.

No matter what you do you will have to tweak the final result, however my opinion is that this is faster.

A lightbox (or a CRT* monitor with a blank white screen), some sort of slide holder (table clip stands for holding notes/pictures), and possibly a table-top stand for the camera would work nicely.

 

I personally like the idea because its format independant. Assuming the lightbox is big enough, you could use the same technique to 'scan' 120 transparencies.

 

* LCD monitor pixels show up at close range, I would avoid them for this purpose.