[ques] scan medium format mounted slides on a flatbed?

Hi,

 

I recently acquired a ton of old (1940's & 50s) medium format slides from

my grandfather.

 

I'm trying to figure out the best way to digitize them.

they don't fit the flatbed adapters that I have - they measure 7x7cm

if I measure from the outside border/edge of the slide.

I guess it must be 6x6 film? and the mounting gives it an extra 1 cm.

 

The images are positives, mounted in two different types of slides - one is a

normal transparency slide with a white mounting/border. the other is a glass

plate with a metal mounting/border.

 

I can't find any information on how to scan these glass plates.

 

I have an new Epson 4490 flatbed with an adapter for medium format film -

unfortunately, the adapter only fits 6x6cm negatives - these mounted slides

measure 7x7cm.

 

Ideally, i'd like to figure out a way to just scan these slides with the Epson

I already have, but without a proper adapter, i'm wondering if the results will

be any good?

 

I was thinking about creating a home-made adapter with some thick black matte

board - does anyone think that might work?

 

 

any advice or recommendations would be really appreciated.

 

thanks,

steve

Use the 5x4 Epson Scanner film adapter. The mounted slides will fit inside the two 5x4 openings.

I have an Epson 4990 so its pretty similar to yours.

 

I've never tried scanning medium format slides before but I can't imagine that there could be anything wrong with just placing the slides on the glass. The original 35mm slide holder that comes with the scanner basically isn't even a holder. It's just a black plastic plate with holes where you can put the slides onto the glass.

 

The home-made adapter you have in your mind is not necessarily needed but it's a nice idea since it will keep the slides more or less straight so you won't have to correct the angle in pp.

 

The only thing you have to keep in mind is that you can't use the Epson scan software since it won't recognize where exactly the frame is. But don't worry...the same problem occurs when using the Epson medium format negative holders.

Just use Silverfast or some other software that let's you chose the scan area.

You should be able to get away with placing the trannies in their mounts, directly onto the

glass with no holder whatsoever. I did that with this on my 4490:

and although I placed film directly against the glass, here, you'll be in a better position by

having the mounts introduce distance between the glass and the film. All you need is

some means of aligning them with some degree of straightness - or if your horizons are

all off, use that opportunity to chase your tail trying to get them straight (and down the

middle of course) on the glass bed.

Either way, you can scan loose film with no problems. Just turn the preview from

'thumbnail' to 'normal' and it'll desist chopping up the scan into what it thinks are frames,

instead leaving you with the raw image that the scanner scanned, into which you can draw

frames yourself.

thanks for the quick responses!

 

i should have just tried placing the slides on the

flatbed, but i was thinking that an adapter was

needed to add a certain amount of height?

 

i was also a little worried that the slides

with metal frames would scratch the glass on the scanner.

i guess i could tape the edges of the slide that

will face down on the glass bed, just to be careful.

 

i'll try it out tonight, see how it works.

 

steve

Yep - if you tape the metal surfaces, you should preserve your glass, and that's what it's all

about in this game - saving your glass.

Steve, Don't be surprised if your mounted slides come out a bit soft. I don't know what the Epson film carrier "depth" is, but I'll bet that the slide mounts (especially glass-framed) are deeper, and that will throw the focus distance of the lens off. Try it and see what happens. Also, beware of potential strange effects if you have anti-glare/aliasing glass mounts.

 

Do NOT remove them from the carriers unless it is one that absolutely requires perfect repro; and then, let the lab do it.

 

I have promised my local club a 6x6 slide show this winter and have to get busy mounting...a real chore, but few in this group have ever seen a 6x6 projected...and that's worth it all.

 

 

Good luck and

Cheers,

Ray Hull

Yes the holder doesn't just keep the slide straight it also raises it from the glass but I am guessing the mounts will do the same job so give it a try.

Following answers from here, I do this frequently with card- mounted 6x6 slides on my Epson 3200 flatbed. I'm happy with the results for web use and to make indicative images for CDs etc. I would not expect to make high quality prints that way.

 

I never , ever, get them perfectly straight, but then its moments to use the rotate tool to do that so that you can proceed to crop the photo from its mount accurately. I usually have to sharpen a little after adjustments to lighting in PS.