Slides *from* Negatives - Better for Scanning?

[phil_v.]

I am considering sending my 35mm C-41 film (K-Gold 100, 400UC and

NPH) to Dale Labs for processing because of their facility to

produce slides from negatives. According to the Dale rep with whom

I spoke, the slides do not degrade the image and are actually better

for scanning than the corresponding negative!

 

It just doesn't seem logical to me that a '2nd generation'

reproduction (the slide) can possibly be as good as the '1st

generation' negative (from which the slide was made)... I would

sincerely appreciate receiving your thoughts on this.

 

Info at: www.dalelabs.com/

[ted_marcus1]

Rubbish! Dale makes pretty good slides, but it's always better to scan from the original negatives. Although the slides may not be noticeably degraded in printing, they are (as you say) second-generation copies. They've also been printed through a general filter pack that usually produces accurate color and exposure, it isn't always perfect (they offer individually-corrected duplicate slides at a higher price if you need something closer to perfection). I use the slides as a starting reference point when scanning negatives, but I can almost always get better color with my own adjustments.

 

Also, most affordable desktop scanners get better results from negatives than from slides. Negatives have lower contrast and less density, which means less noise and better shadow detail. I would only scan second-generation slides when the negative is lost or damaged. You can get acceptable results, but not as good as the original negative.

 

Over the years I've found Dale's customer service representatives to be knowledgeable and well-informed. I'm surprised they'd give you such obvious misinformation.

[roger_smith4]

Maybe if you have lousy scanner software that doesn't do a good job with the orange mask you'd have better luck with slides- at least you can see what they are supposed to look like. Otherwise, I think this advice is useless unless you needs slides to give to people or project.

[bill_tuthill]

<A HREF="http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=127698">Here

are two scans of the same scene</A>, Supra 400 negative and Dale Labs

slide. See what you think.

[jim_simmons]

Bill, I take it the middle picture is the slide, and the far right picture is the negative? The far right holds much more shadow and highlight info, and in what looks to be a tough lighting situation.

[phil_v.]

First, thanks to all for validating my gut-feel about what the Dale rep told me (she may have been just a sales-person).

 

Secondly, I too would like Bill to clarify which photos were made from scanning the slide vs the negative (actually, all 3 shots look pretty darn good to me!).

 

Finally, unless I'm reading too much into what's been said, it seems as if those of you who are using Dale labs are satisfied with their processing. I'm glad to see that, as I have a high regard for the members here.

[discpad]

Too hard to tell from the image size...

[jmc]

I don't think I'd get slides to be able to scan. As somebody said here, most desktop scanners have the hardest time with slides; and I've never heard anybody complain about scanning negatives. If money is not an issue why don't you get the stuff scanned? ;-)

 

Best,

Joerg

[fast_primes]

It should be pointed out that Dale Labs' CD Rom scans are 2000dpi PCD format, which is as good as or better than anyone else's offering.

[bill_tuthill]

The first picture on the op. cit. link is Provia 100F (unfortunately

not of the same scene) the second is Dale Labs slide on Vision stock,

the third is original Supra 400. Good eye Jim, but you didn't mention

the blue shadows. Dan, try looking at large resolution. Phil, YES

I am very happy with Dale Labs slides and hope they continue in this

business. That way I can archive my precious negatives, and leave

selected slides in a Carousel for projection as needed.

[phil_v.]

Thanks for the added info Bill. At first, I couldn't tell much difference between your slide and negative scans. Both looked pretty good to me, but now that you pointed it out, I do see some color-shift in the sky and shadows. Still, the slide is not bad at all.

 

Your input (and the feedback from some others here) has convinced me to give Dale Labs a go at processing my 35mm C-41 film. I've become quite disappointed with Costco (although I still use them for larger prints). Who knows, I might even start ordering Dale's photoCD instead of the slides and cut-back on my scanning!

 

Phil

[ted_marcus1]

I've been using Dale's unique slides-from-negatives service for many years. Even though I now scan my negatives, the slides provide the best way to select negatives for scanning. Viewed on a light box with a magnifier or projected on a large screen, slides provide a much better way to judge the sharpness and image quality of negatives (including shadow detail) than either 4x6-inch minilab prints or low-resolution batch scans. The slides are also a bit cheaper than a set of minilab prints (but see caveat).

 

The caveat is that I've had problems with the Postal Service delivering the mailers to Florida. According to Dale's customer service, it's a known problem; the Postal Service doesn't lose the mailers but sometimes delays them inexplicably for up to several weeks. After I thought a batch of irreplaceable travel films was lost (it was actually delayed by three weeks), I decided to send my film only by FedEx. That works well, but the expense makes it infeasible unless I have a whole bunch of film to send. So I get Dale slides when I take a trip somewhere and have a batch of film, but if I'm just shooting a roll or two I'll get prints from a local minilab.

 

I wouldn't rely too much on Bill Tuthill's comparison, other than to show that the Dale slides are pretty good. The Photosmart scanner he uses is much better at scanning negatives than slides (I know this because I have one too).

[aaron_w.]

I echo Ted's comments (above) re Dale Labs, whose services I've used for a good many years. While their processing is very good (and their slides from negs are nothing short of remarkable), from time-to-time, I have also experienced long delays with their mail service (on both ends)!