tropdude Posted May 27, 2006 Share Posted May 27, 2006 To hopefully significantly enhance the Nikon Super Coolscan 5000 productivity while scanning in a few thousand 35 mm slides, I am considering to buy the SF-210 Auto Slide Feeder. Question: Does the SF-210 works smoothly, does it - by any means or chance - pose a risk to the actual slide film, does it get jammed, can it really be "left alone" to do the work, etc.? Slide mounts in question are typically the Kodak-processed paper cardboard and the comparable thickness Kodak/other plastic mounts. Any suggestions, pro or cons, would be appreciated a lot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david-m Posted May 27, 2006 Share Posted May 27, 2006 I use one, and as long as each batch of slides is roughly the same thivkness it works perfectly. You can set it, and go and do something else for an hour, so well worth it if you are scannning many slides. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stefan_g Posted May 27, 2006 Share Posted May 27, 2006 Search this site for previous discussions of the SF-200 and SF-210. In my experience (7500 slides scanned) there is about a 50% chance of the feeder hanging up on a stack of cardboard mounts. One suggestion I found here (after finishing my project) is to use a dowel pin to prevent hangups: I can't find the original post, but this is the picture that was linked <a href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/uploaded-file?bboard_upload_id=29211684"> (dowel pin in sf-210 loader)</a>. That being said, for several thousand slides I don't think there is an alternative to investing in the feeder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bernard_frank Posted May 27, 2006 Share Posted May 27, 2006 It works. Respect the mounts requirements, and you should have no problem. One caveat: always load ALL your slides in "landscape" position. You will rotate the "portrait" ones later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elektrik Posted May 27, 2006 Share Posted May 27, 2006 The slide feeder has been amazing for the several thousand scans I've made, but the 2 feeders I've used have both had random problems with pulling in more than one slide and getting stuck. Rather than the peg solution above, I used a small metal ruler clipped to the guide, pulled back from the feeder mechanism just enough to let a slide pass. That works well, but be careful that your solution doesn't touch the slide surface and leave a set of scratches, as I belatedly once realized that one of mine did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christopher_engeler Posted May 27, 2006 Share Posted May 27, 2006 Same as Matt: Metal ruler or, in my case, a spare computer part. Look for anything thin and firm which you can slide in and adjust the "aperture" of the feeding mechanism. Not 100%, but so far the best solution for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tropdude Posted May 29, 2006 Author Share Posted May 29, 2006 Thanks a lot to all for the suggestions! One more related question: Apart from the "getting stuck" issue, has the bulk-scan any possible effect on the quality of scans - e.g. focus, other parameters what sometimes require individual adjustment in single-slide scans? Thnaks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elektrik Posted May 29, 2006 Share Posted May 29, 2006 This isn't a problem -- the default settings are to do a prescan before each frame, calculating exposure and focus. These settings can be tweaked (in Vuescan, at least) but the prescan takes a few seconds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert_Lai Posted May 30, 2006 Share Posted May 30, 2006 For the guys using a metal ruler - do you realize that the SF-210 has a little dial that allows you to adjust the slit width of the gate? No need for a ruler.<p>I love this feeder. It works great with plastic mounts, and 95% great with cardboard mounts (depends upon their condition). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tropdude Posted May 31, 2006 Author Share Posted May 31, 2006 Again, thanks to all for the answers. Realistically, how many slides I can expect to scan-in using the SF-210 feeder with the Coolscan 5000 before either of them brakes? I have a library of 35,000+ slides. Of course, not all needed to be scanned (although would not hurt), but what would be a "good and realistic" target number to start with? The best 10% = 3,500 slides? Or the SF-210 and the Coolscan 5000 are robust enough to do let's say the best 30% = ~11,000 slides? Ang how long does it take to scan in 1000 slides - so I can plan? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stefan_g Posted June 5, 2006 Share Posted June 5, 2006 I think 10,000 slides (or more, if you have the time) is realistic. I did my scanning (7500 slides) by starting a batch load (30-50 slides, depending on frame thickness) in the morning before leaving for work, and occasionally a second one in the evening. With my settings a single slide takes about 150 seconds to scan. Including breaks the project took me about a year. I have noticed no deterioration of either the scanner or the feeder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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