Transparency scanning

[SoWat]

I have around 1000 slides that I'd like to scan to disc (I found them during my latest foray into the loft).

Given the number, it would make sense to scan them in myself rather than pay a processor on a 'per slide' basis.

A quick Googling session has revealed that some flatbed scanners come with a transparency attachment for just this very purpose.

My question is; has anyone here done this before, and what were the results like? Are there better methods to scan these in?

I'd like the best quality I can get... without blowing loads of wodge on a scanning system that I probably wouldn't use again (for that purpose anyway).

Thanks in advance

 

[TdC]

I have a scanner that looks like this one but isn't (have to go home to check tbh). it's great for papers, and comes with a slide adapter to enable the scanning of such things. I haven't used it yet.
My photo mate has a dedicated slide scanner that does a sled with 5 slides in about 30 seconds at stupid dpi.

if you want to scan all of your 1000 slides you may want to invest a bit and then sell later, or see if you can find a mate who has a slide scanner. it's going to take a while though, scanners are anything but quick oO

 

[SoWat]

The speed of scanning is not really an issue, as I don't intend to do them all in one hit, but half decent quality is.

I think I'll try a scanner like yours first, and if I'm not happy with the results I'll buy a dedicated slide scanner with a view to flogging it on eBay afterwards.

Cheers.

 

[TdC]

if you like, you could send me a couple and I'll do them on mine and show you the results. then you'll know what to expect. unless they're those kind of slides

 

[Tom]

The flatbed attachments are generally considered to be a bit crap. I'd buy a new slide scanner (expensive, I know), scan them all in, and flog it on Ebay. You might lose £100 or so, but that would still be cheaper than having someone else do it.

You could also get an older one off Ebay, but be cautious as some of the older SCSI devices have no driver support in modern versions of windows.

/edit

One more option is to buy a second hand projector, set it up in a pitch dark room, and take digital pictures of the resulting images on the wall. It helps enormously if the wall you film on is white.

 

[TdC]

I must say, the quality of my mate's slide scanner is uber. I'll have to ask him what make it is (think it's a Nikon, but I'm not sure)

 

[SoWat]

Impatient as always I've ordered a CanoScan 9900F. It's a bit more expensive than yer usual scanner (and some cheapy slide scanners) but looks as if it'll do the business. It also has a Firewire connection which means I get to use the port on the back of my Audigy at last

Thanks for the input chaps.