Dr Adam J Trickett wrote:
> I looked at Jessops to see if they do a slide scanning service, but
> it's pretty clear that at the price they charge I could easily spend
> �300-600 on my own slide scanner and still save money.
Don't dismiss the time it'll take you to do it though. I find scanning
my negatives with the workflow outlined below can take 15-20 minutes or
so to produce a satisfactory output image. Obviously if I don't want to
produce the image just archive the "digital negative" it's a lot less.
> Does anyone still make them?
> Do any have good Linux SANE support?
> Any recommended models?
I have a Nikon CoolScan V. A scanner with hardware scratch and dust
removal (using infrared) is a must for anything other than perfect
negatives. I got mine from eBay and there are a variety of other models.
The Nikon ones seem to be the most popular brand.
There is SANE support for some models (the SANE site has a list) but in
order to make use of the advanced features of the scanners you need to
use a more advanced piece of software. This means either running the
bundled software under WINE or using VueScan. VueScan is proprietary but
great and there's a native Linux version. I bought the professional
version which allows saving of RAW files and calibration etc. The
advantage of saving the RAW files is that you can go back and alter the
amount of scratch removal and grain removal etc. afterwards, without
rescanning the negative.
> or
>
> Can any one recommend a firm that can batch scan lots of slides?
I investigated several about this time last year:
http://tonywhitmore.co.uk/blog/2006/10/17/i-hate-to-be-negative-about-this/
http://tonywhitmore.co.uk/blog/2007/01/05/not-so-positive-results/
http://tonywhitmore.co.uk/blog/2007/01/06/db-images/
http://tonywhitmore.co.uk/blog/2007/01/07/slidescan4ucouk/
http://tonywhitmore.co.uk/blog/2007/01/09/pix-studio/
http://tonywhitmore.co.uk/blog/2007/01/10/negative-scanning-conclusion/
In the end though, I decided to buy a negative scanner and do it myself.
I found the Rocky Nook book on the subject very helpful (they also do a
great book on the GIMP).
http://linkpot.net/clears/
HTH,
Tony
