05-07-2013, 02:40 PM
Uncle Wig wrote:
I bought a Nikon Coolscan V ED a few years ago when I learned Nikon was discontinuing their film scanners. I'm glad I did: now they go for as much as a grand on Ebay. It works great, but yes: it's time consuming.
There may be other decent film scanners on the market now (as opposed to flatbed scanners which won't do a good job on Kodachrome) but I haven't been following the market.
I think a good DSLR and a setup like Thermarest describes may well be the best way to go. It'll certainly be the fastest. Depending on the setup, I don't think you must have a macro lens, but it needs to be good and sharp, with little or no distortion.
An article about this, which deal with lens choice and resolution: http://theonlinephotographer.typepad.com...ilm-2.html
Here's an article about doing it with a macro lens: http://petapixel.com/2012/12/24/how-to-s...acro-lens/
Another article with a DIY setup and a flash: http://petapixel.com/2012/05/18/how-to-s...th-a-dslr/
Another article dealing with light source: http://petapixel.com/2013/04/23/build-a-...ore-107258
You don't need a macro lens but you'll likely need extension tubes or a bellows or something.
The alternative would be to to have something opaque that holds the slide/neg farther away from the lens, because unless you have a macro lens, extension tubes/bellows, your lens won't be able to focus that close. Like a Pringles can or similar.