Slightly off topic - slide copying

[bbarlow@rochester.rr.com]

I've got this idea to copy 35 mm slides with my D70. It would take about 1/2 sec. per slide, compared with many many sec on a slide copier, and provide better than 1000 pixels of horiz. resolution, more than enough to go to DVD with - not enough for deep zooms, but "good enough" to flash up on a TV sreen.

To this end, I've put together a little light box with an arm that suspends the D70 a few inches above the slide, and a remote control to trigger the shutter. There are a couple of problems I've still got left, though, and I'm looking for experienced help, or informed ideas.

My light source is about 6 inches away from the ground glass on which the slide to be photographed rests, and the light is not diffused enough; there's a "hot spot" in the center of the copied slides. I've put a diffuser - a sheet of sanded plexiglas(!) - between the light and the table, and I've added a fresnel lens to try and spread the light, but while better, it's still lighter in the center.

Too cheap to buy a micro (macro?) lens to experiment, I'm using a set of screw-on closeup lenses I had from the past. They seem to be doing OK for my "proof of concept" testing, but I'm wondering now if they might be the cause of the darkening at the edges of my pictures.

So my questions: Can anyone suggest a way to get a diffuse light source to light my slide table (maybe I should look at a light box)? Would spending $400 on a micro lens give me $400 better pictures than my screw on lenses?

I understand that I'll never get anywhere near the quality of a $2k slide scanner, with dust/scratch removal and all that, but for a quick TV slide show of ancient slides, I think I can get by without that.

Thanks in advance,
Ben

[George Riehm]

I've got this idea to copy 35 mm slides with my D70. It would take about 1/2 sec. per slide, compared with many many sec on a slide copier, and provide better than 1000 pixels of horiz. resolution, more than enough to go to DVD with - not enough for deep zooms, but "good enough" to flash up on a TV sreen.

To this end, I've put together a little light box with an arm that suspends the D70 a few inches above the slide, and a remote control to trigger the shutter. There are a couple of problems I've still got left, though, and I'm looking for experienced help, or informed ideas.

My light source is about 6 inches away from the ground glass on which the slide to be photographed rests, and the light is not diffused enough; there's a "hot spot" in the center of the copied slides. I've put a diffuser - a sheet of sanded plexiglas(!) - between the light and the table, and I've added a fresnel lens to try and spread the light, but while better, it's still lighter in the center.

Too cheap to buy a micro (macro?) lens to experiment, I'm using a set of screw-on closeup lenses I had from the past. They seem to be doing OK for my "proof of concept" testing, but I'm wondering now if they might be the cause of the darkening at the edges of my pictures.

So my questions: Can anyone suggest a way to get a diffuse light source to light my slide table (maybe I should look at a light box)? Would spending $400 on a micro lens give me $400 better pictures than my screw on lenses?

I understand that I'll never get anywhere near the quality of a $2k slide scanner, with dust/scratch removal and all that, but for a quick TV slide show of ancient slides, I think I can get by without that.

Thanks in advance,
Ben

Or, you could get a flatbed scanner that can scan film and slides like an Epson 2480 or 4180 for under $200 and do it right.

http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/ProductCategory.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=yes&oid=-8172

I have the older version (1650) and it works great at 3200dpi.

That way you can also get high quality scans of prints as well.

[Don Walsh]

Ben,
This information may not be of any use to you at all but here is what I did copying all my slides. Nikon makes a slide copying adapter for the Coolpix 990 that screws onto the lens. I too tried various back lighting setups with mixed results. I then tried using my computer screen as a diffused lighting source and enjoyed excellent results. I simply ran a word processing program that gives you a blank white screen for a new document. My monitor is an ViewSonic Professional Series Monitor that has an "ultrabite" setting available. I simply held the camera with adapter carefully pressed against the screen and copied away.

As I said at the outset it may not be of any help, but sometimes it triggers other ideas. Don Walsh