best resolution for scanning slides?

[mike]

Hello all
I'm a recent digital convert, (bought in Aug this year!)
I have a 5 megapixel camera and I'm in the process of scanning my collection of 35mm slides, via my shiney new epson 1260 and tranny adapaptor,
The photo size from the camera is around 2.5 - 3.0 meg ( 2592 pixels x 1944 pixels)
I idealy want the scanned images to be of comparative quality and size, so my question is this;
what would be the recommended resolution dpi setting on the scanner?
Once this is sorted I will then atempt to master adobe photoshop, so no doubt more questions then!!

Thanx in advanz

Regards
Mike

[raaf]

Mike,

If you want to scan slides, the best resolution to scan with is the highest optical resolution your scanner has (the Epson 1260 has a maximum optical resolution of 1200x2400 I believe). Scanning at lower resolutions is much faster but at the end you will regret having scanned on low resolution because the results are not as good.

Another possibility is to use your digital camera and use a slide copier adapter (if there is one available for your camera). This works pretty fast and the results are mostly quite good.

It all depends on the number of slides you want to digitise.
I have about 3000 slides and scanning slides with my scanner will take forever so I do use a slide copier on my camera. If you don't have that many slides, a scanner is probably better.

[jerrymeola]

I do not think you are going to like the quality of the epson scans. They will be considerably less quality than your camera.

I agree with raaf that film scans take a long time, but have gone that way. I will never scan all my negatives and slides but for the best quality that is the way to go. In two years I have probably scanned less than 1000 slides. I just do them as I have a need for the scan. i still get better prints from the originals rather than the scans.

The slide copier on the digital camera will be a compromise. You have to decide whether it will satisfy you. You have to decide why you want to digitize all those photos. Then you can decide on which compromises are right for you.

[mike]

Hi raaf
got a few slides, no where near 3000 though, I was going to gradually scan them in, the scanner has resolutions 50dpi up to 9600dpi and the file size alters accordingly with a setting of 9600dpi it creates a file of 273mb!!!
at 2400dpi i get 18mb files size but these are bmp's and not jpg's, do you know if this makes any difference?
Cheers
Mike

[mike]

cheers jerry
didn't see your post untill I replied to raaf's, must have crossed in cyber space or something!!!
I want to create some svcd audio visual slide shows, and therefore utilise my slide stock, I guess it's a case of trial and error, and see what the results come out like on the dvd and tele
Regards
Mike

[IcarusFree]

Mike bmp's files are much larger that jpg's. If you can choose a jpg file on your scanner I would go for that. File size will be smaller and easier to handle. If you plan on working on those scans, keep the original jpg untouched and work on a copy, to avoid further quality loss.

[jerrymeola]

my second attempt - i think my computer ate the first reply today.

bit map images use a limited color range that is not always acurate. Try to use JPEG or even TIFF or PSD. The smaller JPEG using sRGB (sRGB is opitimised for web and computer monitors) are best for what you are doing.

For slide shows you are limited by the size and rsolution of the monitor. TV's have even less resolution than monitors. I usually resize my pictures to about 6x9 inches at 72bpi (some high end monitors can be 96bpi but most are 72). I go from 20mb files to under 100k. Also if the image files are very large, display times can drag putting your show out of timing with the music.

If you have more than 72bpi in your image the computer will only discard the excess. I prefer to use my editing software to resize and preview the image rather than relying on microsoft's default settings.

[raaf]

Mike,


One more comment on the resolution of your Epson scanner: as far as I can find any information on the net, the optical resolution is 1200x2400 dpi. The resolution you mentioned (9600 dpi) is a software interpolation. It doesn't scan at this resolution nor does it give you more detail, it just blows your picture up to something big. Its the optical resolution that actually counts.

[mike]

Hi Guys
I think I've found how to save in jpeg, looks as though the scanner has to be set up to scan to print, but don't actually print the scan, select the option to print later and save as jpeg, a wierd way round though, I've mailed epson to see if there is a better way, but no reply as yet!
I get the 72dpi issue, the camera's pictures also are at this res, and yes the image is massive when scanned at the 9600dpi with a file size enormoussss!!!
It's not easy is it this digital caper???
Regards
Mike