[Leica] Comparison Review: Can VueScan or SilverFast archive your film better?: Digital Photography Review

[Peter Klein]

I’m with Tina on VueScan. If I need to use my Canon FS-4000 film scanner, it's what I use. (And Tina, thanks for your tips on using VueScan for faded slides. They really helped. Pictures soon.)

But ask yourself a question: How much resolution do you really need? For your early masterpieces that you want to print or pixel-peep, yes, use a film scanner. But for family photos and memories that are just going to be viewed on screen, there’s a much faster and more practical solution.  Use your favorite digital camera with a macro lens and a film or slide copying attachment. Such an arrangement may not quite resolve Kodachrome grain, but it's quite good enough for full-screen viewing.

I use my Olympus E-M5 with a manual focus OM 50/3.5 macro lens and a Nikon ES-1 slide copying adapter, plus a OM-to-micro 4/3 adapter and a couple of threaded spacing tubes to put the ES-1 at the proper distance from the lens. And a 100 watt incandescent bulb. If you use a full-frame camera, there are ready-made slide copying solutions. Moderate cost if you buy new stuff.  Dirt cheap if you use manual focus lenses and cheap and cheerful Chinese adapters. 

I can shoot a couple of slides per minute.  If the color balance on the original is OK, I shoot JPG, crop and spot later in the computer, and I’m done. If the color balance is off, I shoot Raw and adjust in post.  

My results with my Mom’s Kodachromes, 1949-1970s have been bringing my cousins and aunts much joy. They lost all their family photos in a house fire many years ago. My Mom took many slides, but only made a handful of duplicates for family after my early years. So I’m resurrecting a lot of family history. 

--Peter