[photo-3d] Re: Making quality copies of Realist slides

[boris@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

in reply to:

>>1) Does one get better quality copies by simply making copies mechanically?
>>-- that is, using a low asa copy film and copying rig?  versus making a high
>>resolutions scan of the original and outputting it as a new slide?
...
>>pay a lot to get a very high resolution scan.  Do you know what level of
>>scanning I need to use to capture all of the halides on the original slide
...
>>Duncan Knowles
>>dknowles@xxxxxxxxxxx


I have scanned slides to see if digital duplicates can be better than
optical duplicates.

You will not even get close with any kind of desktop "prosumer" scanner.

You can get very high resolution scans using the Kodak Photo-CD service,
but they will only get you close.  Kodak Pro scans cost around $20 ea.  A
good optical dupe will likely still be better (in tonality, at least to the
trained eye).  You have to balance that against the opportunity to fix up
the image digitally by removing blemishes.

I have scanned slides using a drum scanner (at about 5000 ppi resolution),
and the slides output from these scans (output at 8000 ppi) were nearly
indistinguishable from the original.  Certainly better than any optical
dupes I have ever made.  With digital manipulation (sharpening, contrast
control, cleaning, etc.) you have the opportunity to make the digital dupe
actually better than the original.

But drum scan slides will cost you at least $50 per film chip most places.

For any of this high end scanning (Kodak, or drum, or "near-drum", you will
need to unmount the film chips)

Boris