Looking for a recommendation for a quality 35mm slide scanning service rather than throwing a dart at Google. Thanks. EDIT: For what it’s worth, this is for old family slides rather than scanning film for a work-related project.
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I actually used to work for a company that did this, Larsen Digital Services out of Utah. Depending on how many you need to convert it may be cheaper to just buy a scanner and do it yourself - if I am being honest it isn’t a complicated process at all.
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I considered photographing the slides by putting them on a lightbox and using my macro lens / DSLR combination. I started to rethink that due to the number. I know I could buy a slide scanner, but I’d be buying it for one project and it would never get used again. Maybe a used slide scanner and then sell it when I’m finished.
I have a Nikon film scanner that I used to use for magazine work, but I haven’t needed it in years.
Scanning film and slides is a hassle. Batch scans are easy enough. Just load them in the hopper and let the machine run. However, the results are poor. Ideally, each scan needs a prescan, which can be manually calibrated before the final scan, which takes time.
@Cyph mentioned Larsen Digital Services here in Utah. If I had a bunch of old family slides and negatives, I would probably use this company because they specialize in exactly that — digitizing old family photos, movies, and tapes. There’s also this place that’s a bit closer to your home. I assume both these places have better automated calibration processes that don’t require one-at-a-time DIY scans.
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I used to have an Epson flatbed scanner that would do reflective and transparent art. At the time, it was a highly rated scanner. I got rid of it when I did a side-by-side comparison and realized that I could photograph photos or art and have them look better than the scans the Epson produced.
I use a DSLR with a macro lens on a camera stand and a bank of two external strobe lights. It’s essentially like an old copy camera. I can put slides on a lightbox and get good results. I just started looking at the time involved and started to question opportunity costs. @PrintDriver also messaged me with a local recommendation.
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