Help with slides (Camera expert)

[gobbo]

hi guys,

just started doing some work with slides in my job. Much easier to scan in than negatives, plus can give better quality for less money than digital.

So, after getting some pics and getting them developed i've had to mount them in some slid holders. I've been told to use "antinewton" ones, but i have on idea what this means?!

Any help/advice websites on this would be kool too.

[Saracen]

When you project light through two sheets of glass, you can get a ring effect (called Newton's Rings) caused by interference patterns from the glass. Anti-Newton glass has a slight diffusion in it which breaks up the interference patterns, hopefully preventing the ring effect.

Most cheap slide mounts don't use glass at all. This has advantages and disadvantages. As there's no glass, there can be no distortion pattern from it. Also, glass-mount slides are, erm, 'dodgy' if you post them. Most magazines, for instance, specify NOT using glass-mount slides in submissions because they don't want staff sticking their hand in the envelope and getting it shredded on the broken shards

Also, the slide itself tends to get destroyed if the glass breaks in transit.

Glass, however, also has advantages. One is that it protects the (probably irreplaceable) film emulsion from accidental damage, and another it that as the film is held between two sheets of glass, it is guaranteed to be flat. If you use glassless mounts, almost inevitably the film surface is not absolutely flat, but rather, slightly warped in the mount and therefore when it goes in the scanner it is hard, if not impossible, to achieve accurate and consistent focus.

My guess is that the reason for the instruction to use glass mounts will be the focus issue, and if you're going to use glass, it wants to be anti-newton for optimum quality.

[gobbo]

Yeah, glass used to alow scanner to focus on the slide properly.


That answers the question about anti newton anyhow!

We used glass ones in the mail, but we do have hard plastic slide carriers to mail them in so the glass dosen't get damaged.

Thanks for that!

[Flibb]

I am using a Minolta Dimage Scan Dual to scan in my slides and negs, its bloody ace. You see a loy of them advertised on ebay, and they go sheap. Main reasons are they are scsi rather than usb (not many home photographers can be arsed) and Minolta never bothered to make xp drivers. I paid about £65 for my one and then got a programme called vuescan, that supports the scanner in xp. Tis great. Took my 35mm slr to a friends wedding loaded with slide, pictures are fantastic. Just need to stock up on slide film now.

[gobbo]

Not sure what scanner we are using, but it looks like a slide carasel (sic) and basicaly you load up your slides and it just flicks throgh them and scans them at 1200dpi 48bit colour.

[Rave]

I am using a Minolta Dimage Scan Dual to scan in my slides and negs, its bloody ace. You see a loy of them advertised on ebay, and they go sheap. Main reasons are they are scsi rather than usb (not many home photographers can be arsed) and Minolta never bothered to make xp drivers.

Tip of the day- well done mate. I'm off to have a look now.

Rich :¬)