I am sure this has been covered before, but what are your recommendations for a good workhorse slide scanner? When I checked last Christmas, there were several poor quality ones for less than $100, and a state of the art for around $400. Anything out there for scanning old train slides at a modest price?

This thread may help...

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=31233

As they say around the steam shops, "I can give you fast, cheap, or good, and you may pick a maximum of two."

Commercial publishing houses use drum scanners that are now in the low five figures, down from mid-five-figures. The "$100 scanner" will get you enough resolution for web posting; the "$400 scanner," properly used, can work for small-scale publishing, brochure printing, etc.

As with the earlier discussion about "preserving photos," it's what you do after scanning them that makes the difference.

Of course, you can always peruse used equipment on eBay, Craigslist, etc. I managed to cop an excellent slide scanner for only $10 in a thrift shop in Arizona, complete with all hardware and drivers, simply because they didn't know what it was.