Slide Scanner Recommendations

Al Stangenberger · **Joined:** Mon Aug 23, 2004 12:59 pm **Posts:** 650

Jeff Lisowski wrote:

Be careful of ICE, sometimes it works well, sometimes it doesn't or it will leave marks that weren't originally there.

Actually, looking at the second image, the ICE leaves a bright line around the cream colored paint on the edge if you closely.

I saw that line and thought it was a sign of early body rot, but it is not confined to the bottom of the panels.

Rainier Rails · **Posted:** Wed Dec 10, 2014 4:32 am

Jeff Lisowski wrote:

Be careful of ICE, sometimes it works well, sometimes it doesn't or it will leave marks that weren't originally there.

Actually, looking at the second image, the ICE leaves a bright line around the cream colored paint on the edge if you closely.

As longs as you have a good image to work with, there should be minimal correction to it. Maybe color restoration, dust removal, grain reduction and sharpening the image in another software.

Al Stangenberger wrote:

I saw that line and thought it was a sign of early body rot, but it is not confined to the bottom of the panels.

Jeff Lisowski wrote:

If you look at both images, that bright somewhat jagged looking edge is actually the ICE technology from the scanner causing certain portions of an object to look brighter or more defined.

I'm no professional scanner by any means, but I do a lot of scanning and ICE really shouldn't be used for a good, clean image to start with.

Jeff, Al, and the forum--

I rescanned the images using dust removal (set to medium) instead of ICE, and the results were as to be expected. In the #5630 photo, the bright lines around the white portions, trucks, battery boxes, and rails were gone, however, dust removal on the medium setting did not remove the few dust particles present on the slides; with further scans I'll set dust removal to high. Also, I remembered that on the original scans I had also selected grain reduction (set to medium), which I did on this second try as well. Al, you were correct in your assumption that there was early body rot present on the #5630: without the ICE lines, it is much easier to see over the left-side truck.

I have no new photos to present tonight, perhaps tomorrow evening.

_________________
Additions and corrections are welcome. Thanks in advance.

Have a Merry Christmas!

Rainier Rails · **Posted:** Wed Dec 10, 2014 9:24 pm

Jeff and the forum--

Today another slide arrived in the mail, and I did 2 different scans with 2 different results:

First, I scanned the image with unsharp mask (at medium), grain reduction (at medium), color restoration, and dust removal (at high), with the result shown below.

For the second scan, I also selected backlight correction (at low), and switched from dust removal to digital ICE to try and remove more of the dust, seen both in the sky and on the flank of the engines. This resulted in a removal of all visible dust, as well as brightening up the front of the engine, with the GN Goat Herald becoming more visible, as well as revealing one, the light reflecting off of the lenses of the headlight, and two, the multiple hoses at the lower left of the pilot. Also, there was a greater contrast between the sunlit trucks and the shaded underbody of both engines; and unlike the previous scans of CN #5630 and #8752, this time ICE did not produce any bright line distortions within the image.

The reason I chose to post the first scan here instead of the second, is even though the second scan resulted in a dust-free image and revealing more of the detail on the front of the #276B, it did result in the foreground being slightly overexposed, and even though color restoration was selected, the backlight correction slightly faded the Omaha Orange on the sides of the engines. While both scans produced good results, the first scan is definitely the more "natural" of the 2, hence its inclusion here.

GN FA1 #276B (probably with #276A), which according to the GNRHS-NPRHA Archives, was assigned to the Kettle Falls branch, so this photo was likely taken in Spokane. The slide was a duplicate made by R.R. Wallin; I don't know if he was the photographer or a later owner of the original.

Does anybody have the order, frame, and serial numbers, as well as the build dates for the #276A-#276B? Thanks in advance!

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=4057355

_________________
Additions and corrections are welcome. Thanks in advance.

Have a Merry Christmas!

tofu · **Joined:** Thu Nov 20, 2014 7:48 pm **Posts:** 4

Rainier Rails wrote:

Thanks to everyone who responded!

After considering what was said here and the different options available, I purchased an Epson V550 scanner.

Did you consider the EPson V600? It seems very close in price to the V550 - so I am wondering if you had any reasons for avoiding the 600?

HudsonL · **Joined:** Mon May 24, 2010 10:22 am **Posts:** 548

Since we are talking about scanning old slides, here is a link to a Kodachrome slide mount dating guide.

http://www.zoggavia.com/uploads/KODAKMO ... L_1000.jpg

-Hudson

Rainier Rails · **Posted:** Fri Dec 12, 2014 12:16 am

Tofu--

The V550 is apparently Epson's replacement for the V600, which is still available, but will eventually be phased out. Knowing how fast technology can change (driver updates and technical support, in this case), I elected to purchase the newer of the 2 scanners.

Another scanned slide:

With this slide, there was a fair amount of fine dust, which I attempted to remove using dust removal (set to high) as seen below. I did a second scan of the slide with ICE selected instead, but this resulted in minimal bright line distortions. Again, as with the photo of the GN #276B above, I chose the dustier version for inclusion here. With further slides that have a fair amount of dust, I will attempt to remove said dust using canned air before scanning.

C&O 60' RPO #112 (Bethlehem Shipbuilding, 1926) at Washington Union Station on Saturday, May 15th, 1965, photo taken by George H. Menge:

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=4057961

_________________
Additions and corrections are welcome. Thanks in advance.

Have a Merry Christmas!

Rainier Rails · **Posted:** Fri Dec 12, 2014 6:55 am

Another Scanned Slide:

UP 10RM-6DB sleeper Pacific Mist (Budd, Lot #9660-039, Plan #9522, 1950). Like the GN #276B above, this is a Kodak-processed Ektachrome duplicate slide made by Richard R. Wallin. This slide is labeled "R.R. Wallin" and "1992" (the picture itself dates from before Amtrak); the #276B slide was not labeled R.R. Wallin, the seller noted it was a Wallin-made duplicate.

Like the slide of C&O #112 above, this slide of the Pacific Mist had a fair amount of fine dust. The next slide I will post also had fine dust, and all 3 were scanned at the same time; the next batch of overly-dusty slides will be pre-cleaned using canned air.

Looking at the design of the bridge railing, I'm guessing this is Portland. The Pacific Mist appears to have car number FC4 and the sleeper to the right has car number FC11. I'm not familiar with the train car numbers on the UP: can anyone confirm that this is indeed the City of Portland, or is it another train altogether, and if so, where was this photo taken? Thanks in advance!

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=4058117

_________________
Additions and corrections are welcome. Thanks in advance.

Have a Merry Christmas!

Rainier Rails · **Posted:** Fri Dec 12, 2014 7:41 am

Another Scanned Slide:

At least 3 more slides to post tomorrow.

AT&SF articulated gas-electric motorcar (baggage) #M190 (Pullman/EMC, 1932/49) at Clovis, NM, on Tuesday, March 3rd, 1970, Kodachrome slide taken by K.C. Henkels:

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=4058119

_________________
Additions and corrections are welcome. Thanks in advance.

Have a Merry Christmas!

Don Strack · **Posted:** Fri Dec 12, 2014 8:39 am

Ted,

To get rid of the dust that appears to stick to the slide, and needs to be physically removed, you may want to get yourself a makeup brush. They are large, and very soft, and available in the makeup section in almost every store. Get a couple, both large and small.

I have compiled some guidance on this web page.

http://utahrails.net/tech-talk-photos.php

Don Strack

Dennis Storzek · **Posted:** Fri Dec 12, 2014 9:46 am

What ever happened to camel hair lens brushes - not made anymore? I'd be somewhat concerned that a makeup brush would contain perfume, which could be considered an oily contaminant as far as slides are concerned.

HudsonL · **Joined:** Mon May 24, 2010 10:22 am **Posts:** 548

I use a double sided Kinetronics Ministat anti static brush.

http://kinetronics.com/store/ministat.html

My procedure is if the slides come in trays, I blow them down with CO2, then run them through the double sided brush, load them into the slide scanner tray and blow them down with CO2 again just before scanning.

I find this removes any loose particles from the slides, anything left is going to require swabs and Pec, and I prefer to fix it in post anyway. (Pec reeks!).

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/7 ... s_PEC.html

I use a 20 lb C02 bottle as my compressed gas source for several reasons, no moisture, quite, refills are $60 and if I remember to shut the valve on the bottle it will last most of a year.

I am scanning several thousand slides a year, your mileage may vary.

-Hudson

Don Strack · **Posted:** Fri Dec 12, 2014 12:08 pm

The brushes I have are indeed camel hair, and are not perfumed. I bought them at my local Target store about five years ago.

Don Strack

Rainier Rails · **Posted:** Sat Dec 13, 2014 2:22 am

Jeff Lisowski wrote:

Ted,

I know I sound repetitive, but try fixing the level of the images.

The C&O and UP car slides would look that much better rotated to level.

Submitting images to Railpictures.net has taught me that.

Jeff--

Yes, the C&O image in particular would benefit from fixing the levels. I do have Photoshop, so at some point I'll go back through the scans and do some correcting. For the time being, I'm focused on getting the images uploaded for viewing; after I correct the scans, I can swap out the uncorrected versions.

The below image could also benefit from fixing the levels.

Another Scanned Slide:

N&W 36 seat diner #494 General William Mahone (2nd) at Atlanta, GA, on Friday, October 26th, 1979, Kodachrome slide taken by an unknown photographer:

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=4058620

_________________
Additions and corrections are welcome. Thanks in advance.

Have a Merry Christmas!

Rainier Rails · **Posted:** Sat Dec 13, 2014 7:37 am

Another Scanned Slide:

SP head end power car #295 (2nd) (ex-#6733, Pacific Car & Foundry, 1962) at Oakland on Friday, January 16th, 1987, Kodachrome slide taken by Ken Rattenne:

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=4058695

_________________
Additions and corrections are welcome. Thanks in advance.

Have a Merry Christmas!

Alexander D. Mitchell IV · **Posted:** Sat Dec 13, 2014 3:19 pm

Our scanners (the people, not the hardware) at the Md. Rail Heritage Library have been waging war with the software on a couple different scanners (machines, not people) that seems to have a penchant for eliminating letters at random on PRR and N&W Tuscan Red and PRR Brunswick Green, as exemplified perfectly in the N&W diner shot above.

Any suggestions from experience?