35 mm to digital (DSLR, Nikon, lenses, processing)

[kelly237]

I have a nice 35 camera with lots of lens ect.
What is the best solution to use this camera for some nature shots and convert to digital after developing.
Maybe slide film would be the cheapest to develop and convert...

[Nomadicus]

Originally Posted by kelly237

I have a nice 35 camera with lots of lens ect.
What is the best solution to use this camera for some nature shots and convert to digital after developing.
Maybe slide film would be the cheapest to develop and convert...

There are pros and cons of using film vs slide film. Regular film will capture broader range of light but slides can be scanned at a higher resolution. I would run some tests. Getting a quality scan is the next step. Standard scans by box stores and the like don't cut it. Film scan res should be at 3200 dpi min and slides can be 4000 dpi. These are using ISO 100 speed films. Trial and error will allow you to determine what will work best for you. HTH

[MRVphotog]

Depends on what your using the images for. If you want good quality images and make the larger size prints, slides are the best. There are several good labs online for scanning your slides into large files with a high resolution for about $1 per scan. Keep in mind that slides are less forgiving then print film to shoot.

If your just shooting pics for the family or friends and your not needing large prints than print film is probably the way to go. Getting the scans at your local lab or camera shop will probaby due.

Lastly, check your area as there might be a good custom lab who does high res scans. They can help you with info tho their prices will usually be much higher than a good lab online.

[mathjak107]

i have an old nikon fe and decided to shoot velvia50 slide film. not having converted to digital before from film i told the lab to scan it on cd using hi res... i didnt even ask how much assuming how much could it be.... i was blown away when i went to pick them up and found out it cost 40 bucks for 36 pics and i had none even printed for that price.. that will teach me to assume ha ha ha

[ruthlopez22]

Wow Its a great.

[thecoalman]

Note that if you plan on scanning yourself those little specks of minute dust become huge... especially if you're going to be scanning negatives or slides. Scratch/dust removal using software has limits and can be quite time consuming, the issue with software is are you removing a speck of dust or is it small detail in the image? If you consider something like snowflakes taken at night on a dark sky or even dust blowing in the wind or other minute details that might be in an image the software can have problems with it. It's a blanket approach and what may actually be a detail is removed as imperfection.

I'd suggest looking for a scanner with Digital Ice or equivalent. A scanner with Digital Ice is hardware based. It does two scans of an image. One is a standard scan and the second is done with infrared. This second scan detects physical imperfections on the surface of the image like dust, scratches, fingerprints...etc. The imperfection can be isolated and removed without removing anything else from the rest of the scan.

[WyoNewk]

If you have modern AF lenses, it would probably be cheaper to get a new digital SLR that'll use them. A decent film scanner will cost almost as much as a new dSLR body, you won't have to pay for film and processing, and to top it off, your pictures will be better.

That said, slide film is usually considered the better film for scanning. But be aware that slide processing isn't done by most photo finishers these days. You might have to send the exposed film away and wait a week or more for it to come back.

If you do get a film scanner, I'd second the above recommendation to get one with Digital ICE.