Using K10D to copy slides ?

Hello,

Finally, after months of saving, and then having to spend my savings on those things life unexpectedly throws at you somethimes, such as: servicing the car, new microwave, decorating the living room, tax bills etc, etc, I have finally got my hands on a shiny new K10D. What a wonderful piece of equipment it is. Worth the wait ? Absolutely. Relived the same feelling I had when I got my then brand new Super-A way back in the 1980's.

Anyway, has anyone out there used a K10D together with a slide copier attachment to scan in old slides ? If so were you happy with the results ? My slide collection is all on Kodachrome 64, and as I understand from the answer to another of my posts, the nature of K64 can cause problems on some dedicated slide scanners.

I'm only interested in getting some old family photo's into my PC. If I make any prints for the family album they will probably never be larger than 5"x4".

I already own Auto bellows A, and am thinking about getting the slide copier attachment if a reasonably priced one turns up on ebay.

Any thoughts ?

Cheers,

/Ian

I've never used a slide copier, but I have stuck slides onto a light box and then used a macro lens to take an image. This works well providing all other lights are switched off to avoid reflections. It is also a good idea to black out the unused area of the light box to prevent lens flare. Focusing is totally critical...

It's not a quick technique but it does work. It is easier with larger negatives/transparencies.

Reproducing large numbers of slides is going to be heavy going whichever way you decide to do it!

Thanks for the tip. I own a SMC-A 50mm macro lens so I will give that a go at next weekend.

Cheers,

/Ian

I've not tried the slide attachment but do wonder if you would get better results with a scanner and transparancy / slide attachment. (typically <£100)

If not and you've only got a few to do perhaps you could borrow one of a friend.

If you get a copying attatchment for your camera from e-bay or similar, they will work. quite well in fact, but will crop the image owing to the APS format sensor on the K10D and you will not be able to copy all the slide, same applies to bellows too. If I only have a few I just tape them onto a window and use a macro lens. Scanning slides can be a slow process, and my *istDS seems to do a much better job of colour balancing than my slide scanner.

Chris

Slide scanners don't work with digital. The reduced image circle means that you only copy the central portion of the slide.

If you are handy, rig up a simple clamp for the slide, find a nice even light source, then use a macro lens on the camera.

Don will probably knock up something suitable if you ask him nicely.

G

there are various comments that the bellows/slide attachment is a better bet than the usual slide copier, since there is no cropping of a full frame image.

If you only have a few photos to scan, it might be better to have them scanned by Peak Imaging or a similar reputable firm. The cost per photo might be high, but probably less than the slide attachment and less hassle.

It's Probably a bit late now but i tried to do some slide copying - here is the set up Desklamp with white A4 paper on top, slide on paper Flash bounceing - don't know if it made a difference i was just playing now i have a working off camera flash!- take photos on *ist D with miranda 28-70mm macro. It just about worked till the mount melted! - no damage to slide just had to to put it in a new mount. -note to self use the negative scanner on pc!!

David