Re: Digital slide camera, was Re: off-topic digital camera suggestions

Since we've managed to veer so far off topic, I guess I'll push it a
little further.

Sam Wang raises the question of shooting slides w/ DSLR and macro lens
and light table versus using a dedicated film scanner.

For the slides, I think you're better off using a scanner. Yes, with
time and patience and skill, you can get good results with the camera
set up, just as you can with a film camera. But operator skill and time
become a factor because you're now doing repro photography and the only
difference is that you're using a digital camera instead of a film
camera. The sad fact is that you can quickly teach an undergraduate how
to operate a slide scanner and all the ins and outs of how to name and
store the scanned files, but the process of teaching someone with little
or no photographic experience about repro is a bit more daunting. Plus
you have a workflow issue of getting the images off the camera and into
the computer and their final storage media.

For everything but the slides, I'd say go with a camera. But with the
slides, I'd say go with the scanner.

And I'll mention again, there IS software out there that will allow you
to control your DSLR via your computer so that you can use you
computer's monitor to view the image...which is MUCH nicer than trying
to evaluate that little LCD screen (so you're not bending up and down
from photographing the different size materials)!

Dennis Moser
(Who in his daytime job spends an awful lot of time pondering just these
questions...)

Sam Wang wrote:
> Kate,
>
> Good shots from prints are relatively easy, as long as you have a good lens like your Nikon Macro 55, a classic. I find the 50mm Canon Macro to work well also.
>
> So far, however, the Olympus E series DSLRs seem to be the only ones using beam splitters instead of mirrors. So they are the only ones that allow previewing on an LCD (or TV), with comfort, without having to bend up and down all day photographing from many different size books and prints.
>
> On reproduction of present slides, I'm wondering about shooting them over a light table with a DSLR and a good macro lens. If the results could be well enough, it certainly would be a whole lot faster than scanning the slides individually. Any thoughts on this?
>
> Sam
>
>
>
>>I have been using a Fuji finepix slr for copy work recently, with a
>>Nikon 55mlmacro lens of considerable vintage, and am not having any
>>trouble getting good clean shots with no distortion. I'm starting
>>research on converting all my school's slide production to digital so if
>>anybody wants the information, or has any to share, please let me know.
>>
>>Kate
>
>
>
>

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