taking dig. pics of projected slides - Need tips

I have hundreds of my wife's family pictures in slide carosells.
As probably 97% of them are nothing special, photograph wise, I thought
I'd try projecting them and taking a digital photo of the projected
image. I've heard of this being quite adequate for most old pics but
can't find any discussion of the mechanics of it.

How big should the projected image be?
How close to the projector should the camera be?
Are there problems with it being to close and getting
light from the projector?
We have a Kodak 6 MP with a fair number of different settings choices.
Landscape? Close-up? 3x optical zoom. Use it? No?

Could probably come up with lots more questions and surely will when I
get an evening when I feel like tackling the first round. Was just
curious what others may have found in the ways of dos and donts.

I've scanned a couple thousand of my slides with maybe that many to go.
TEDIOUS work. Selected pics from my wife's family will be rescanned on
the scanner. She has a Christmas project she wants to work on with the
pictures and neither of us has the energy to try to scan them all.

Thanks
Doug

 

Doug Chadduck wrote

Really, this is by far the easiest way of doing it ....

http://slidecopier.com/

Chris

 

Could be slick if our camera had screw on lenses. Ours is the basic
point and shoot.

 

Better to cut out the projection screen and just shoot the slides - all
you need is something to hold them and a diffuse white light behind
them, and you'll get a much better tonal range. I wonder if you could
remove the lens from the projector and stick the camera in front of it
on a tripod. If the camera has a remote shutter facility you could
stick it in a box in the top of which you've cut a 24x36mm hole, put the
slide on top and shine a halogen desk lamp through some tissue or
similar to illuminate it. Just use macro focus and zoom so the slide
fills the frame.

 

Hi Doug,

Project your image onto screen.

Your distance from screen will depend on size of projected image.
Probably 5 to 20 feet would be good.

Frame the image through your viewfinder (if the camera doesn' have a
viewfinder - than use the LCD.

Take the shot like any other shot. Hold your camera steady or use a
tripod. There should be sufficient light from projected image so that
a flash is not needed (or wanted).

Camera setting? Try portrait and some others and see which one gives
suitable results.

Then, you have to make the decision of how good the results are and if
you are satisfied.

I have done this at seminars and talks where spaker has projected
images onto screen.

Good luck and have some fun,

Conrad

 

Hello Doug:

I thought my Kodak 6490 was "point and shoot" also. But it has screw
threads inside the housing, between the body and the lens. So the
slidecopier attaches to the camera body and you can use the lens to focus
and zoom to fit the slide to the area of the sensor. In-other-words, you
can "fill the frame" even zoom and crop. I can even capture 2"x2" super
slides and the Instamatic slides. (Can't do super slides on Nikon scanner.)

The worst problem with slidecopier is getting each slide "straight" or
square with the camera sensor.

My solution was the Pacific Image 3650 because it also has Digital ICE and
ROC and automatic advance, etc. Only problem is you must load and unload
the slides onto the Braun carousel or magazine (One is 100 slides the other
is 50). PS 3650 is still faster and better than "slide copier" for a large
number of slides. For small lots (under 50) for a friend, I use the slide
copier and Kodak 6490. For large lots (over 50) especially for myself, I
use the Pacific Image 3650.

Cordially yours,

Young

 

Beware if not using a proper projection screen, there can be a bright
central hot spot reflection. This was the problem I had when I tried
this. It was OK for my purposes but far from ideal.

 

That I've got. Inherited it with the slides and an ancient dead projector.