Scanning medium format slides – hardware recommendations?

This seems as good a place as any to ask…

I've got a boatload of 2 1/4" slides from both parents and grandparents – my Grandfather treated himself to a Rolleiflex 2.8F in the early 60s which was much used by him and my Dad on various rail safaris…

I've done very low res 'scans' with a light box and my phone (spot the lens reflections) to identify 'who, what, when and where', but for the particularly nice photos, I'd like to do hi-res scans as well.



Is there such a thing as an affordable scanner that will help, or alternatively any other hacks or fudges with phones or a DSLR that will get better results than my current heath robinson set-up?

 

Define affordable. I’ve used a range of Epson flatbed scanners over the years for my 645 negs and slides with good results. Have a look on the second hand market if you’re on a bit of a tight budget. I’m currently using a V850.

 

I digitised all of my 35mm slides some years ago and bought a cheap-ish slide scanner that I used to import directly into Photoshop / Lightroom on my iMac. Whilst the original slides haven't deteriorated as such, the exposure was poor on many and required greater attention once imported, something I haven't really attacked en mass. This scanner was reasonably affordable but more modern devices I see available online look much improved, some indeed having capability to copy-photograph directly by smartphone. I'm not sure what quality this might give however? I have no experience of the medium format you mention however.

What I've also done is scanned hundreds of 6x4 and 7x5 colour and B&W prints (and some negatives) using a flat-bad scanner that doubles as my wireless printer. Again once imported into Photoshop / Lightroom, colour repair then follows. This would likely work for slides also.

I recall trying to copy some slides many years ago before PCs were the thing, and this involved projecting each slide onto a white screen in a darkened room and then using camera on tripod situated alongside the projector, took copies using Fuji/Ectachrome slide film. Results make me cringe by modern standards however and film slide copiers in those days were very expensive from what I remember!

 

Sorry for so reply and thanks for the tips… looks like a secondhand backlit scanner’s the way forward.

Like you @misspentyouth62 I’ve also got a wireless printer with built-in scanner, and I tried a jury-rigged backlight using an a4 light box, sandwiching the slides between the scanner and light box… unfortunately due to some weirdness with modern scanners, the images come out in black and white rather than colour… so back to the drawing board!

So it looks like I’m off to eBay to try to find a decent second hand Epson.

Thanks again,
Simon

 

In terms of Epson scanners the V700 (which I use) comes highly recommended; I have scanned both slides and negatives (b/w and colour) with acceptable results