More questions about digitizing slides

I posted a few weeks ago that I'm trying to help my mom with her
decision to digitize 1000 to 2000 slides. She's not that computer
savvvy. She also lives far from me so I can't help her in person.
Also, I use a Mac and she uses a PC running XP and I don't know a lot
about Windows.

She doesnÕt have lots to spend but I've seen good reviews of the
CanoScan 8800F and the CanoScan9000F on Amazon. I think she should
purchase one of them, but I need to find out what the differences are
between them first.

Anyway, I'm trying to figure out, once she gets the scanner, how she
should proceed. At what resolution should she scan the slides? How
should she store them?

I have no idea what resolutions make sense. As for storing the photos,
I'm thinking maybe she will need to buy a small external hard drive.
However, I'm also thinking that relying on just one drive is risky if
we want the photos to be secure for years. So, I'm wondering if she
should put the slides, or at least the most important ones, onto an
online backup service. I just don't know if she'll be willing to pay a
monthly fee if the number of slides requires one. Over time, paying the
monthly fee could cost more than having Costco or some other company
scan the slides to DVDs/CDs instead of having her do all the scanning
herself.

Another idea, at least for now, is to get a USB Flash Drive, 16GB or
32GB and save the photos onto it. In addition to doing regular
backups, every week, I save my Mac's most important files to two 16GB
USB drives (which I put in a safe) and it works great.

I'm also wondering if there is some simple IPhoto-like software for
allowing her to organize her photos, so that it will be easier to
browse through the photos in the future. According to the Canon site,
the 9000F comes with:

CD-ROM including Printer Driver, Setup Software and User's Guide,
Adobe¨ Photoshop¨ Elements, ArcSoft¨ PhotoStudio¨, MP Navigator EX,
NewSoft¨ Presto! PageManager¨ (Windows only), ScanSoft¨ OmniPage ¨ SE

I have Photoshop Elements for Mac but I'm not familiar with the other
PC software that comes with the scanner. I know that Photoshop
Elements, the retail version, comes with Adobe Bridge. But I want
software for my mom that is simple to use.

Thanks for reading this.

Skylamar

In article , Skylamar
wrote:

Anyway, I'm trying to figure out, once she gets the scanner, how she
should proceed. At what resolution should she scan the slides? How
should she store them?

scan at the highest native resolution the scanner can do. you can
always reduce it later but you don't want to rescan again if you want
something better if you didn't do it right the first time.

I have no idea what resolutions make sense. As for storing the photos,
I'm thinking maybe she will need to buy a small external hard drive.
However, I'm also thinking that relying on just one drive is risky if
we want the photos to be secure for years.

get two or more drives and make backups. put one offsite.

So, I'm wondering if she
should put the slides, or at least the most important ones, onto an
online backup service. I just don't know if she'll be willing to pay a
monthly fee if the number of slides requires one. Over time, paying the
monthly fee could cost more than having Costco or some other company
scan the slides to DVDs/CDs instead of having her do all the scanning
herself.

some online services offer free storage for a small amount of space,
like a gig or two. photos add up fast but it might be enough.

Another idea, at least for now, is to get a USB Flash Drive, 16GB or
32GB and save the photos onto it. In addition to doing regular
backups, every week, I save my Mac's most important files to two 16GB
USB drives (which I put in a safe) and it works great.

whatever you do, make multiple copies.

I'm also wondering if there is some simple IPhoto-like software for
allowing her to organize her photos, so that it will be easier to
browse through the photos in the future. According to the Canon site,
the 9000F comes with:

lightroom or aperture, and you'll probably want vuescan to do the
scanning not the canon software. iphoto might even suffice for
cataloging them.

In article ,
Skylamar wrote:
I posted a few weeks ago that I'm trying to help my mom with her
decision to digitize 1000 to 2000 slides. She's not that computer
savvvy. She also lives far from me so I can't help her in person.
Also, I use a Mac and she uses a PC running XP and I don't know a lot
about Windows.

Since the last post, Rollie Camera has come out with what might be a
"better" cheap film scanner. Rollie is (or at least was) a real
camera company and this ~$150 device might have a decent lens & light
source.


http://www.rcp-technik.com/typo3/ind...ei-scanner&L=1


She doesnÕt have lots to spend but I've seen good reviews of the
CanoScan 8800F and the CanoScan9000F on Amazon. I think she should
purchase one of them, but I need to find out what the differences are
between them first.

Anyway, I'm trying to figure out, once she gets the scanner, how she
should proceed. At what resolution should she scan the slides? How
should she store them?


Scan at max quality and burn CDs. You can better experiment with
presentation once you have a couple hundred shots to work with.

--
Al Dykes
News is something someone wants to suppress, everything else is advertising.
- Lord Northcliffe, publisher of the Daily Mail

On 2010-08-26 02:03:47 -0700, Skylamar said:

I posted a few weeks ago that I'm trying to help my mom with her
decision to digitize 1000 to 2000 slides. She's not that computer
savvvy. She also lives far from me so I can't help her in person.
Also, I use a Mac and she uses a PC running XP and I don't know a lot
about Windows.

She doesn’t have lots to spend but I've seen good reviews of the
CanoScan 8800F and the CanoScan9000F on Amazon. I think she should
purchase one of them, but I need to find out what the differences are
between them first.

Anyway, I'm trying to figure out, once she gets the scanner, how she
should proceed. At what resolution should she scan the slides? How
should she store them?

I have no idea what resolutions make sense. As for storing the photos,
I'm thinking maybe she will need to buy a small external hard drive.
However, I'm also thinking that relying on just one drive is risky if
we want the photos to be secure for years. So, I'm wondering if she
should put the slides, or at least the most important ones, onto an
online backup service. I just don't know if she'll be willing to pay a
monthly fee if the number of slides requires one. Over time, paying the
monthly fee could cost more than having Costco or some other company
scan the slides to DVDs/CDs instead of having her do all the scanning
herself.

Another idea, at least for now, is to get a USB Flash Drive, 16GB or
32GB and save the photos onto it. In addition to doing regular
backups, every week, I save my Mac's most important files to two 16GB
USB drives (which I put in a safe) and it works great.

I'm also wondering if there is some simple IPhoto-like software for
allowing her to organize her photos, so that it will be easier to
browse through the photos in the future. According to the Canon site,
the 9000F comes with:

CD-ROM including Printer Driver, Setup Software and User's Guide,
Adobe® Photoshop® Elements, ArcSoft® PhotoStudio®, MP Navigator EX,
NewSoft® Presto! PageManager® (Windows only), ScanSoft® OmniPage ® SE

I have Photoshop Elements for Mac but I'm not familiar with the other
PC software that comes with the scanner. I know that Photoshop
Elements, the retail version, comes with Adobe Bridge. But I want
software for my mom that is simple to use.

Thanks for reading this.

Skylamar



http://www.scantips.com/


--
Regards,

Savageduck

"Ryan McGinnis" wrote in message
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On 8/26/2010 4:41 AM, nospam wrote:

some online services offer free storage for a small amount of space,
like a gig or two. photos add up fast but it might be enough.

FWIW, FlickrPro costs around $30 a year and has unlimited storage.



One of my criteria is that the site support disabling of the right click.

--
Peter

"Ryan McGinnis" wrote in message
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On 8/26/2010 4:03 AM, Skylamar wrote:
I posted a few weeks ago that I'm trying to help my mom with her
decision to digitize 1000 to 2000 slides. She's not that computer
savvvy. She also lives far from me so I can't help her in person.
Also, I use a Mac and she uses a PC running XP and I don't know a lot
about Windows.

Unless your mom is some kind of computer whiz and doesn't mind sitting
in front of a computer for one or two hundred hours, this project is
probably going to be beyond her.



Its' not hard, just tedious.
Besides, it will keep his mom busy with a useful project. I don't consider
that a bad thing.

--
Peter

On Thu, 26 Aug 2010 02:03:47 -0700, Skylamar wrote:

I posted a few weeks ago that I'm trying to help my mom with her
decision to digitize 1000 to 2000 slides. She's not that computer
savvvy. She also lives far from me so I can't help her in person. Also,
I use a Mac and she uses a PC running XP and I don't know a lot about
Windows.

What is the objective? Is it 'archival' in case something should happen
to the slides? Is it because no one wants to drag out the projector any
more? Or is it simply because that's the 'thing' to do these days?

As another poster mentioned, it's going to be VERY time consuming if she
intends to scan every slide at an archival resolution. Unless there is an
overriding concern, I'd suspect she'd get tired of the whole process
before the job is done. A more manageable task would be to do 'preview
scans' at low resolution of the entire set and then do the 'good' ones at
higher resolution.


She doesn’t have lots to spend but I've seen good reviews of the
CanoScan 8800F and the CanoScan9000F on Amazon. I think she should
purchase one of them, but I need to find out what the differences are
between them first.

Anyway, I'm trying to figure out, once she gets the scanner, how she
should proceed. At what resolution should she scan the slides? How
should she store them?

I have no idea what resolutions make sense. As for storing the photos,
I'm thinking maybe she will need to buy a small external hard drive.
However, I'm also thinking that relying on just one drive is risky if we
want the photos to be secure for years. So, I'm wondering if she should
put the slides, or at least the most important ones, onto an online
backup service. I just don't know if she'll be willing to pay a monthly
fee if the number of slides requires one. Over time, paying the monthly
fee could cost more than having Costco or some other company scan the
slides to DVDs/CDs instead of having her do all the scanning herself.

Another idea, at least for now, is to get a USB Flash Drive, 16GB or
32GB and save the photos onto it. In addition to doing regular backups,
every week, I save my Mac's most important files to two 16GB USB drives
(which I put in a safe) and it works great.

At this point in time, there is little evidence as to the long term
survivability of the media you mention. Once the scans are complete,
assuming archiving is the main objective, I'd strongly consider two
external hard drives. Backup the entire collection to both drives and
store them separately - perhaps one 'on site' and another in a safety
deposit box. Once per year (or more) resave to both drives and rotate
their locations.

I would not rely on an online service. That would (probably) be fine as
long as they are there, but they could go belly up at any time without
notice.


I'm also wondering if there is some simple IPhoto-like software for
allowing her to organize her photos, so that it will be easier to browse
through the photos in the future. According to the Canon site, the 9000F
comes with:

CD-ROM including Printer Driver, Setup Software and User's Guide, Adobe®
Photoshop® Elements, ArcSoft® PhotoStudio®, MP Navigator EX, NewSoft®
Presto! PageManager® (Windows only), ScanSoft® OmniPage ® SE

In my experience, the software that comes with the equipment is not of
much use. In the case of MS, it will allow you to do the scanning. I
would not count on it for more than that.

What sort of 'organization' is she likely to need? One would hope that
the slides are 'organized' to some degree - if so then it's easy to copy
that organization when they are scanned in - but expect to be called in
any case.


I have Photoshop Elements for Mac but I'm not familiar with the other PC
software that comes with the scanner. I know that Photoshop Elements,
the retail version, comes with Adobe Bridge. But I want software for my
mom that is simple to use.

Thanks for reading this.

Skylamar

"Skylamar" wrote in message
...
I posted a few weeks ago that I'm trying to help my mom with her decision
to digitize 1000 to 2000 slides. She's not that computer savvvy. She also
lives far from me so I can't help her in person. Also, I use a Mac and
she uses a PC running XP and I don't know a lot about Windows.


I second Ryan McGinnis's reply. Especially since your mom is "not that
computer savvy" she'd be taking on one horrendous chore trying to scan 1000
to 2000 slides. That'd be a great deal of work in any case.

Much depends also on how demanding her standards are. Generally speaking,
flatbed scanners like the two CanoScan models you've mentioned are
considered much inferior to dedicated slide scanners, which tend to be very
expensive. But your mom *might* be satisfied with the results. Or not. I
have no experience with those CanoScan machines and for all I know they may
be much better than other flatbed scanners, though it still seems highly
unlikely they could equal the results of a dedicated 35mm film/slide
scanner.

The Nikon Coolscan 5000 is very highly regarded but is *extremely*
expensive, if you can even find one for sale.

I just recently bought a Plustek OpticFilm 7300 film/slide scanner, which is
quite reasonably priced and has gotten very good reviews on Amazon. I didn't
buy mine there as there are much better prices elsewhere. I haven't gotten
around to trying it yet though. Got mine for $236.99 at NewEgg, but I see
they're sold out of them now.

You mention Costco's slide-to-disc service, and that's something I would
look into if it's convenient for your mom. If the price is reasonable, she
might try one batch of slides first to see how she likes the results.

"ray" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 26 Aug 2010 02:03:47 -0700, Skylamar wrote:

I posted a few weeks ago that I'm trying to help my mom with her
decision to digitize 1000 to 2000 slides. She's not that computer
savvvy. She also lives far from me so I can't help her in person. Also,
I use a Mac and she uses a PC running XP and I don't know a lot about
Windows.

snip

I'm also wondering if there is some simple IPhoto-like software for
allowing her to organize her photos, so that it will be easier to browse
through the photos in the future. According to the Canon site, the 9000F
comes with:

CD-ROM including Printer Driver, Setup Software and User's Guide, Adobe®
Photoshop® Elements, ArcSoft® PhotoStudio®, MP Navigator EX, NewSoft®
Presto! PageManager® (Windows only), ScanSoft® OmniPage ® SE

In my experience, the software that comes with the equipment is not of
much use. In the case of MS, it will allow you to do the scanning. I
would not count on it for more than that.



How much of that software have you actually used?
Exactly what is wrong with:

PS Elements;
ArcSoft - a fine stitching application that works well for most casual
users;
OmniPage - fairly decent PDF conversion software, that I used constantly.

I can only talk about those programs he listed that I am familiar with. But,
clearly that is enough to cast some doubt on your statement.




--
Peter

Skylamar wrote:?? I posted a few weeks ago that I'm trying to help my mom with her ?? decision to digitize 1000 to 2000 slides. She's not that computer ?? savvvy. She also lives far from me so I can't help her in person. ?? Also, I use a Mac and she uses a PC running XP and I don't know a lot ?? about Windows.?? ?? She doesnÕt have lots to spend but I've seen good reviews of the ?? CanoScan 8800F and the CanoScan9000F on Amazon. I think she should ?? purchase one of them, but I need to find out what the differences are ?? between them first.?? ?? Anyway, I'm trying to figure out, once she gets the scanner, how she ?? should proceed. At what resolution should she scan the slides? How ?? should she store them??? ?? I have no idea what resolutions make sense. As for storing the photos, ?? I'm thinking maybe she will need to buy a small external hard drive. ?? However, I'm also thinking that relying on just one drive is risky if we ?? want the photos to be
secure for years. So, I'm wondering if she should ?? put the slides, or at least the most important ones, onto an online ?? backup service. I just don't know if she'll be willing to pay a monthly ?? fee if the number of slides requires one. Over time, paying the monthly ?? fee could cost more than having Costco or some other company scan the ?? slides to DVDs/CDs instead of having her do all the scanning herself.?? ?? Another idea, at least for now, is to get a USB Flash Drive, 16GB or ?? 32GB and save the photos onto it. In addition to doing regular backups, ?? every week, I save my Mac's most important files to two 16GB USB drives ?? (which I put in a safe) and it works great.?? ?? I'm also wondering if there is some simple IPhoto-like software for ?? allowing her to organize her photos, so that it will be easier to browse ?? through the photos in the future. According to the Canon site, the 9000F ?? comes with:?? ?? CD-ROM including Printer Driver, Setup
Software and User's Guide, Adobe¨ ?? Photoshop¨ Elements, ArcSoft¨ PhotoStudio¨, MP Navigator EX, NewSoft¨ ?? Presto! PageManager¨ (Windows only), ScanSoft¨ OmniPage ¨ SE?? ?? I have Photoshop Elements for Mac but I'm not familiar with the other PC ?? software that comes with the scanner. I know that Photoshop Elements, ?? the retail version, comes with Adobe Bridge. But I want software for my ?? mom that is simple to use.?? ?? Thanks for reading this.?? ?? Skylamar?? ??For those interested in scanning slides, though not a viable solution ??for your mother, alas, the September 2010 issue of Shutterbug magazine ??has an interesting review of a Plustek scanner. Caution: This issue will ??be on the shelves for about one more week.??Allen??