Over the years we shared quite a few tutorials on scanning slides. Most were focused on how to light the slides correctly, and how to post process the files and how to adapt a macro lens for the job.
We never actually touched on the automation of slide scanning and this video by Victor Kaijser Bots explains in details how you can scan literally hundreds of slides in mere minutes.
The scanning mechanism is similar to the ones we’ve already shared. An translucent surface is used to get even illumination of the slide and a macro lens (the Canon 100mm macro in this case) capture the slide while it is back-lit.
The smarts of this invention is that the way that the scanning is automated using a pair of intervalometers and an old cartridge driven slide projector.
One intervalometer (about $15 on amazon) is wired to the slide projector “forward” button, while the other intervalometer controls the camera (it can be a real one, a smartphone app like an ioShutter or Triggertrap about $45 each, or even a built in timer). Since the intervalometers are synced a photo is taken after each progress of the slides cartridge. Pretty Clever, right?
This video shows the entire process:
Thanks for the heads up, Koen.
P.S into slides? Check out the Light Blaster – a revolutionary slide projector.
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