Railfan Technology > Dwayne's CD's vs DIYS scanning?

I am one of the last railfans that still shoots film (no I'm not going to change) and right now I shoot Fuji 50 & 100, but soon good old Ektachrome 100 again when it is re-released in the coming months. I have always had my film processed by Dwayne's in Parsons, KS, and until now I have always had Dwayne's produce CDs of my slides. However, I am not too happy with their CD images, so I am asking TOs what should I do, stick with Dwayne's CDs or do my own scanning and if the latter what is the best overall scanner that will give me the best color and lowest grain? Thanks beforehand!

What is it about the scans from Dwayne's that you are unhappy with? Can you post an example?

Scanning images is one of the most time consuming tasks you will ever do. The learning curve is steep as well. If the scans you are receiving from Dwayne's can be salvaged through proper editing, I would invest my time and money on acquiring the right software and learning the skills to edit the scans to your liking, rather than re-scanning everything.

It's pretty rare, even with a good scanner, to get a correct scan right out of the machine. There is usually editing required before it can be used for anything, which won't be any different if you scan everything yourself. Best to devote your time and resources to editing, than toward scanning hardware.

About the only two things you can't fix from a supplied scan are the resolution and lost detail from a scan that is too light (assuming the detail in the original isn't blown out). Just about everything else can be fixed with the proper tools and technique. Where the scan comes from is immaterial if you know how to edit.

railwaybaron Wrote:
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> I am one of the last railfans that still shoots
> film (no I'm not going to change) and right now I
> shoot Fuji 50 & 100, but soon good old Ektachrome
> 100 again when it is re-released in the coming
> months. I have always had my film processed by
> Dwayne's in Parsons, KS, and until now I have
> always had Dwayne's produce CDs of my slides.
> However, I am not too happy with their CD images,
> so I am asking TOs what should I do, stick with
> Dwayne's CDs or do my own scanning and if the
> latter what is the best overall scanner that will
> give me the best color and lowest grain? Thanks
> beforehand!

I thought it would save me some time if Dwayne's scanned the slides I was having processed. When I reviewed the CD's, I quickly found that I will not be purchasing that option again. Images are scanned at what appears the lowest resolution, the color reproduction is "muddy" and not true, sharpness is non-existent and worst of all they are .jpg format. There is no fixing them with that format, trust me I tried. After about 15 mins on one image it was quicker to scan and process it myself. Save yourself some money and put the $5 for the CD into a coffee can and when you have enough money saved up buy a scanner or send them to someone who will do the scanning for you.

If that's the case, I can see why the OP is looking for a better solution. Still, I think DIY scanning is a PITA, and I do it all the time. There are other labs that process E6 than Dwayne's. I'd do a little due diligence and shoot a few test rolls and send them off to see what you get back.

I found one in about 45 seconds through a Google inquiry, but there are many.

https://thedarkroom.com/scans/

Scanning fresh "clean" well exposed Provia slides should be pretty easy.

Bob

trainjunkie Wrote:
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> If that's the case, I can see why the OP is
> looking for a better solution. Still, I think DIY
> scanning is a PITA, and I do it all the time.
> There are other labs that process E6 than
> Dwayne's. I'd do a little due diligence and shoot
> a few test rolls and send them off to see what you
> get back.
>
> I found one in about 45 seconds through a Google
> inquiry, but there are many.
>
> https://thedarkroom.com/scans/

I just looked at this site and they do offer a good price processing and scanning. $23 for 3 rolls of Provia and their highest level of scanning. Definitely cheaper than Dwayne's. A word of caution on the scans, from their site "All scans will open at 72 DPI or PPI (dots or pixels per inch).". There is also no indication if slides are mounted in a paper or plastic mount. I prefer the paper mounts, never really have liked the plastic ones.

It doesn't really matter what ppi they open in as long as the total pixel count is there. The "enhanced" scans are 2048×3072ppi and the "super" scans are 4492×6774ppi. That's really all that matters.

railwaybaron Wrote:
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> I am one of the last railfans that still shoots
> film (no I'm not going to change)

You are not alone