Re: filmscanners: Do I need Digital ICE? & Scanner selection Advice

["Anthony Atkielski" <atkielski.anthony@wanadoo.fr>]

Darrell writes:


> Thus the question in the subject line, Do I
> need Digital ICE?
>
> I will be mostly scanning 35mm slides that
> are fairly new.

You don't need ICE for slides (in my experience).  Even from one-hour labs, they
usually come back clean enough that you can fix any dust yourself in Photoshop.
The defects are usually tiny dark specks.  Scratches are extremely rare.

> I have heard many Pro's for getting a scanner
> with Digital ICE, but I am also reading some CON's,
> i.e. no improvement when using ICE, not needed
> if no scratches on slides, ICE not needed if using
> Vuescan (which I am considering buying).

ICE is probably an unnecessary feature for slides.

However, where you will be hit when scanning slides is in dynamic range.  Unless
you get a scanner that has a lot of dynamic range ($$), scanning slides can be
problematic, as their density range far exceeds that of color negatives.

> My main reason for doing the scans myself is
> that I have been spending a fortune on Photo CD
> scans and the results are not very good.

It is often necessary to tweak individual scans after scanning, and I'm sure
that Photo CD doesn't do this, which is probably why you find the Photo CD
results disappointing.

> My total spend on the scanner will be $500
> USD or lower.

See if you can pick up a used Nikon Coolscan (LS-30, LS-2000); they have both
ICE and a lot of dynamic range.  They would be too expensive new, but there's a
slim chance you might find one cheap and used (but check it carefully!).