Software and scanner for scanning photographic slides?

Question

I am searching for software and hardware for scanning slides to import to digitize my old pictures..

I have already a scanner working in Windows, but I would like to scan them directly in Ubuntu.

• Ubuntu 10.10
• Scanner: :ZOLID
• lsusb output: OmniVision Technologies, Inc. VEHO Filmscanner

Answer 1

I've tested several scanner programs in Ubuntu and I think "gscan2pdf" is the best.

You can scan with ADF scanners (feeds the photos/sheets automatically), batch crop pages, set brighness/contrast (and more) before scanning (saves a lot of time), edit the pictures in GIMP or other external program, do OCR on text and more.

You can install it using the Ubuntu Program Central (or compile it from source: http://gscan2pdf.sourceforge.net/ )

Answer 2

For scanning slides and negatives, the best I've found is VueScan from Ed Hamrick of Hamrick.com. It's available for Linux, Windows, and Mac and supports MANY scanners with it's own drivers. Try the trial version to see if it works with your scanner (it puts watermarks on the scans, but at least you can see if it'll work for you).

Not Free (in either sense), but a substantially better value and better service than you get from most paid-for software.

Answer 3

You should go to Applications -> Graphics -> Simple Scan.

Answer 4

I use an Epson Perfection V300 Photo to scan photo's, slides and documents. I downloaded the drivers from http://avasys.jp/hp/page000001300/hpg000001277.htm. After installing the software a new entry ImageScan! for Linux is created in the menu. You can scan only 1 slide at a time (although the paceholder has storage for 4 slides). I perform postprocessing (clipping, adjust contrast, remove scratches and artefacts) by means of Gimp (or Picasa).

Answer 5

As for the hardware part of the question, my HP 3 in 1 scanner works perfectly with simple scan without any need for drivers.