Nikon SF-210

I've ben asked about our experience in 35mm slide scanning using the Nikon automatic slide feeder attachment, SF-210. Typically the question comes from someone who's frustrated with their unit, or wanting justification for spending over £500 on a bit of plastic having already spent the best part of £1,000 on a scanner.

The problem is slide jams. Yes, they happen to us too. The best preventative measure is to watch and listen to the unit, you can hear it as it struggles to feed a slide. Nimble fingers can help it on its way.

The best way to prevent jams is to get the gate adjustment correct via the knurled knob on the side of the slide feeder. Sort your slides so you have a batch of the same thickness and you'll be well on the way to smooth scanning.

Decent plastic mounts scan well, cardboard less so but generally OK. The worst are bent cardboard or card that has become "fluffy" over the years, the thicker card does catch on the mechanism.

People focus on the mechanics of the feeder and yes jams cost us time too. But what costs us more time is the rather hopeless way Nikon's sacnner software handles jams. Resetting that takes much longer and its a noticeable thorn in the side of smooth 35mm slide scanning.