View Full Version : To mount or not to mount?
What are the relative merits of getting your Kodachrome mounted and unmounted?
Back when it was the only film I shot, I never gave it any thought, but now that I mostly display my photos on the web as scans, I've been getting my Fujichromes unmounted.
I'm also curious about whether mounted slides present any difficulties in scanning.
What are your preferences and your reasons?
ZoneV
03-11-2009, 10:43 PM
Mounted: compact, can be stored in box, in dark easily. Easy to hold and look at, especially using a loupe.
Unmounted cut in strips: Convenient for storing in archival sheets (strips of 5) for binder storage, can scan up to 6 frames at once for speed (versus 4 for mounted slides, and you get more of the image area (not covered by a mount.
Having worked with both, I'm not sure which one stays flatter in the scanner.
Ektagraphic
03-12-2009, 01:09 PM
I always get them mounted because I feel they aere much, much, much easier to handle that way. If they are mounted, you can project them too.
I agree that mounted slides are easier to work with when scanning and for storing.
The only semi-issue is the masked-off borders with the rounded edges which does require cropping. This has not been a big deal for me so far, but I can see that it might.
Also, sometimes the cardboard mounts have fuzz and hairs on the edges that have to be dealt with one way or another.
Ektagraphic
03-12-2009, 01:56 PM
If mounts are a problem for scanning, you could always get the film unmounted then scan and mount them yourself after you scan....
ZoneV
03-12-2009, 02:58 PM
The only semi-issue is the masked-off borders with the rounded edges which does require cropping. This has not been a big deal for me so far, but I can see that it might.
If mounts are a problem for scanning, you could always get the film unmounted then scan and mount them yourself after you scan....
Speaking of rounded off corners, I initially found myself cursing the fact that my corners were rounded when I was scanning and editing my film for my project. Everyone else used digital, and didn't have rounded corners.
But then I gave up. And then I realized that the rounded corners of a scanned full-frame slide are a positive thing (no pun intended). When people see the rounded corners, they are going to realize that these photos are somehow not like all the other digital photos. Some 'veterans' might even equate them with film! What a concept!
So I ended up having some prints with all 4 rounded corners, some with, 3, 2, 1, or none. Today, a lot of style is all about sloppy. A lot of artists these days like to get certain aspects of things accurate, and let others fall where they may. Sloppy can be beautiful. Otherwise, no one would invest post processing time into rendering sloppy borders that look like a cut-out film carrier!
yAy fOR EnTroPy!
The biggest issue is that my camera displays 100% of the image in the viewfinder. I have to take this into account when shooting film. For the most part, all methods of scanning or printing film force you to lose a bit of the edge.
Oh, and I don't even want to think about opening up slide mounts. No thanks, that's a type of trouble that isn't worth all the issues it creates!
Embrace your rounded corners! Let people know that you're using film!
Ektagraphic
03-12-2009, 04:24 PM
You make a good point with the rounded corners. I don't do any scanning myself, and the slides must be cropped since I don't have any with rounded corners. I think I would leave them if I scanned myself.......I enjoy the vintage feel of a carboard mount
I was just going through my old Kodachrome slides from '79-'87 last night and don't have a single slide with rounded corners. I'll be getting these slides scanned soon and add them to the pool.
But another argument for mounting occurred to me. Having single frames rather than strips of unmounted film allows you to cull the garbage the same way that you would delete digital.
Ektagraphic
03-12-2009, 05:49 PM
I have some old Kodachromes that don't have rounded corners too. Looking at my slide dating guide...it looks like the mounts with rounded corners started in 1980.
I'll check again, but I have many post-'80 slides without rounded corners. In fact, I don't know which corners you're referring to, the inner corners or outer corners. :confused:
ZoneV
03-12-2009, 06:54 PM
I'll check again, but I have many post-'80 slides without rounded corners. In fact, I don't know which corners you're referring to, the inner corners or outer corners. :confused:
The current Kodak carboard slide mounts have rounded corners, both exterior as well as the interior ones that create the border around the film.
Oh dear lord, why??? :confused:
I suppose it's easier and cheaper to cut corners (pun intended).
So what I see in the viewfinder of my Leicaflex SL2 will really be what I get in a mounted slide! I hope at least the radius of the inner corners is very tight.
Anyway, depending on how extreme the rounding of the inner corners is, it would be an argument for not mounting. Decisions, decisions . . . !
Ektagraphic
03-12-2009, 08:11 PM
sorry..both inside and out actually..
ZoneV
03-12-2009, 08:23 PM
Oh dear lord, why??? :confused:
I suppose it's easier and cheaper to cut corners (pun intended).
So what I see in the viewfinder of my Leicaflex SL2 will really be what I get in a mounted slide! I hope at least the radius of the inner corners is very tight.
Anyway, depending on how extreme the rounding of the inner corners is, it would be an argument for not mounting. Decisions, decisions . . . !
Probably so that no one pokes their eye out while holding a slide and loupe up to the face. :eek:
If your viewfinder shows 100% of the frame, you will probably lose a little bit due to the slide mount.
See the attached file for an example. note that the two sides were cropped different amounts. The upper right corner should give a good indication of a rounded corner. Photo taken on Kodachrome 64 (or 200?) with Nikkor 80-200mm lens.
ZoneV
03-12-2009, 08:24 PM
Attachment showing rounded corners:
While your attachment is "pending approval," I've taken another look at some of my old slides from the early '80s and have noticed the rounded edges for the first time! They are not all that extreme, but I should hope a scan would catch that and not try to square off the corners. I'll ask at my lab.
My earliest slides dated '79 and '80 have square corners.
A few of the slides themselves are worth photographing because of some of the things written on the mountings. Another argument in favor of mounting.
Since the old slides I had scanned came out slightly cropped because of the mounts, and also because others have complained about the scanning at Dwayne's, I'm considering getting my slides unmounted and having my local lab scan them.
Decisions, decisions! :confused:
Ektagraphic
04-02-2009, 12:17 PM
It must be really hard and dangerous (to the image) to have cardbord mounts opened up!
Ektagraphic
04-02-2009, 12:17 PM
You local lab can't scan them in the mounts??
You local lab can't scan them in the mounts??
The point is that they did scan them in the mounts and the scanned photos came out slightly cropped as a result.
Fredrik
04-03-2009, 12:19 AM
It must be really hard and dangerous (to the image) to have cardbord mounts opened up!
Not at all. Just make a cut with a pair of scissors, rip it open, and pull out the piece of film. I do this all the time. Takes about four seconds. Of course you must be careful not to fold or scratch the piece of film, but really, it's not that hard!
It sounds like you destroy the mount in the process. I would want to preserve the mount and remount the slide after scanning.
Fredrik
04-03-2009, 04:34 AM
It sounds like you destroy the mount in the process. I would want to preserve the mount and remount the slide after scanning.
Yes, I'm destroying the mount. It's a worthless piece of cardboard. If I'm going to mount a slide I'll use a proper mount, preferably one with glass so you get uniform focus across the entire image in the projector.
Ektagraphic
04-03-2009, 03:06 PM
You can't open a carboard mount without distroying it. They do have some re sealable plastic mounts I think.
I've decided to get them unmounted and have my local lab scan them.
One less decision to dither over.
Hellashot
04-18-2009, 07:11 PM
Speaking of rounded off corners, I initially found myself cursing the fact that my corners were rounded when I was scanning and editing my film for my project. Everyone else used digital, and didn't have rounded corners.
Embrace your rounded corners! Let people know that you're using film!
I read all the posts and didn't see a reason why kodachrome slides come back with rounded corners. When my Velvia slides come back with perfect square corners. Kodachrome and Velvia were shot using the same camera. Also why are image edges of kodachrome not as clean as Velvia as far as strings of black encroaching on the image? Dirt/Dust?
I've decided to get them unmounted and have my local lab scan them.
Hopefully they know what they are doing and they aren't high school kids fingerprinting the film and dropping them on the floor.
And which local lab? Hopefully not a discount or drug store.
My lab is a small specialty lab called Lemon in the Ginza district of Tokyo. They definitely know what they're doing.
It turns out that getting my slides unmounted and uncut is saving me a fortune in scanning costs. It would cost my lab four times as much to scan mounted slides!
Ektagraphic
04-21-2009, 08:46 PM
It turns out that getting my slides unmounted and uncut is saving me a fortune in scanning costs. It would cost my lab four times as much to scan mounted slides!
That is odd!!
Not really. They can just feed uncut rolls through the scanner and be done relatively quickly. Mounted slides have to be scanned individually, which is much more time-consuming.
It took the lab a week to scan my 300 mounted archival Kodachromes, but they were able to scan over 400 uncut slides within 24 hours.
Ektagraphic
04-24-2009, 06:53 AM
I understand how it is easier to scan the uncut slides but I still find it odd your lab had them unmounted.
analogue ∞
06-08-2009, 11:31 PM
It turns out that getting my slides unmounted and uncut is saving me a fortune in scanning costs. It would cost my lab four times as much to scan mounted slides!
This is what I was thinking of doing too. They can just run the whole roll straight through the machine. I presume I'd be able to get them printed too if I wanted? I wonder what they would look like compared to prints from negative film. When they are done doing that I could get them to mount them as slides. It could turn out quite expensive though. Not having a scanner is kind of a pain.. But as Dan has always said; take the photos now and worry about scanning later ;)
vBulletin® v3.7.3, Copyright ©2000-2013, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.