12) Evaluating Slides of Sculpture & Crafts

As when shooting slides, it can help to spray a little plain water low down in the room, to cut down on static electricity and dust kickup. Use a lint roller on your clothes. Antistatic gloves are handy for handling slides. I’ve been happy with the Polygenex "All-Day" antistatic gloves.

I use an evaluation sheet that corresponds to the shooting log. Fill in one sheet for each roll you shot. Feel free to download my sheet and use it, adapting it to your own preferences as needed. The slide evaluation sheet is in Adobe Acrobat® format. If you need to download the free Adobe Reader the link is in the right column here.

It’s important to project slides as part of the evaluation process. This is how juries will see your slides. You can catch some problems here that are easy to miss otherwise. You can tell which bits of dust or lint actually show when the slide is projected. And you can tell more about exposure than any other way – at least, until you have a lot of experience.

You don’t need to buy a projector if you can borrow one conveniently from your local library. I decided to go ahead and buy one just for convenience.

I tried a Braun Novamat 330AF autofocus projector but returned it. I was attracted to the idea of the 8x8" preview screen. This looked very convenient for checking slides. I read quite a few online reviews that told of problems getting the preview screen aligned properly, as well as problems with focus overall. The feature attracted me so much that I bought it anyway.

However, I found it impossible to get the preview screen correctly aligned. So parts of the image were out of focus. When I used the Braun Novamat to project onto a screen, it kept going out of focus. I could bring it back with the manual adjustment knob, but it was distracting.

I noticed that it arrived awfully dusty outside and in, for a new projector.

Some people have found this projector, or a similar model, to work fine for them. So perhaps it’s a matter of luck in getting one that works right.

When I borrowed a Kodak Carousel 4200 projector from my library, I found it worked fine. It was easy to judge exposure and sharpness. So I decided to buy a Kodak Carousel. To get remote focusing, I chose one model up, the 4400. I bought an EC56 dust cover for it too, as well as a projector case.

For projecting slides in cardboard or plastic mounts, Kodak now recommends a flat field lens. I bought the Kodak 85mm lens but wasn’t happy with it. It made the image too large for my small space, and edges seemed blurry. I replaced it with a Raynox 100mm lens and like using this much better.

If you buy a used Carousel projector, it will probably come with an Ektanar curved field lens. So for best results, plan to buy a flat field lens to use with it.

There are more expensive, better quality lenses available. If you plan to offer slide shows regularly, it might be worth investing in a better lens. However, if you project slides mostly to evaluate them, a more ordinary lens makes more sense. You can see your slides pretty much the way most viewers will see them, with their ordinary Carousel projectors and lenses.

I like the slide carousels that come with dust covers. They’re the Kodak Ektapro 80 model, labeled for Kodak Ektagraphic projectors but work fine with Carousel models. You can store a slide show in them, or load a set of slides in one to take to preview at a library.

I didn’t find the Kodak stack loader as useful as I expected. I usually preview slides by just inserting them into the Carousel slot one at a time. Unless you take loads of rolls, I’d suggest skipping this accessory.

This was another waste of money. I ordered the Kimac protective sleeves on the recommendation of professional crafts photographer Steve Meltzer. But when they arrived, the plastic sleeves themselves were full of dust and lint – not only on the outside, but inside too. Forget that!

Some other brands are available. If you try them, buy a few to check them out first. Make sure they arrive clean.

I use a large sheet of white foamboard held onto my studio door with Velcro. This seems to work fine. My small space makes using even a 40" screen awkward. If I were buying a screen, I’d buy a matte white screen, probably made by Da-lite. It’s also possible to buy a small table top screen and a projector table that mounts on a camera tripod – another solution for small spaces.

You’ll also want a color corrected light box and a good loupe for checking slides. This enables you to check slides for scratches as well as for dust, lint, and who knows what. It’s amazing how much stuff can attach itself to a slide, because the slide attracts it by static electricity.

I’ve been content with a relatively small, inexpensive light box by PortaTrace, in the 10x12 size. I usually look at just a few slides at a time on it anyway. You can buy a nice cover for it, as well as a slide sorter.

When I shopped for a loupe, I was lucky enough to find some to try in person at Showcase Photo in Atlanta. One loupe let me see with great comfort and clarity. It really stood out. So I bought the Mamiya 4X loupe. I’ve been very happy with it. For the first time I can really see the whole slide easily and clearly.

Your vision and comfort may differ from mine. So if at all possible, try several loupes at a good photo store before buying one. Or order two or three and send back all but the one you like best.

You can also buy large light boxes that are set up just for organizing slides. I haven’t found one necessary yet since I’m organizing the slides as I go.

This has been one of my very best investments. I used to try all kinds of things to clean dust and lint off slides – a can of compressed air, a clean soft paintbrush, an anti static cloth, etc. Nothing worked very well. The 1" antistatic brush does the trick. It’s still tedious to clean a lot of slides, but at least it works.

Having a roll of slide masking tape on hand enables you to redeem slides that are perfect except that the artwork is off center or something at the edge is in the frame that shouldn’t be there. Tape comes in black or silver. Silver is said to reflect heat away from the slide so it may be slightly preferable.