slidshows

snoel wrote on 4/6/2005, 7:40 PM
I am starting to make slidshows for a couple of relatives graduating from high school. I am looking for a software that is user friendly but good quality that will allow me to add music and also allow me to pan zoom and add transitions. I have a couple of different programs I am working with that will allow either pan and zoom OR transitions but not all of the above. Please comment with your feedback of the Sony products. My daughter is alsoa bridal consultant and I am thinking of maybe doing slidshows for weddings and anniversaries so I want them to look good but I cant afford to spend the big bucks yet ($500and up) I don't mind spending $100.00 any input will be appreciated

Comments

IanG wrote on 4/7/2005, 12:52 AM
MS is capable of doing excellent slide shows, with everything you've mentioned. Having a time line based editor means that you can get very precise synchronisation with the music and the multiple video and audio tracks give you a lot of scope to be creative - you can use split screen, picture in picture or fly multiple pictures across the screen for example. That said, MS is a video editor, so it's not as quick or simple as a dedicated slide show app e.g. you can't automatically add the same transition to each picture (personaly I've always thought that's a bad thing to do, but that's my problem). ProShow Gold is a popular choice, but of course it can't handle video.

Ian G.
snoel wrote on 4/7/2005, 4:27 AM
thanks sounds like what I've been looking for.
Is the program easy to figure out?
IanG wrote on 4/7/2005, 5:31 AM
Yes, but then I'm bound to say that :-) I think it's best to work through the tutorials and then produce a couple of short projects. You're aiming to understand what can be done and how to do it, rather than producing a professional quality show on day 1.

Ian G.
ADinelt wrote on 4/7/2005, 8:55 AM
Sony Vegas Movie Studio has been great for me in creating video slide shows. I have a small business on the side doing photo restorations, video transfers and slide shows. Most of the business I have received to date has been from people wanting to put their 35mm slides and photos onto DVD.

Movie Studio has a number of great transistions and effects that really add to the overall production. The zoom and pan and crop feature makes the presentation come alive instead of having just static screens.

Movie Studio is an excellent product, extremely stable and incredibly priced!!

Al
volzjr wrote on 4/7/2005, 10:57 AM
I've used VMS going back to it's VideoFactory roots... and I've been using ProShow Gold for about six months now, and if your work is going to consist of mostly slide shows, I would go with ProShow, if I could only get one of them. I like them both, and use them both. VMS has a lot of functionality, but is aimed at editing video's. ProShow is geared for slideshows, and automates many functions that must be done manually in VMS. For example, you can drag in the audio that you want to use, then when you import your slides, you have the option of "fitting" the slides to the length of the audio track. With just a couple of clicks, the slide's durations are all adjusted evenly so the total length is equal to the audio track, and you have a finished show. With VMS, you can set a default duration for each still image you import, but then you must manually adjust each of them until you get the overall length to match the audio. This can be a lengthy process.
Also, Proshow can handle video. The current version can import .AVI, .MOV, .MPEG & .WMV files, and all available transitions can be applied to the video clips as well. There are over 280 transitions available, many that aren't available in VMS. There a number of caption effects that aren't available in VMS as well. Of course, you can pan, zoom, crop, adjust color & brightness, & do other effects to each slide.
As with most programs in this category, there are a few things that VMS does better. I sometimes miss the multiple video tracks, like when I want some text to span several slides. A single overlay does this in VMS, while you have to add the text to each applicable slide in ProShow.
But if your working mostly with wedding slideshows, I would give the nod to ProShow, simply for the streamlined workflow, which can save you a lot of time. YMMV
Hope this helps.
stilltrying wrote on 4/8/2005, 9:12 PM
I am interested in your comment about making 35mm slides into a slideshow. How do you copy the 35mm slide ono your computer to start with?? I have many slides I want to do this with.
IanG wrote on 4/9/2005, 2:41 PM
I don't know what Al's using now, but I use an Epson Perfection 2400 scanner. It's a general purpose flatbed scanner with a slide holder, but the results are excellent.

Ian G.
stilltrying wrote on 4/9/2005, 3:27 PM
Thanks IanG. I have a Canon CanoScan FB 620P scanner, so will have to see if I can get a slide holder for it. Didn't know you could get them - I had thought of projecting the slides & taking a Digital Still photo, but scanning would be much easier.
Chienworks wrote on 4/9/2005, 5:53 PM
Generally if your scanner supports transparencies it will come with all necessary hardware included. If you didn't get a backlight and negative/slide holder with your scanner then it probably won't scan them.
ADinelt wrote on 4/13/2005, 3:05 PM
I also use the Epson Perfection 2400 scanner. It will allow you to scan photographs, negatives and up to 4 35mm slides at a time. It works great and is pretty fast at scanning. So far, most of the business I have received is from people wanting to put their 35mm slides onto DVD. I have easily scanned over 2000 slides and photographs so far.

Al
IanG wrote on 4/14/2005, 1:09 AM
Nice to hear it's still working!

They're probably not the only company to provide this, but the Epson scanners include "dust removal" software - invaluable if your slides have ever seen the light of day!

Ian G.
stilltrying wrote on 4/14/2005, 4:25 AM
I have contacted Canon & unfortunately my scanner doesn't have a slide adaptor, so it may be worth while getting a new one as I have lots of slides of my fathers & grandfathers that I want to put on DVD. Is the Epson model you have expensive?
ADinelt wrote on 4/14/2005, 8:39 AM
If I remember correctly, the Epson 2400 was around $100 - $150 (CAD). The one that I got came with Adobe Photoshop Elements as well.

Al
IanG wrote on 4/14/2005, 9:36 AM
Epson's website has refurbished ones at $75 (US) , but they're out of stock! I'm not sure whether they're still making them, but they''re bound to have new models.

Ian G.

PS Al, I finaly got round to installing Elements a few days ago, and was deperately trying to remember where I got it. Thanks for reminding me!