slide/negative scanner
 

using ubuntu, like to find out how to determine what slide scanner i can use.most of the ones advertised list only windows xp or vista.Am new to Linux , just installed ubuntu.

On linux you are likely to use SANE or XSANE to do the scanning, so you should check what scanner models are supported by SANE and to what extent their features are supported. That should help to make a buying decision.

my slide scanner for windows works on Linux, but not windows.
 

I bought one that has "RxOptics" on the top of it. It's made in China and has a USB plug on it. I was willing to run it in Windows if need be, and tried that first (several different times. It installed properly on a neighbors computer, but would not install on any of mine (using XPPro which is what the directions required) But iot would not install on my machines.

Both Linux "Mint7" and WindowsXPpro found the device and identified it as a web-cam, but then Windows would not install the software saying that it could not find the device (after it had just told me that it did!

My son suggested that I try installing it in Linux as a web-cam. I downloaded a program from Mint7's repository called: "cheese". Made it work instantly! Should have done that first.

Only one problem (if it is a problem): The literature and advertisement of this gadget says that it will save pictures in 5 Megapixel resolution. I only getting files of about 1278X1024 pixels. But I've got a pretty good idea that the 5 megapixel figure is really talking about an interpolated picture, which is not a real gain anyway. The pictures that I am getting are real clear.

What that means is that the manufacturer does not provide software for anything other than XP and Vista. It does not mean that the scanner will, or will not, work with other systems if you get suitable software from somewhere else.

Sane is a lot better for support than it once was, and if you don't mind buying software, Hamrick software also support more devices than sane.

Have you tried looking at the hardware compatibility list? This should probably be your first or second port of call (after SANE, maybe).

While this may meet the needs of many users, others will find it totally inadequate. The highest-resolution films need a **native** (not interpolated) resolution on the order of 3000dpi. For 35mm, this translates to 3000X4500 pixels (13.5 megapixels)

If your scanner is not supported by SANE, look also at Vuescan.