Before digital photography was the norm, there were generally two methods of developing film: prints and slides. The prints were developed on a sheet of photographic paper, while the slides were small pieces of transparent film in a cardboard frame. With the advent of scanners, prints easily made it through the transition to digital. Slides, on the other hand, are more problematic and can't be scanned straight away easily. We will show you how to overcome this limitation, digitize your slides and take your slideshow into the 21st century!
Steps
Method 1 of 4: Method One: The Pros
Step 1. Take your fingers for a walk
Go to Google and search for "digitize slides". There are many professionals who will be happy to do the job for you. If you have a lot of slides, the great thing about a professional service is that they can do it much faster and generally better than you can do on your own. Here are some points to consider:
- Price. It can vary a lot, from € 50 for 400 slides to almost 100 for 250. Considering the cost of home alternatives - and how often you will be doing slides in the future - these prices are very reasonable.
- Delivery. How fast can they do the job? In some places it takes a couple of weeks, in others just a couple of days and this can be more expensive. If you want better quality, you can spend less if you can afford to wait.
- Quality. Services can provide high quality scans that will look great even when printed on 10x15 paper. Make sure they have the technology to reduce or remove dust spots, which is very important in these old slides.
Method 2 of 4: Method Two: The Slide Scanner
Step 1. Do it yourself
While services can generally offer better quality and speed up a task that might be tedious, there is some satisfaction in doing it yourself, for other reasons as well:
- It could be an opportunity to throw away slides you never should have done, like that random shot of your tennis shoes or that "artistic" image of a dog and a fire hydrant.
- There may be slides you just don't want to share with a perfect stranger.
Step 2. Purchase a slide scanner
In the consumer category, they can cost from 50 to over 200 € and in general the more they cost the more they give you better quality and easier work. Look for these features:
- Speed. Some slide scanners let you scan one slide at a time. If it takes 30-60 seconds per slide, plus time to name and archive, it can take a very long time to scan a 400 slide box. Be prepared to spend a weekend there. Some of the best scanners take only seconds, and save the scans to an SD card. When all the slides are scanned, simply open the tab on your computer and drag and drop the photos.
- Quality. Check the amount of megapixels of the scanner you are interested in. They can range from 5 to 9 megapixels. As they say, the bigger the better - the more pixels, the bigger the print you can make from your slide.
- Compatibility. Make sure that the scanner does not require specific software or, if needed, that it is suitable for your computer configuration. You won't want to sit in front of your Mac this weekend for a busy scanning session, to find that your brand new scanner only works with Windows!
Method 3 of 4: Method Three: the flatbed scanner
Step 1. Use what you have
“OK,” you say, “I have a scanner. Can't I just put my slides on them and scan them like that? Of course, but the problem is that the slides are very small.
You can check to see if an adapter is available to allow you to mount the slides on a mat and scan using your flatbed scanner. This should give you the opportunity to preview and save them very easily, if not quickly. If an adapter is not available, you can make one using what you have at home (e.g. paper, ribbons, etc.). Scanning with a flatbed scanner has limitations in brightness and resolution, and usually does not give a quality image comparable to a digital photo or a professionally scanned slide
Method 4 of 4: Method Four: Take a photo
Step 1. Shoot again, Sam
Set up the projector or screen and tripod and digitally photograph the image as it appears on the screen. If there is manual focus on your camera, use it for the distance that ensures the image is as sharp as possible.
If your camera allows it, try varying the exposure more or less quickly and with a fixed aperture, and then compose the image with a software such as Photoshop. Resolution will still be compromised, but you'll have better dynamic range
Step 2. Use a slide viewer
Zoom in or use the macro function of the camera to take a photo of the backlit slide. It may be necessary to block the peripheral light around the slide in some way. Use cardboard or a sheet of paper and position it so that only the slide image has the light behind it. This process usually requires a tripod to get a sharp image.
Step 3. Use a stand
If your lens allows you to focus down to about 2.5cm. Use a stand to take a close-up photo of the slide. You can test your camera for shots on slides or negatives, and build your own stand if you want.
Advice
- Check the services in your area. They often rent professional scanners and may even offer "free weekends" if you rent it on a Friday and return it the following Monday.
- Consider how important your image can be and who will handle it. They could lose it or ruin it without the company being responsible for it.
- Professional stores often charge € 5-10 per slide to digitally prepare, scan, and clean a slide. This does not mean that you have to use a professional service, only that you have to evaluate the importance that images have for you compared to the cost you would have to incur in the service.
