Convert Slides to Digital to Give Them New Life

For many photographers, slide film was the only film choice at one time. This trend has left photographers and their family members with box after box of old slides. These images, which often contain priceless memories or works of art, are rarely looked at due to the hassle of getting slides out, sorting them, and finding a way to project them. Because of this, the value they contain is lost.

Slides can have new life if they are converted to a digital format. When you convert slides to digital files, you can adjust color issues, share them online, easily send copies to friends and family members, and get reprints made without hassle or a tremendous amount of expense. You can even use the images on a DVD or other multi-media presentation to present at meetings or seminars.

Obviously, converting slides to digital formats carries many benefits, but just how do you go about doing it? There are a few different options available to you for this process. You will have to find a method that works well for you and presents the quality of image that you need.

Professional Scanning Service

The easiest way to have your slides converted to a digital format is with a professional scanning service. To do this, you send your slides to the company, and they scan them in bulk using a professional grade scanner. Scanning technologies often automatically compensate for dust and debris on the film, giving you a quality final image in a usable digital file format. This saves you quite a bit of time, as doing it yourself requires scanning each slide individually, and it is fairly affordable. Most companies charge a small per-image price, with discounts for large orders.

Do It Yourself with a Scanner

If you choose to do the converting yourself, a scanner is one option. You will have to decide if you want to use a flatbed scanner or a film scanner. A flatbed scanner requires a special attachment to be able to scan slides, because they are designed to scan positive images. If you try to scan the slide without the attachment, you will get a black image because the scanner will not have any image reflected back on it. Because this is not the way scanners are designed, scanning slides with a flatbed scanner does cause you to lose some quality.

The other option is to scan the slide using a slide scanner, which is a special device specifically designed for scanning film. These are pricey, especially for a quality one, but they provide the best quality image. They are also similar to the scanners that will be used by the professional service.

Photographing the Slides

The final option is to photograph the slide using a digital camera. To do this, either photograph a projection from the slide, or purchase a slide photographing adapter for the camera. Again, you will lose quality, and the adapters can be pricey, but you can do it yourself this way if you wish.

Whether you hire someone else to do it for you or find a way to do it yourself, when you convert slides to digital files, you will find that they take on a whole new life. You can one again easily view, share, and preserve your images when they are digitized.