Slides used to be the photographic standard for creating crisp, bright images. Now, digital photography is the method professional and amateur photographers rely on. The challenge is turning the boxes full of slides that captured family vacations, celebrations and breathtaking scenery into a digital format.
Luckily, converting old slides into digital images is relatively easy by using either a film scanner or digital camera.
Using a Film Scanner to Convert Slides into Digital Images
In order to achieve the best quality scan of a slide, a film scanner is recommended. Film and slide scanners are designed specifically for scanning slides and negatives. Many film scanners come with their own scanning software to simplify the process. Fortunately, basic film scanners are relatively inexpensive with prices ranging from $65 to $189 from online retailers such as Amazon.
Film scanners allow slides to be scanned at various resolution levels. If the digital image produced from a slide will ever be printed as an 8 x 10 or larger, the resolution recommended for scanning the slide is greater than 3000 dpi. If the digital image will be used primarily for e-mail, videos and smaller prints, 2000 dpi should be enough resolution to achieve satisfactory results.
A word of caution, the larger the resolution selected, the larger the digital file and the longer it takes to scan the slide. A magazine of 36 slides scanned at over 3000 dpi can take close to an hour to scan.
How to Scan Slides with a Film Scanner
Before getting started, be sure to read the instructions provided with the film scanner. Some film or slide scanners require a driver and software be installed onto your computer prior to connecting the scanner to a computer.
After the proper software has been installed, plug the USB cable connected to the film scanner into your computer. Remove the 35mm slides from the metal frame and place into the slide cartridge provided with the film scanner. Insert the slide cartridge into the film scanner as directed in the slide scanner instructions and wait until the image exposure adjusts to your satisfaction. Then capture the image. Repeat this step until all the slides you want to convert to digital images are scanned.
Using a Digital Camera to Make Slides into Digital Photographs
If the images created from slides will be used to make small print or to view on your computer or television, using a digital camera may work to achieve the desired results. Shooting slides using a digital camera is quick. A digital camera that can produce at least 5 megapixel images is recommended.
There are two common ways to use a digital camera to create digital photographs from 35mm slides.
One option is to project slides onto the screen like normal. Take pictures of each slide using your digital camera. To achieve the best results, set your digital camera up on a tripod. Adjust exposure, focus and eliminate the flash to acquire the optimal digital images from your slides.
Another method that works well using a digital camera, is to take close-up images of the slides. Place slides on a lightbox and set digital camera to the close-up setting. Turn off flash and shoot the slide image. Once again, a tripod will help keep the camera stable.
Making the old trusted technology of 35mm slides new again is relatively easy by converting the slides to digital images. The digital images created from old slides are ideal for creating new family keepsakes, presentations with graphics, digital scrapbooks or a web album for friends and family members to view online.
Digital images created from 35mm slides also work great for creating a DVD that can be given as gift to family members to relive those cherished moments originally captured on slides.
Wendy Roltgen - Wendy Roltgen is an avid writer and reader. She loves learning and writing about a variety of topics. She has worked in various marketing ...
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