How can I convert slides into digital photos?

Question

Can I use a regular scanner? What about negatives?

Answer 1

A flatbed with a "slide adapter" can do it, but if you have a lot to do it might be worth considering investing in a proper slide/film scanner. I did as I had a lot of old film negatives I wanted to digitise.

These have a light on one side of the slide/film and a small, very high resolution scanner on th eother, and tend to come with an interface to make it easy to get the colours right. Remember each film / slide type has it's own colour balance, and the slide scanners make it much eaasier to get this pretty good before it even gets to the likes of photoshop.

I got mine from jessops ( www.jessops.com ) about 3 yrs ago, and not looked back

Answer 2

My scanner - an epson - has a guide for slides & negatives & it scans them in quite nicely.  I've slowly been converting our family's old slides from the 70's into digital photos and it's pretty easy once you get the hang of it!

Answer 3

You will need a scanner with a reflective mirror in the lid designed for coping slides and negatives. The mirror reflects this image back so the scanner can read them. They also come with the special holder to correctly position the slides for copying.