Scanning 35mm Slides
About forty years ago, 35mm slides were a favored way to chronicle vacations and special family events. Businesses used slide presentations for instructional and sales purposes. Today, 35mm slide shows have become almost obsolete. Not many people take the time to bring a slide projector out of its storage area, set up their 35mm slides in the projector’s carousel, and then show the slides on a screen. If you’re one of the many people with boxes and cartons of old slides that have accumulated in closets and drawers, you might want to try scanning your 35mm slides. This will free up storage space and give you a quick and easy way to present your old pictures. Scanning 35mm slides will give you high quality pictures and even allows you to make additional prints.
One of the first things you need to do before you begin your project of scanning 35mm slides is to select the slides that you really want to keep. Most people have a very difficult time getting rid of photographs, and this is true of slides, too. Since you’ll be spending both time and money to scan your slides, you’ll need to decide if you really need to keep all of them. Choose the best slides and the ones that have the most sentimental value for you, and you’ll end up with a great collection of pictures to view and share with family and friends.
Scanning 35mm slides is something you can do at home. There are many different models of 35mm slide scanners, ranging in prices from under $100 to well over $1,000. If you’re short on time, consider using a professional photography service for scanning 35mm slides. You can probably find a local photography business or you can use an online photography service. Compare costs of the various businesses, but also consider the reputation and services offered.
If you decide to try your hand at scanning 35mm slides at home, look for a scanner that fits your budget and provides features that you need. Some scanners only allow you to view the scanned prints from the scanner, and other models have software that lets you scan your 35mm slides to your computer and then transfer them to a CD or DVD. You can then view your slides at any time with a computer or DVD player and television. This means you will need much less storage space for your slides, and you can easily carry your slides and show them anywhere. Make sure the scanner software is easy to learn and use.
One of the great things about scanning 35mm slides is that your pictures can be enhanced. You or the photography service professionals can crop the pictures to include only what you want to see, and the colors and brightness of the pictures can be adjusted. Debris that can’t be cleared from the slides and scratches are not a problem. Scanner software fills in the blemished areas with color for a professional-grade picture. No one will suspect that the slide’s image was ever less than perfect!