Can you scan slides

Also, as part of the scanning process, you can screen your selects by discarding accidental photo misfires, redundant or poor subject matter images. With a quick Google search, there are many scanners with a wide range of quality, features, and prices. Some features to consider when buying a slide scanner. TIP: Check for photography rental companies in your area. A cheaper alternative is using a flatbed scanner for a decent not great way to digitize your slides or negatives.

Because slides should be illuminated from behind, flatbed scanners capture reflected light from a document, so there will be inherent limitations in quality, lighting and resolution, likely requiring Photoshop or photo software to tweak cropping, brightness, and contrast.

To improve scan quality, you can create a cardboard adapter to reflect light from the scanner and back through the slide or negative see below. Make has instructions on making a simple cardboard adapter to capture the light from the scanner and reflect it behind the slide. How-To: Make cardboard adapter for scanning slides. Set up your projector, screen, and tripod and manually focusing your digital camera to photograph the image as displayed on the screen.

Instructables has instructions on using a smartphone to convert 35mm slides into digital images using a PVC pipe and some tools. Get instructions at Instructables. Dave Dyer created a post on comparing the different methods of scanning slides. The article is old, but we feel the results are still valid and illustrates the differences in quality. What is Slide Film? Remember skimming National Geographic when waiting at the dentist as a kid? Most of those now probably terrible images were shot with slide film.

Ektachrome , a slide film from Kodak , became exceptionally popular with National Geographic professional photographers, on account of the rich colors and great grain. The charm of Ektachrome inspired images in magazines such as that often inspired many into photography. A routine color film, or print film, produces a color unfavorable film that when displayed through an enlarger enables you to print the positive color image, However, when prints or scans are done from unfavorable film, there is an enormous variance in how the last images end up.

Each printing shop offers a slightly various outcome based upon the chemicals they use to convert the negatives into a positive image. Slide film, or color reversal film, produces favorable colors on slides to they can be packed directly into a projector and displayed as is. What you see in the film is what you get. Black and white film has 5 stops of vibrant range latitude.

This suggests you can forget to set direct exposure and still end up with an image. The color unfavorable film has a 3 stop variety. However slide film just has 1. Low light is hard.

The majority of slide film is ASA or lower. This provides great grain, outstanding color, and contrast, however sluggish shutter speeds. If you are shooting people, then err on somewhat underexposing the background and including a little bit of light to the subject. To do that, you can use a flash, a reflector or perhaps a cellular phone light. In the start, attempt to bracket your images. Take one image a half a stop underexposed then shoot again, half a stop overexposed.

Brilliant bright days naturally have a large dynamic variety. The difference between the brightest brights and the shadows can be over 10 stops. You need to decide if you want to lose the shadows or the sky. This ensures that the light from the scanner is diffused, illuminating the entire slide, rather than a small portion.

Essentially the diffuser acts as a backlight for scanning slides. Don Maxwell's site also provides the necessary template that you should open in your browser and print to paper. If you're using cardstock or foam, print it onto paper first, then trace onto the preferred material.

The most important thing for the paper version is that you fold, cut and glue where instructed. Each side of the diffuser has two flaps that must be secured to reduce light leakage and improve stability. It's worth pointing out that commercial slide diffusers used to be easily available for scanning slides on a flatbed scanner. However, they are difficult to get hold of these days. Don Maxwell's smart DIY alternative is an adequate replacement. Before scanning a slide, the first thing you should do is clean it.

As slides have typically been stored in boxes for years, they're often dusty. As you want to scan the image and not the dust, wipe the image with a small microfiber cloth. Next, find a way to secure your DIY slide diffuser to your scanner. Sticky tape is unsuitable as the residue can impact the quality of future scans. Don Maxwell demonstrates using the sticky section of sticky notes or similar. You might alternative try a sticky putty to keep the slide and diffuser in place.

This process typically requires a tripod to make a sharp image. Use a stand. If your lens permits you to focus within an inch of the lens, use a stand to take a close-up image of the slide. Capture is quick with a click of the camera's shutter. You can test your camera for slide, negative copying at www. Cesar Grossmann. Usually no. The film is scanned and the image is color-corrected to produce a positive image, rendering color correctly. When scanning, it can be configured to get the negative or the color inverted one.

The film is negative unless it's a "positive film" or slide. Most programs used in film scanners are able to change from one to the other, or they treat all of them as negative films. Yes No. Not Helpful 0 Helpful 3. Yes, you can. See the software configuration and the manual of the computer to learn how to create a folder, and how to set a folder as the target for new files for your program.

Not Helpful 3 Helpful 2. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. Keep in mind how valuable your image may be and who will be handling them.

They could be lost or otherwise irreparably damaged with no liability by the company. Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0. That does not mean you must use a pro shop, only that you account for the images importance to you vs. Check for photography rental companies in your area. Often they have professional grade scanners available for rent and may even offer "free weekends" if you rent on Friday and return "24 hours later" on Monday. Submit a Tip All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published.

Some companies will send your slides overseas to be scanned for a very inexpensive rate. Factor in the risk of loss and environmental exposure dust, moisture, etc. Helpful 1 Not Helpful 1. The best gauge of quality is the extent to which you can enlarge an image once scanned.

Low-megapixel scanners generally only yield a 4 x 6 image at best. Good scanners can produce poster-size images without loss of detail or quality. Scanning speed — Again, low cost means a slower machine to convert 35mm slides to digital.

If you have a lot of extra time on your hands to scan slides, then this may not be such a huge consideration. Compatibility formats — The large majority of scanners work well with most computers that are up to two 2-years old. If your computer is older, then you may run into issues, especially on systems running an OS older than Windows 10 or an earlier Mac OS.

Walmart and Target are a couple of other stores worth checking out, although their stock tends to be limited when it comes to higher end models. Before you settle on a model, a trip to your local Best Buy, Staples, or another store that sells computer accessories will enable you to see how these scanners work and learn more about their features firsthand. Consider renting or buying — If your scanning needs are a one-time event and you believe that you can complete this task over a weekend or within a week, consider renting.

This approach may be more cost-effective than buying a scanner.