Converting old 35mm slides to digital?

[bitchstewie]

I have some 90's slides which are a mix of mounted and strips in A4 ringbinder sleeves.

There are a handful of the mounted slides that I really should ensure are preserved and the sleeves would be "nice to have" but not essential.

There's a Max Spielman in town.

Any benefit using anywhere else and if so who would people suggest please?

The one benefit of using somewhere local is hopefully they can't lose them.

[droopsnoot]

bhstewie said:

There's a Max Spielman in town.

< snip >

The one benefit of using somewhere local is hopefully they can't lose them.

I'm not sure that Max Spielman do them locally. I don't know where you are, but I also have a branch and it's very small, and I expect they send them somewhere. Perhaps worth checking, if that will affect your choice - it would be for me, if they are images of particular value, whether it's sentimental value or any other type of value. I always wonder about this when these businesses offer to transfer from your old Super 8 or VHS onto digital, what happens if their machine chews the tape beyond salvation.

[williamp]

I have literally just bought one of thess

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/363687239420?_trkparms=...

For some negatives. Ill let you know how it is (or you can use it after ive finished with it)

[hairy v]

williamp said:

I have literally just bought one of thess

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/363687239420?_trkparms=...

For some negatives. Ill let you know how it is (or you can use it after ive finished with it)

I have something similar to this - you can get good results, but you need to put in time and effort. I would say worth it for your valuable pictures.

[outnumbered]

If you’ve got a decent camera and tripod, you can do it yourself by taking pictures of the slides on an LED lightbox, and cropping/modifying the resulting images. Once you get into the swing, it’s very quick to do.

[Simpo Two]

outnumbered said:

If you’ve got a decent camera and tripod, you can do it yourself by taking pictures of the slides on an LED lightbox, and cropping/modifying the resulting images. Once you get into the swing, it’s very quick to do.

Whilst looking for 'slide copier' I found this: https://www.throughthefmount.com/articles_tips_dig...

Doesn't need a tripod because the slide is on the camera - simples!

[bitchstewie]

Thanks all, fair point on whether Spielman do them in-store or send them off and it turns out there's another photo centre in town so I may try them too.

For the couple of precious slides I'm fine just paying to get them done the priority being they don't lose them as you can't bring people back from the dead.

With the others those slide scanners are way cheaper than I expected so that may be the way to go.

Looks like Peak Imaging are still going which is where I think I had some of the slides processed over 20 years ago

[droopsnoot]

I have a cheap slide scanner which is OK, but it's not incredible. It's basically a close-focus webcam in a box with a light source. I find that it's not so good with negatives as the plastic bit they sit in doesn't do much to keep them flat. I've scanned negatives and got poor results and come to the conclusion that my old photos were rubbish, but then found prints that I did which are much better. To me that points to the scanner, but it's less relevant to mounted slides.

[tight fart]

These give great results and are very easy, quick and cheap .
Others are available this is the first one that came up in my search.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/155094662212?mkcid=16&a...

[williamp]

williamp said:

I have literally just bought one of thess

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/363687239420?_trkparms=...

For some negatives. Ill let you know how it is (or you can use it after ive finished with it)

Got this today and had a quick play.
Thought you might an update. Very easy to use, and saves to an sd card so easily transferable. I scanned a few and compared to the results or Messrs Trueprint circa 1999.

The scanned image was a little darker then the original photo (kept in its pouch in a drawer) but there was just as much quality and definition ( the original was an Argos bought Olympus 35mm with fuji 200 film (which I always used)

So, from the quality of negatives, i was happy with the result. Especially for the price. I dont know how it would compare with negatives from a better camera or better film.

Hope this helps

[bitchstewie]

Popped into the local Max Spielmann today and they did them on the spot to some 10x8 prints.

The lady there was especially kind and emailed me the JPEGs too so I have all angles covered

[Simpo Two]

bhstewie said:

Popped into the local Max Spielmann today and they did them on the spot to some 10x8 prints.

The lady there was especially kind and emailed me the JPEGs too so I have all angles covered

Do they clean them first? Old slides often have specks of dust on them.

[bitchstewie]

Simpo Two said:

Do they clean them first? Old slides often have specks of dust on them.

It's Max Spielmann they're a bit basic - I may still look in a bit more detail at some point but the main thing I have something significantly more useful and "safe" than a single 35mm slide