Converting 35mm slides to digital images

[rezman]

I'm kind of a low tech guy, but I know there are some very sharp folks here on OKCTalk, and many photo experts that can answers this.

My dad took a ton of slides from the 50's up into the 70's with his 35mm Argus. I would like to convert these over to digital images, and am trying to decide which is the best way to go about it without spending a lot of dough. I know there are scanners available that go directly to an SD card, and others that will send them directly to a PC. And then there are outside services who will put them on CD so individual images can be printed off from there.

Has anyone else done this?... I would really like to preserve and share some of these images that my dad took the time to capture.

[BBatesokc]

You do have options. It's been years since I've had a need for this and I've done this both DIY and through a 3rd party. When I worked at Children's Hospital we had a project that involved having thousands of slides digitized. For that we used an outside service. The benefits were; speed of service, manual color correction for each slide, dusting of each slide and they could save in a much higher resolution than a home scanner could at the time.

Today you'll probably pay $.28 - $.59/ea slide (price will vary based on total number, provided services, and final resolution).

Amazon offers dozens of home scanners that might work for you and most are under $150 and have really good reviews. Also, many offer both scan to HD and scan to SD card options and offer high resolution.

If you do it yourself, you need to dust each slide individually prior to scanning (I use a pressurized can of air and a cloth - if your slides are very old then high pressure air can damage them by blowing them out of their paper frame). You also will probably need to color correct them yourself (many scanner come with software). Another good reason to order from Amazon is (if you buy prime or direct) then you can try it out and if the quality doesn't work for you, you can return it for free.

I'd just do the math; number of slides vs. cost of 3rd party service vs. cost of DIY and go with whichever is the cheapest. If you go DIY, you can always put the scanner on Craigslist and get some of your money back.

I do recall, when comparing the two, the 3rd party service did an excellent job and we were very pleased. My DIY efforts were good also. But they required a lot of my time (loading and unloading the scanner, dusting each slide, and color correcting). Depending on your needs and cost, I think you'll be happy either way.

[rezman]

Wow. Thank you so much for that BBates. Lots of good info you provide.

Out of the 100's of slides my dad had, I know I won't be converting all of them, and you made a good point about the time in handling each one. There will be a lot of time in just going through them and picking out the one's I want to use. That alone makes a 3rd party attractive. I will look into all options though.... Thanks.!

[Paseofreak]

Baker Photo in Yukon, Bedford on N May, Take Two in Edmond

[ctchandler]

I had a scanner with a slide option and it does take a lot of time. A few years ago, I wanted to transfer vhs tapes to dvds and I went to Creative Photo Video. They converted fifty+ tapes to dvds and I was very happy with their work. They are located at 5845 NW 72nd Pl, Oklahoma City, OK 73132, just South of Northwest Expressway and MacArthur. Worth every penny.
C. T.

[rezman]

Thank You Paseofreak and C.T. Chandler. Since I live in Edmond, I decided to call Take Two first. They Quoted .50 a slide, with a price drop when you start getting towards 1000 slides. Will do some more checking to compare.

[bombermwc]

Flicko's at 89th and Sooner does this too. The last time i looked in to it though, they were damned pricey.

[BBatesokc]

You're gonna get better prices if you go with an online company. Most are extremely reputable. However, you always run a risk when shipping precious memories via courier.

[rezman]

^ That is my main concern. My 4 siblings wouldn't be too happy either.

[traxx]

Thank You Paseofreak and C.T. Chandler. Since I live in Edmond, I decided to call Take Two first. They Quoted .50 a slide, with a price drop when you start getting towards 1000 slides. Will do some more checking to compare.

Take Two has been around for quite a while. I'm sure they'll do a more than adequate job.

[tfvc.org]

If you decide to do it the DIY way this is the scanner I have, it is the best you can get for the money, Currently at $200 and the next one up is $600. It has slide holders and the included software is pretty good at removing inperfections if you are looking for an automated photo editing software. It is a professional level scanner that gets great results. Epson V600

[bombermwc]

Oh i did notice that WalMart offers this service as well, but you have to ship your stuff to them. I'm not sure how i would feel about that.