Service to transfer old Kodak slides onto digital

wdw2003

I know you said time was an issue, but I'd recommend buying a slide scanner. I have the Plustek 7400 for negatives and have scanned well over 2,000 so far. It's definitely a slow process, but at least you have some control over which bits of the slide/negative you actually scan, and can adjust the resolution accordingly. I scan at 3,600, or 7,200 if it's a small section of the neg. You do need an external HDD, and I also use DVDs as a second back-up

Dave_C_2

asbokid wrote: »

See my comments on this "scanner" here

MarkBargain

Has anyone used digiScan? I found them on Google. 33p a slide apparently.

https://www.digiscanltd.com/slide_scanning.php

Lirin

Slide scanner. It's also usually the fastest option.... From the last time I worked in a lab, scanning a slide was anywhere from £1-£5 per slide, depending on time/quality, and as it usually involved a fresh calibration of the machine, we wouldn't have quoted under a week or so for transfer to digital for the amount you have. Didn't stop people rolling in with 200 they wanted in an hour though!

Other option is find a specialist pro photo printer. They'll be cheaper in some cases than the few high street branches who still scan slides, but timewise- you could be waiting. I've been very, very nice to a couple of local companies in the past and have bartered with them- I did their promo photography in exchange for use of their scanner.

The other thing is, if you go for a home scanner, be prepared to have to let it cool after doing so many in a batch- I've found some scanners do distort colours when they've heated a little from use.

Highland_Piper_2

A bit worried about Digiscan. Sent them some precious slides for scanning and nothing happened after one month. Just contacted them and they say they are now working on media that arrived in February and March. That's six months!!!! Sent my slides away for scanning for a very significant anniversary celebration anticipating 7 -10 days turn-round. Event now over and guests all flown home.

roddydogs

The bottom line is "How Good is it", assuming a decent slide, is it as good as a normally taken digital photo?

googler

Highland_Piper wrote: »

A bit worried about Digiscan. Sent them some precious slides for scanning and nothing happened after one month. Just contacted them and they say they are now working on media that arrived in February and March. That's six months!!!! Sent my slides away for scanning for a very significant anniversary celebration anticipating 7 -10 days turn-round. Event now over and guests all flown home.

Don't know if the OP is still around, but my take is that - slides are totally irreplaceable; unlike prints, there's no 'negative' original from which you can make further copies - the slide is all there is, it's the original piece of film that was in the camera.


Never, never, never send all your slides off at once to a copy house such as mentioned here. Always send them in batches. If you lose them, you can't get them back


I would never even send a small batch of my slides off-site. I'd always invest in a slide scanner and do it myself.

googler

roddydogs wrote: »

The bottom line is "How Good is it", assuming a decent slide, is it as good as a normally taken digital photo?

You're totally missing the point.

Even if digital were better, how would you propose that the OP retakes all of the pictures from his or her past on a new format?

Or are you the one with access to the time machine?

roddydogs

googler wrote: »

You're totally missing the point.

Even if digital were better, how would you propose that the OP retakes all of the pictures from his or her past on a new format?

Or are you the one with access to the time machine?

No im not, the point is "is it worth the bother"?:D

googler

roddydogs wrote: »

No im not, the point is "is it worth the bother"?:D

If the OP has no means to view them at the moment, and wants to view them, then Yes.

If the OP wants to share them with friends or family who aren't in his home (i.e. he wants to share them digitally) then Yes.

If the OP wants to create a digital back-up of them (since each one is unique and irreplaceable), then Yes

etc etc