Convert Kodak/AGFA slides to digital - options?

[kmpowell]

With our new baby due in 7wks, it got me thinking about my childhood. My parents have boxes full of slides taken when I was born through into my early childhood (when it was dumped for 35mm film/prints), so I thought it would be nice to get the slides converted to digital.

I've done some research and found a couple of options, which are at different ends of the pricing spectrum, and both have +/- to them. But I'd like to know if anybody here has had any experiences or suggestions?

Thanks in advance

[K12beano]

Secondhand slide scanner off Fleabay. Scan the ones worth scanning. Offsite backup. Flog Thirdhand scanner on Fleabay. Tinker with digital files to your heart's content...?



(PS: as you won't be sleeping nights, you may as well have something useful to do)

[kmpowell]

K12beano said:

Secondhand slide scanner off Fleabay. Scan the ones worth scanning. Offsite backup. Flog Thirdhand scanner on Fleabay. Tinker with digital files to your heart's content...?

Thanks, that was my thinking also, but I'm a bit unsure which to get. Flatbed or Film scanner, and which model?!? Both seem to have prices at different ends of the spectrum, but from the research I've done there doesn't seem to be any concrete conclusion on what might be best for me, unless I'm willing to spend c£800-£1000 on a Canon Coolscan, which in the grand scheme of things, seems a bit overkill...

[MysteryLemon]

A decent flat bed scanner will be able to scan slides.

We have a Canon Canoscan 5600F at work and it's perfectly capable of slides and many other forms of media. It can do 4 mounted slides at a time. Varies from about 1 min per slide to upto 5 mins per slide if you go for a mega high res scan. If you buy one second hand (£50-£100 on ebay), make sure it comes with the negative and slide carrier. Can imagine a lot of sellers would have lost it and will sell on regardless.

ETA : You really, really do not need to spend a grand to scan some old slides... you mad?

Edited by MysteryLemon on Sunday 8th September 10:41