Do you have lots of old film negatives or slides that you’d like converted to digital format? Then you need to buy
a slide and negative scanner. This device will make it a breeze to preserve your cherished memories for easy access
in the future.
When you’re considering buying a
slide and negative scanner (sometimes also referred to as a ‘negative slide scanner’ or a 'slide and negative
converter'), the good news is that you don’t need to spend a fortune on it. In fact, the typical customer is well-advised not to buy a super high-end negative and
slide scanner – leave those for the professionals. The high end
versions are usually quite complex, and they take a while for the scanning process to go through its
steps.
Instead, the
reasonably priced slide and negative scanners that we have featured on this site do the job
adequately for most users, at a fraction of the cost, and much
quicker.
Slide and
Negative Scanners - Buying Considerations
Here are some
questions you need to ask yourself before you make your slide and negative converter
purchase:
What resolution quality should you
get? Most people recommend one that
can produce pictures of 4000 dpi resolution.
Should you get a dedicated slide and
negative scanner or use a flatbed scanner? Most people
recommend that if you’re scanning slides and negatives, you use only a dedicated slide
scanner. However, if most of your scanning will be actual
photo prints, a flatbed might work out fine.
Does the slide and negative scanner feature dust / scratch removal?One of the benefits of digital photos is the ability to touch up the
photos....so you might as well get a scanner that allows you to get rid of defects in the slide,
such as scratches.
One of the best models available with this feature is the Kodak Digital ICE,
although Vuescan and Silverfast do an adequate job, too.
What size are your slides?Most slides come in the same size.However, there are some non-standard slide sizes out there.If you have these, you need to make sure that your scanner will scan the entire
area.The Nikon 9000ED and EPSON 4990 will scan both standard and
non-standard size slides.
We’ve
featured a couple top selling slide and negative scanner and converter models in the pictures
on this site, and also specifically discuss the Pacific
Image and iConvert
scanners; take a look! Also, feel free to check out the slide viewers featured on the next page; these are great
for any required one-time, immediate viewing of your old slides
