Using a Digital Camera to Convert Slides into Digital Images

I see articles covering this subject on a fairly regular basis.  Many photographers that were active before digital became common have large numbers of slides and/or negatives that they would like to convert into a digital format.  (Or their like me and they inherited a lot of family photographs from their parents, including old slides and negatives.)

The options for converting these old slides has seemed to diminish recently.  I have an old flat-bed scanner with a slide attachment, but the software is incompatible with any Windows operating system written this decade.  It will work as a basic scanner, but the light used for scanning negatives or slides won't work with the basic driver currently offered.  (There is third party software that will allow the scanner to scan slides or negatives.)  I have looked for a replacement but few stores offer scanners with slide attachments anymore.  They only offer multifunction office equipment with scanner, printer and fax machine combined.  These don't offer the ability to scan slides.

This leaves conversion services, dedicated scanners or do-it yourself methods involving a digital camera.

Using a service to scan your slides can be expensive if you have a large number of slides to be scanned.  You also give up quality control.

This leaves do-it-yourself options consisting of dedicated negative/slide scanners or using a digital camera.

Dedicated Scanners
Dedicated scanners that will convert slides or negatives into digital files are available,  for a price.  The price is directly related to the resolution produced by the scanner.  There are fairly inexpensive units available at places like Best Buy.  These are fine for smaller prints (8" x 10" or less) or for viewing on a computer screen.  Larger resolution scans require more expensive scanners.

After a quick check, the lowest price unit available right now sells for just over $50 and produces 9MP images.  Batch scanners go for up to $2,000.  (This particular unit also scans 120 film as well as 35mm negatives and slides).

Then there are the drum scanners used by those scanning services you can send your negatives off to.  Those go for $25,000.

A dedicated scanner might be worth the investment for someone with a large number of negatives or slides to scan.  Just make sure to thoroughly research he options available before purchasing one.

Using a Digital Camera
If you carefully examine the specifications for some of those film scanners you might notice terms like "14 MP CMOS Sensor."  That means that the scanner is using the exact same technology utilized by your digital camera.

A digital camera is perfectly capable of capturing images from a film negative or slide.

The only requirement is that the camera be capable of capturing images in macro mode.  Even point-and-shot cameras can capture images from a slide using certain procedures.  Various web sites offer methods for pulling this off.  These varying setups work as long as they meet the key requirements:

1) The camera and the slide must remain motionless while the shot is being taken.

2) The camera must be capable of shooting in macro mode.  (DSLR cameras with excellent macro lenses work best but I have used an auto-focus bridge camera with a fixed lens).

3) The slide must be lit from behind in a way that does not create an image visible through the transparency.

Here's the result using a slide of a shot my father took of me when i was a child:

This was shot using a 14MP GE X5.

My setup?

I attached the camera to a tripod.  The tripod then rested on a pair of jack stands placed on a table.  This results in the camera facing straight down.

The slide was then placed on a light box positioned below the camera.  (The light box had a few marks on it which are visible in the end image.)

I then turned all the lights in the room off to prevent light reflecting off of the slide. 

The end image is only 2MP, but that's due to the limitations of the camera used.  A better camera would be able to focus closer to the slide or zoom in.

Slide Holders
The method set out above seems to be the simplest approach that can be used with any digital camera.  Some cameras are capable of using a slide holder that screws onto the front of the camera (like a filter).  The camera just needs to be pointed at a strong light source once the adapter is attached and a slide or negative is mounted.

Try an internet search for "slide copier attachment" or similar terms.

DIY Photography has an article using a little more complex setup than the one I used.  It also has a couple of useful hints not listed here.  (I'm not going to post someone else's ideas as my own.  That doesn't mean I won't use them myself.)