How to Convert Your Slides to DVD

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With the recent growth in popularity of digital picture taking, converting slides or negatives to digital pictures has become important. There are several different ways to do this, including using dedicated devices, rephotographing the slides, using a scanner add on, and more. This article will show you some of your options.

For people who already own a higher end digital camera and other photography supplies, photographing the slide again is probably the most cost effective method of getting your slides on a DVD. Just attach the camera to the tripod below the tripod, instead of on top of it. Set the slide on a light box, and rephotograph at a very high resolution. The slide can be adjusted in photoshop. This is faster than a slide attachment, and cheaper than a slide scanner, if you already have the equipment.

Film or slide scanners are a way to convert slides to digital pictures for those who don't already have the equipment, and want to transfer a lot of slides. These are specialized devices, costing about a hundred dollars, that are built to handle slides and negatives. The big benefit is that they're easy. Often these scanners come with their own software to help you get the best color and detail. The more you spend, the faster and higher quality your scanner will be, of course.

Flatbed scanners with a slide attachment can help you convert slides in large batches, if you're mostly concerned about archiving them. However, the image quality may be lower than other methods, making this strategy less optimal for printmaking. If you just want to upload to a website, however, this is a quick way to digitize your slides.

For people with a good digital camera, another option is buying a slide adapter. This is like a metal tube that attaches to the front of your camera, holding a slide at the right orientation and distance for taking photos. Unfortunately, these are only made for specific brands of camera, so be sure you have the right one before spending the money. A Nikon adapter of this kind is about sixty dollars.

Of course, for those who don't mind spending a little extra and don't want to deal with the hassle, or who only have a few slides to transfer, there's another option for how to convert slides to DVD. Just take them to a one hour photo lab, and they'll be happy to provide you with a disc of well digitized slides, with accurate color and good detail. Be sure to select a photo store you trust, however. That way, you'll be certain to get the best quality.

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