Slide Scanner Guide

Slide scanners are all the rage these days, and there’s no wonder about that: They allow you, the photographer who cares about making a great natural photo, to still use film. While most people have succumbed to the digital age and have gone out and gotten fancy digital cameras with even more fancy programs to turn those photos into something they’re not (see my small rant on HDR a couple posts back), you want to ensure that what you’re showing the world is as close to the human eye’s experience as possible. And a lot of times, that’s really only possible with film.

So, that begs the question: Should you go out and get a slide scanner, or should you take your film to a professional developer whenever you’re ready to get your photos developed? There is a strong contingent of people who definitely believe that you should go out to a professional developer when you’re getting pictures developed; however, do they know why they recommend that? Is it just based out of the comfort of knowing that your photographs will come out correctly, or is it just because they don’t know that you can get your photos developed at home for no cost other than the up-front cost of buying the equipment? Most of the time, it’s the latter!

First of all, I think you should get slide scanners due to the fact that your privacy remains yours. When you take photos to a professional developer that developer will see exactly what you had taken pictures of. Most of the time you’re not going to care; after all, who cares if they see the pictures you took of that waterfall during your honeymoon? But, what if you took a picture of something else during that same honeymoon that you don’t want the person to see? Hah, you catch my drift don’t you? Great.

Another reason to get a slide scanner is that slide scanners are fairly cheap nowadays. They’re now portable and inexpensive, unlike how they were a number of years ago. Back then you had to basically own your own development business to justify the expense. Not any more. For $1000 or less, you can usually pick up a great scanner that will fit all of your needs. While, yes, $1000 is quite a bit of money, the cost of getting your photos developed at the store can add up to quite a bit more over a period of years. The nice thing about these scanners is that they’re reliable, and they pay for themselves after a period of time. Check them out.

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