What is the Best 35mm Slide Scanner For Older Slides?

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The 35mm slide scanner is a boon for people who were born well before the advent of digital era and have stocks of 35mm slides and negatives stored away in cupboards, garages, attics or under the stairs with lots of memories captured in them. The purpose for doing so is to re-live and commemorate those precious moments again on special occasions and family gatherings. However, that seldom happens and the negatives and slides are left untouched for years. This is mainly because it is just not that easy to recover and set up the 35mm slide projector and the screen. Well, today you don't have to go through such troubles every time you want to share the forgotten memories with your friends and family.

With the advancement in the technology, you can now very easily resurrect your older slides and negatives by using a 35mm slide scanner. A negative and slide scanner allows you to convert your older slides and negatives into a digital format that can then be stored on your PC. You can easily share these saved files with your friends, relatives and family members in different ways like you can email them, post them on social network sites like MySpace or Facebook, burn them to CDs or DVDs, or just get them printed in different sizes and formats.

So, if you have loads of 35mm slides and negatives, and want to restore them so that you can share them with others then you should get a slide and negative scanner. That brings us to the important question - "What is the best 35mm slide scanner for older slides?"

Well, there are lots of models and brands of slide scanners that are available in the market. Fundamentally, they can be classified in two categories - dedicated slide scanner and multi-purpose flatbed slide scanner. The difference between the two is that the dedicated scanner can only scan slides and films while the flatbed one cannot only scan slides and films but also documents and photos.

Some of the leading brands you can choose from include Cannon, Nikon, HP, Epson, Kodak, Polaroid, Olympus, Microtek, Minolta and Leaf. The scanners from are available in different price ranges from low to high end. However, focusing only on the price and brand won't help you get the best. You also need to consider the features, quality and the use of product before buying one.

One of the important aspects you need to consider when buying a scanner is the purpose for which you are going to use it. If you simply want to scan the older slides that you have, then a low end product will do. On the other hand, if you are a photographer who takes pictures regularly, then you should opt for a mid-range product. However, if you run a publishing and printing business that requires you to scan huge quantities of films and slides, then you should certainly need a high-end product.

The resolution of the scanner is another thing that you should consider. The higher the resolution is, better the end product will be. The software that comes along the scanners is another important feature that you need to look for. Make sure that it will help you to accomplish your tasks like scanning, storing and editing easily.

Selecting a best 35mm scanner for older slides not only depends on pricing and brand name of the product but also its features and purpose. Go for one that fits in your budget and fulfills your needs.