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Turn Slides and Negatives into Digital Photos
From CRAFT
This project first appeared on the pages of CRAFT or on Craftzine.
Scan slides and negatives on any ordinary scanner.
- Author: Andrew Lewis
- Time required: 30 minutes
- Difficulty: Easy
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Preserving 35mm photos on a computer is a great way to keep them safe, and chances are that either you or someone you know has an old box of irreplaceable memories waiting to be scanned. The problem is that an ordinary scanner doesn't really scan slides or negatives properly. The reason is that slides should be illuminated from behind, while conventional scanners are designed to capture reflected light from a document.
You could go out and buy a dedicated film scanner, but there is a much cheaper alternative if you already have a flatbed scanner or scanner/copier attached to your computer. A simple cardboard adapter can be used to capture the light from the scanner and reflect it behind the slide. Once the adapter is in place, you can scan the slide as though it were an ordinary document.
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Edit Step 5 ¶
To use the adapter, place a slide or negative onto the scanner, and then place the adapter over the top. For the best results, line up up one side of the slide with the center of the adapter. Leave the lid of the scanner open. If your scans have an uneven brightness, try adding a thin piece of tissue paper between the slide and the adapter. The tissue will diffuse the light, and stop the scanner from seeing the space behind the slide.
Take a preview scan with your favorite image editor and crop the scan to the area of the slide. The higher the resolution you scan at, the more detail you will get. I recommend setting the scanner to at least 1200 DPI.
Edit Step 6 ¶
If you are scanning negatives, you need to perform a little bit of additional computer jiggery-pokery to reverse the color of the negatives. Most image-processing programs, including Microsoft Paint, will have an "invert" function that will reverse the colors for you. You might also want to adjust the brightness and contrast of the images to make them look better on the screen.
You will probably notice that there are a few specks of dust on your slides when you scan them in. This is usually unavoidable, but a soft lens-brush or a clean makeup-brush can help minimize the problem. To remove any persistent specks or scratches, you can use a photo editor with a "heal" tool. If you don't have a program that can do this, you can download GIMP or Paint.net for free.
This guide has been completed 3 times.
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Guide
The silver paper reflects the light from the scanner and bounces it behind the slide. The slide is illuminated from behind, which gives a clearer image.
Hi, I went out and bought a silver poster board. I think it's reflective enough as I can see myself. I made the same contraption, but the result of my scans was just a bunch of black images. I have a fairly new all-in-one device, and what I noticed is that the scanner wand isn't really projecting all that much light. Could that be a factor that not enough light is getting reflected back? What special settings do I need on the scanner?
Thanks.
Teng
Do you have the slide aligned correctly relative to the reflector? The slides should be perpendicular to the reflector so that the light can bounce behind the slide without being obstructed. If the card has a completely mirror finish, then it might not be diffusing the light enough. Try putting a piece of thin tissue between the negative and the reflector, and see if that makes any difference.
Can you please include some information about what using the silver paper thing does? How does it affect the scan?