Boxes of 35mm photo slides are one of the most common things people find when clearing out a family home. Those little plastic-mounted transparencies contain holidays, family gatherings, and everyday moments from the 60s through the 90s — all in surprisingly high quality if you can find a way to view them.
So what are your options for getting them digitised? Here's an honest comparison of every method, from free to professional.
Option 1: Photograph Slides with Your Phone (Free)
The quickest and cheapest method — hold the slide up to a light source and photograph it with your smartphone.
Pros:
- Completely free
- Instant results
- Good enough for casual sharing on social media
Cons:
- Uneven lighting produces hotspots and colour casts
- Difficult to hold steady — blurry results are common
- Low resolution compared to dedicated scanners
- Extremely tedious for more than 10-20 slides
- No dust/scratch removal
Best for: Quickly sharing 5-10 slides on social media. Not suitable for archiving or printing.
Option 2: Dedicated Slide Scanner (£50-£300)
Purpose-built slide scanners feed slides through a slot and produce digital files. Popular models include the Kodak Reels, Plustek OpticFilm, and Epson Perfection flatbeds with slide attachments.
Pros:
- Better quality than phone photography
- Consistent results once set up
- Some models include dust removal (Digital ICE)
- You control the process
Cons:
- Slow — budget scanners take 30-60 seconds per slide. 200 slides = 2-3 hours minimum
- Quality varies enormously by price. Budget scanners (under £100) produce noticeably soft results
- Colour correction is manual — each slide may need individual adjustment
- Learning curve with scanning software
- Good scanners (Plustek, Nikon) cost £200-£500
Best for: Photography enthusiasts who want control over the process and have 50-200 slides.
Option 3: Flatbed Scanner with Film Adapter (£100-£400)
Flatbed scanners like the Epson Perfection V600 include a transparency adapter that backlights slides and negatives. You can scan 4-12 slides at once.
Pros:
- Can also scan prints, negatives, and documents
- Batch scanning (multiple slides per scan)
- Good quality at higher resolutions (3200-6400 DPI)
- Versatile — one device for all your scanning needs
Cons:
- Still slow — loading, scanning, and saving 12 slides takes 10-15 minutes
- Slides must be carefully aligned in the holder
- Dust and scratches require manual cleanup in photo editing software
- Takes up desk space
Best for: People who also want to scan prints, negatives, and documents. Good all-rounder if you already own one.
Option 4: Professional Scanning Service (from £10 for a box of slides)
Professional services use commercial-grade scanners (Nikon CoolScan, Hasselblad Flextight, or drum scanners) that produce results far beyond consumer equipment. You send your slides, they return high-resolution digital files.
Pros:
- Highest possible quality — professional scanners resolve details consumer scanners miss
- Automatic dust and scratch removal (hardware-based infrared scanning)
- Colour correction by experienced operators
- Zero time investment — you pack a box, they do everything
- Handles damaged, faded, or mounted slides of any type
- Results delivered on USB, cloud, or both
Cons:
- Costs more than DIY (though less than buying a good scanner for a one-off job)
- Turnaround time (typically 2-4 weeks)
- You're trusting someone else with originals (choose a reputable service with insurance)
Best for: Anyone with 50+ slides, anyone who values their time, and anyone who wants the best possible quality from their slides.
Quality Comparison
| Method | Resolution | Colour Accuracy | Dust Removal | Time per 100 slides |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phone photo | Low-medium | Poor (colour cast) | None | 1-2 hours |
| Budget scanner (under £100) | Medium | Moderate | None | 3-4 hours |
| Mid-range scanner (£200+) | High | Good | Digital ICE on some models | 4-6 hours |
| Flatbed with adapter | High | Good | Limited | 3-5 hours |
| Professional service | Very high | Excellent | Hardware infrared | 0 (they do it) |
The Break-Even Point
Here's the maths that most people don't do:
- A decent slide scanner costs £150-£300
- Scanning 200 slides yourself takes 8-12 hours of hands-on work
- Professional scanning of 200 slides costs roughly £50-£100 depending on the service
Unless you plan to scan slides regularly or enjoy the process, professional scanning is both cheaper and produces better results than buying equipment for a one-off job.
What About Slide Projectors?
If you inherited slides, you may have also inherited a slide projector (Kodak Carousel is the most common). While it's nostalgic to project slides onto a wall, projectors don't preserve the slides — and running old slides through an old projector risks jamming, overheating, and scratching. View them digitally instead.
Types of Photo Slides You Might Have
- 35mm mounted slides — the most common. Individual transparencies in 2x2 inch plastic or cardboard mounts. Usually Kodachrome, Ektachrome, or Fujichrome film.
- Medium format slides — larger transparencies from Hasselblad, Mamiya, or Bronica cameras. Less common in family collections.
- Slide trays and carousels — circular or linear trays holding 40-140 slides. Often labelled by holiday or year.
- Glass-mounted slides — older slides sandwiched between glass plates. Handle carefully — the glass can crack and damage the film.
EachMoment handles all slide types — 35mm slides, glass-mounted slides, and medium format. They all fit in a Memory Box alongside any other media you want digitised.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many slides fit in a Memory Box?
Slides are small and light, so you can fit hundreds in a single Memory Box alongside other media types. The box capacity is based on overall volume rather than a fixed slide count.
Do I need to remove slides from their mounts?
No — professional services scan slides in their mounts. The mount actually helps with alignment and handling. Don't disassemble glass mounts either; send them as-is.
Are my old Kodachrome slides still good?
Kodachrome is remarkably stable — slides from the 1950s and 60s often still look excellent. The colours in Kodachrome are embedded in the film emulsion (dye-coupled) rather than applied as layers, making them resistant to fading. Ektachrome and Fujichrome slides fade faster, especially in warm or humid storage.
Can faded slides be restored?
Professional scanning can correct significant colour fading digitally. The scanner captures the full tonal range of the slide, and colour correction software can restore natural colours that have shifted over decades. Results depend on how badly faded the originals are, but most slides respond well to professional correction.