My dad and I were going over some of his old slides. I came across a few pictures of some cab forwards running and one or two in what looks to be a scrap line. I am wondering if anyone has any experience in getting pictures from slides. Is it expensive? Where is a good place? If I do this, then I will post them on the web.
Thanks,
Eric

ealauterbach@earthlink.net

There are several ways to go about what you desire. They range from the inexspensive to the rather expensive. The easiest is to get vicarious access to a slide scanner. Many Universities and Libraries have computers available for pulic use. You might contact your local colleage or library to see if they have a slide scanner that you could use. This is often free, or at least inexpensive. You might have to obtain a card or account, but the prices on these are often not to bad. (Say twenty to fifty dollars, depending on the organization, and lenght of contract.) If it's your local public library, it should be free. If you live near a large city, you can probably buy a library card, even if you're not a resident. The same applies to most University libraries. (I believe that UMC runs twenty dollars. St. Louis public is free to all residents, and most people that live in the area, even if not residents of the city.)

Another option is to run your slide down to your local coppy service. Most have the capability to scan immages from slides. On the other hand, I've found the cost to be prohibitive, as they often charge a flat job fee, plus computer use, plus whatever the cost of actual printing is. So you end up paying perhaps twenty dollars for one print. Of course, you can always send it in to Kodak or a local processor. They can make prints and even enlargements from slides. (8&1/2x11s look quite good from most color slides.) I can't adress cost on this option, but my grandfather does this regularly, so I expect it's not to bad.

The last option is to purchase a slide scanner, or an adaptor for your camera to photograph slides or negatives. This is of course the most expensive option, as either is a fairly pricey piece of equipment. The disadvantage to the camera adaptor is that it requires a very bright light source. If you have recourse to pulic facilities, I think they are easily worth the inconvenience.

Sincerely,

David Ackerman


david_ackerman@yahoo.com