My father had a 35mm film camera as long as I can remember and he always shot slides. He died several years ago and left behind boxes of them. Since I owned a slide scanner, I (foolishly) volunteered to digitize and copy them to disk for my brother and sister. Once I started this project, I quickly discovered that I had signed up for two lifetimes worth of work. Those of you who have worked with a slide scanner know that it is a lengthy process just scanning them. Additionally, after setting for over 50 years, many have lost their original colors and need a good bit of processing to try to get them in a condition where anybody wants to view them.

I decided there had to be an easier way. I searched the forums and discovered that others had made this task easier by building a light box and taking digital images of the slides. I was going to give this a try! With a couple hours worth of work, I devised my own “lightbox”. I put the word in quotes because when you purists see my “lightbox” you may laugh hysterically. One advantage to this system is that I made it with no costs beyond my camera equipment. It is put together with “junk” I had in the basement. Namely a cardboard box, one sheet of white printer paper, duct tape, an old slide projector with 500 watt bulb, a plastic vitamin bottle, and some flat black spray paint.

It makes it a quick process getting the slides into digital form; much faster than my slide scanner. Processing them is of course another matter.

After a great deal of trial and error, I finally reached a point where I can take a pretty good photo of a slide. I think they’re as good as what I was getting from my slide scanner, which by the way is a PrimeFilm 1800U; only at a fraction of the time.

Here’s how I put this all together. I cut holes in both ends of the cardboard box. One is about 3 inches by 3 inches and I covered that hole with a sheet of printer paper (to diffuse the light a bit) holding it in place with tape. This allows the light to enter the box. In the other end of the box, I cut a slot to accommodate my camera lens. I used a plastic vitamin bottle to fashion my slide holder. I cut two notches in the rim just wide enough to place a slide into. I cut them deep enough so the slide is held securely in place. When I had all this done, I sprayed the inside of the box and the slide holder with the flat black paint. After it dried, I glued the slide holder into the bottom of the box directly in front of the light opening. That’s pretty much it. I use an old slide projector with a 500 watt bulb as my light source. I place it on the table and shine the light through the 3" x 3" hole that's covered with the printer paper.

I’m using my Canon Digital Rebel XT (350D), a Sigma 105mm macro lens, cable release, and a tripod. The focus distance from the front of the lens body to the slide is just over 8 inches. This takes a shot of the slide that includes just a bit of the frame which I crop out in processing. Once I have the focus set, it remains constant from side to slide. I shoot most slides in aperture priority at f/8 and let the shutter value fall where it will. I tried other aperture values but didn’t notice that it made any difference. I will occasionally switch to manual mode and either over or underexpose in an attempt to fix a slide that was not properly exposed when taken. I shoot in Raw format with ISO at 200.

I’ve posted several photos of this system to demonstrate how it all goes together plus a couple of examples of slides I photographed using it.

Click on each image to view a larger version.

NOTE: 12-FEB-2008 I did some more old slides today and have changed my light source from the original posting. I'm now using an inexpensive 100W/S studio light that I normally use as my hair light for studio shots. I use its modeling light to get my focus correct then flash it with a wireless trigger. Image PB-IMG_2649.jpg shows the new setup.