1Scan

Let's begin this by saying what we're not going to focus on, and that's the "cheap and cheerful" end of the market. Yes, you can but devices at much less than £100 which will digitise slides.

Sure, they are cheap, but the quality is poor. Lately we've been buying these back and smashing them - that's our view of what they're worth.

Let's address people who want a slide scanner that will return a decent result, a digital file worth archiving, that can be edited, shared, and will deliver a decent print. Looking back in time there have been a number of units dedicated to 35mm slide scanning, made by Nikon, Minolta and Olympus.

Sadly none of these are currently in production so if you'd like one you'll need to scour around on eBay. Check the units on offer and their specifications. Some were connected to a computer using a SCSI interface and you'll not find a connecting port on a modern Mac or PC so you'll have to buy an interface card (assuming you can find one). Speaking from personal experience the whole SCSI thing was a nightmare as the cables needed to be suitably terminated so be prepared for some fiddling to get an SCSI unit to work.

Software? Slide scanners need specialist software if you are to get a digital file out of them, maybe it goes without saying but it's worth pointing out. That brilliant Nikon or Minolta scanning program may not run on Windows 7 or Vista, and definitely won't run on the latest Mac operating system. One option is to see if Vuescan will support that scanner on your PC.

Next option is to look to one of the versatile flatbed scanners which will also scan 35mm negatives. Current suppliers are Epson and Canon, and you might find old models on eBay too. From experience we can endorse Epson 4990 and V750 slide scanners and it's worth considering why.

First, Epson supports Digital ICE, a key feature that removes dust and scratches giving you a better scan and saving hours after scanning cleaning images in Photoshop. Second, these units will scan several slides in one pass. The scanner settings can be set for each frame so you'll get a great result and you'll avoid the tiresome drudgery of having to scan slides one at a time, hour after hour. It quickly becomes very dull.

Third, with top level Epsons, you get a copy of Silverfast, an alternative program to run the slide scanner. This may be hard to believe but this prgram does enable you to get a better result from your slide scanner than is the case with standard software.

Any other options? Just a couple really. If you're lucky you might find a new slide scanner from Nikon mainly targeted at the medium format market (9000 model) which is supplied with an adaptor for 35mm slides. Expect to pay £2,500 or more. Then there's the Hasselblad range of Flexscan units. Absolutely outstanding quality, a steep learning curve, and a bill of £20,000 or more.

So, where are we in the market for a slide scanner today? If you know your way round technology a used unit from the likes of eBay is an option. Look for 4,000 dpi image quality, Digital ICE and ROC functions. Alternatively opt for a new Epson V700 or V750 and read the Silverfast manual.