Best Slide Viewers

Someone who has just pulled all of their old photo slides from a box are probably wondering about the best way to preserve these images. Most people don't like throwing away old photos, and photo slides are no different. However, with the move to digital imaging, slides seem to have been relegated to being relics from the past, with no apparent place in our lives anymore. This, of course, doesn't have to be the case. The DIGITNOW! 135 Film Negative Scanner High Resolution Slide Viewer gives you a way of fitting those old slides into modern times, providing a way to both view the slides in crisp, sharp detail, as well as preserving them in digital format.

This slide scanner and viewer lets you both view and save the slides in 5 or 10 megapixel quality, ensuring that every small detail from each slide is both viewed and captured perfectly. The scanner is quite easy to use, letting you view a slide as well as giving you options about how to save it. The viewer includes an SD card slot that lets you save your slides, as well as a USB 2.0 interface that can output to a television screen to let you view your slides in the best possible detail. The scanner itself also has a 2.4-inch LCD screen for both viewing and making adjustments to slides that you are converting to digital. With this slide viewer and scanner, you can now keep those old memories to cherish for years to come.

One of the great things about the move to digital photography are the number of options and additional features that many digital imaging devices have. While having tons of extra features can be great, it also has a tendency to add unnecessary complexity to what should often be a simple device. The same trend has occurred with slide viewers, with many modern models providing a ton of additional features that make them much harder to use for their primary purpose.

The Medalight SV3 K1 Portable LED Negative and Slide Viewer, thankfully, does not have this problem, as it is a simple slide viewer that is made to do one primary job well - to view slides in an easy manner. This optical slide viewer doesn't include any digital imagery effects or feature tons of options. It is a simple slide viewer just like your parents and grandparents used to have, providing a 3x magnified display that displays your slides in bright, even detail. This slide viewer works equally well with both 2x2 and 35mm film strips, giving you options for the type of film to view. The portable nature of the device makes it easy to carry with you to a friends house, and it uses 4 AA batteries for operation. There is even an optional AC adapter available if you prefer to not use batteries. All in all, this very simple device does only one job, but it does it quite well, and should satisfy anyone who just wants a simple slide viewer.

A big problem of slide viewers from the past is that many of them tended to be a bit rough with slides. It was not at all uncommon for a slide viewer to jam, causing damage to a slide by bending them, or even in some cases, in puncturing the film. Having a good quality slide viewer that is gentle with your slides, handles them properly, and even helps you in taking care of them is a godsend for those who want to preserve their slides.

The Pana-Vue Automatic Lighted Slide Viewer is one such device that was made with the goal of taking care of and preserving slides. This slide viewer has been engineered to handle slides properly, giving them plenty of tolerances while being inserted and viewed in the device, preventing them from becoming damaged. This viewer lets you stack and view up to 36 slides at a time, carefully handling them as they are shuffled through the viewer. The 2-5/8 inch viewing screen provides a reasonably sized viewing window with 4x magnification, with a bright backlight giving you a great view of each slide in all of its detail. The device comes with an AC adapter as well as a microfiber cleaning cloth that lets you easily clean and maintain the device, letting you view your slides in magnificent detail for years to come.

Many slide viewers are made for one single purpose, which is to view photo slides, While there are some that allow for the viewing of film, it's obvious with many of these devices that their primary purpose is mainly for viewing slides, with the ability to view negatives a simple afterthought. Of course, having the ability to view photo negatives is actually a very useful feature, as old undeveloped film can often be a mystery to people, but slide viewers that aren't made specifically for the purpose have the ability to damage negatives.

The Rybozen Portable LED Negative and Slide Viewer is a great device for not only viewing your old slides, but also is made to let you view film negatives in a safe and simple manner. The viewing screen gives you a wide, magnified view of each slide or film negative as it passes through, with a bright LED light providing very even illumination that is simply unmatched by any old bulb-based slide viewer. Film negatives can be viewed safely and easily through a special film slot provided on the right side of the device. The small dimensions and footprint of this device let you take it anywhere, and operate either on 4 AA batteries, or with an optional power supply that is available separately. For anyone who wishes to view both their old slides and old film negatives, this device is certain to provide a fantastic experience.

Digital slide viewers and scanners provide a great way to preserve your old slides, but many of them tend to stop right there. While preserving slides is a great thing, many other old film formats tend to be left out in the cold, with few options for preserving them in digital format. Thankfully, there is such a device that supports a multitude of older formats, including slides, and this device is the Jumbl 22MP All-in-1 Film & Slide Scanner.

This device doesn't skimp out on the features. Included is a 2.4-inch LCD display that lets you both view and frame your slides, as well as other old film formats, including 35mm, 110, 126, and Super 8 film, giving you a way to preserve both photos and film. The images are given new life thanks to the integrated 14 megapixel sensor that saves and preserves every last detail from each image, letting you view your old photos and film in detail like never before. Also included is software interpolation that helps bring back details that might be lost due to damage or deterioration of the film stock, and lets you raise the quality up to an astonishing 22 megapixels for sharp, vibrant detail of your images. These features, along with the other included accessories such as a cleaning brush and TV output cable, help make this one of the best photo and film viewers and scanners available.