Hi Suzieque,

I don't know anything about slide projectors, but I want to suggest that if you want to save any of the slides for future generations you should consider scanning them to turn them into digital images.

My scanner (Canon's 9950F) does negatives and slides in batches. It's been replaced by a less expensive model, the 8800F, which is getting rave reviews on Amazon.

Good luck!

Susan

Here is a link that might be useful: Canon Canoscan 8800F

Thanks, Susan. Until I started reading through this forum I didn't even realize that there is a possibility of doing so (saving slides to digital). That sure would free up a lot of room for me!!! I looked at the link that you provided and the price is sure right. One user said it takes about 20 minutes for 4 slides - yikes! I'll be doing it for years! :-)

But - if I can find a projector I'll at least go thru and pick out only "keepers". That'll help some.

Suzieque

If you go to a camera store you should be able to find a slide viewer, which is just a small hand-held device you can pop the slides into. You don't need a full projector unless you want to show them to a crowd. I'm sure the small viewer would be much less expensive. That way you can decide which ones you want to scan.

I attached a link so you can see what I'm talking about. I don't know anything about any particular brand but you'll find a wide variety of prices. Some are as low as $10.

Hope that helps,
Kate

Here is a link that might be useful: slide viewers

I know Walmart does slides to pictures. You might want to check with their photo lab. I am thinking it costs about 22 cents a picture.I'm not sure thats the right price. But its worth checking into it.

I think getting a hand held slide viewer is the way to start.
I have been scanning my old slides with my Epson scanner.....lots of fun but time consuming.
Costco also does slides to a DVD.
I have an old slide projector.....I would let you borrow it if you lived nearby.

Thanks. Solstice, the problem is that I've got probably 10,000 or more slides; no exaggeration. Using something that feeds one or a few at a time won't do it for me.

Njdjs, I'm not looking right now at slides to pictures, I'm wanting to go through all of the slides to then see which ones I want to convert to digital.

Thank you all for taking the time to respond; I do appreciate it! I'll probably go to a photography store over the weekend or check eBay and see what I can find.

Suzieque

Hi carol - sorry, I was typing while you were posting. Doesn't a hand-held viewer only hold a few slides at a time? I could be totally wrong. I did talk to a friend tonight who has a carousel slide projector that he'll loan me, so that's great; that'll take care of the ones in carousels. I've still got the long plastic trays (about 10-12" long) and the boxed, orderly, bulk slides. I did take a look on eBay but am confused about which projectors take which holders (or none), except for the rotary which are obvious.

Thanks for the thought, Carol, even though we're on different coasts!

Suzieque

I think you would be able to take the slides out of the long plastic trays and load them into the carousel tray. Not quite as fast as you would like but might be doable.
Good luck and may you find some really great photos you will always treasure.

The biggest issue is the slides that aren't in trays yet. Yes, I can put them in trays, but you're right, that would be very slow. It's probably what I'll end up doing. I remember, though, that my father had a projector that had a removable metal sliding "tray" option (for lack of a better word, although it didn't have individual slots for the slides); it fit onto the projector, then he took a stack of slides, put the stack as is on it, and the arm pushed one in and out at a time. Very hard to describe. In any case, I'll go the "slow but steady" route! Thanks again, all.

Suzieque

It is true that older style slide projectors have disappeared from store shelves, but you can locate good used ones at various places. (I still have mine purchased in the 1970s.)

One caveat: If you decide to purchase a slide projector, make sure that you can get projection bulbs for it. The filaments are run at higher than normal temperature and the bulbs have short lives, typically 25 hours, although I've had bulbs last much longer. A projector is useless without a bulb. When you buy a projector, its a good idea to also get a couple of spare bulbs, too.

Tip: An incandescent lamp is most vulnerable at the moment of turn off. Protect the device from shakes and vibration when the bulb is turned off. On cooling, the filament goes through a phase change and is very fragile at that moment. A shock at the time, if it damages the filament, may show the next time the lamp is turned on - It will blow out with a 'pop'.