Ion Audio SLIDES 2 PC does what it promises

Ion Audio has already provided some means for transferring your tapes and records to your PC, and it's now doing the same for the stacks of 35mm slides collecting dust in your closet. Not exactly the most unique device, to be sure, but at just $100 its new SLIDES 2 PC unit is a good deal cheaper than your average slide scanner, and its 5-megapixel resolution should be more than adequate for the average user that'll likely burn through their entire slide collection and never lay eyes on the thing again. It also promises to get the job done fairly quickly, with it scanning each slide in one or two seconds at the push of a button, and employing some automatic exposure and color balance measures to cut down on the tweaking required afterwards.

[Via Everything USB]

[The Pepto Pimp @ Sep 18th 2008 2:53PM]

No OS X compatibility? No thanks. I keep forgetting that in spite of Engadget's iphone posting traffic, we're still a minority.

[Sam Stone @ Sep 18th 2008 2:57PM]

Some people are never happy....

[Christian Martin @ Sep 18th 2008 3:06PM]

Shut up and get to the back of the tech bus.

[kyle allen @ Sep 18th 2008 3:10PM]

cept pc users, were always happy =)

[Serial 8-Ball Mouse @ Sep 18th 2008 3:44PM]

"No OS X compatibility? No thanks."

LOL. Macs... oh man.

[Wolfticket @ Sep 18th 2008 3:56PM]

By we, do you mean people who own a computer made by the same company?

[konshuss @ Sep 18th 2008 3:59PM]

i guess 7-8% market share in the US makes you a minority, huh?

[Chris @ Sep 18th 2008 4:00PM]

That is because YOU ARE a minority in the computer and operating system.

[kyle allen @ Sep 18th 2008 5:07PM]

@ konshuss 7-8% being computers running macos, the other 92% mostly running windows... so yes... a minority

[Tdburn @ Sep 18th 2008 3:04PM]

I have got to convince my parents to get one of these. We have a huge collection of slides and have been using an old camera with an adapter that really brutally slow. Thanks for the heads up on this unit!

[The Pepto Pimp @ Sep 18th 2008 3:11PM]

Yeah, man, looks like a sweet little solution.

[Owen @ Sep 18th 2008 3:11PM]

I'd install MacOSX or even Windows if I could scan my APS films in cheaply (and automatically).

[Cunthor @ Sep 18th 2008 3:58PM]

Hehe teach you for using APS. 35mm FTW! :D

[kyle allen @ Sep 18th 2008 3:11PM]

the only slides i have are the ones that came with star wars action figures.

[The Pepto Pimp @ Sep 18th 2008 3:14PM]

Kyle, I'm stunned by your level of geekness.

[kyle allen @ Sep 18th 2008 5:10PM]

do u see me biteing the heads off of any live animals? NO!! we prefer nerds... or 1337

[eddy @ Sep 18th 2008 3:23PM]

This would be really handy for my department here at work (University Instructional Media). And then I wouldn't be having to repair old Kodak carousel projectors every other week.

[Gene @ Sep 18th 2008 3:35PM]

$100 for a scanner that can only do 2000 dpi? No thanks. I can pick up a flatbed scanner for that much that will do it at 4000 dpi and can scan more than just slides or negatives.

Put in a larger sensor and dust removal (compressed air) and I'd pay $200 for it.

[Nate @ Sep 18th 2008 4:10PM]

Try doign that with thousands of slides!! That's what I tried, flatbed, very nice scanner. Takes foreverrrrrrr!

[Gene @ Sep 18th 2008 5:09PM]

It can take longer, but how much longer depends on the scanner and the software you're using.

If the negative/slide tray for the flatbed scanner can hold more than one picture you don't have to change out that often.

If the software has the ability to automatically find the photos then you don't have to do a lot of manual mucking around in the software. Epson's scanning software is pretty good at this.

Trading quality for convenience isn't a choice I would make.

[Gordonp @ Sep 18th 2008 3:36PM]

No Digital Ice?
I'll stick with my Nikon scanner.

[required @ Sep 18th 2008 3:58PM]

Slightly off topic, but has anyone tried a SLR slide scanner attachment?

[taco @ Sep 18th 2008 4:08PM]

These things are basically 5MP CCD camera sensors in a box pointing at a slide with a light behind it. They aren't scanners in the traditional sense. It's basically just taking a still photo of your slide close up.

[Gene @ Sep 18th 2008 5:00PM]

Ja, which makes me wonder: does the device itself or the included software automatically correct lens distortion?

[LemSkroob @ Sep 18th 2008 4:10PM]

Yeah, this is geared for old family travel trips to the Grand Canyon in 73. Not really for archivists or pro photogs looking to get the best digital image they can from a high-end slide.

[Spooka @ Sep 18th 2008 6:30PM]

No [niche feature]?

I'll stick with my [superior existing tech].

Repeat ad nauseum.

[glasseyedguppy @ Sep 19th 2008 8:40PM]

I'll stick with my retro-tech drum scanner :.P

[bill mcdaniels @ Sep 18th 2008 9:57PM]

Hmm, this looks somewhat familiar . . .

http://www.play.com/Electronics/Electronics/4-/3366352/Veho-VFS-001-5MP-Slide-And-Negative-Photo-Scanner/Product.html

or maybe by this name:

http://kent.gumtree.com/kent/29/28358029.html

or holy crap! possibly this one:

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/03/25/review_vupoint_solutions_fs_c1_vp/

Screw it, I quit, I'm sure there are at least ten more that suck as much as this one. Kids do yourself a favor, get a slide to dslr adapter, find yourself a lightbulb and have some fun.

[Scott Allen @ Dec 12th 2008 6:56PM]

A lot of us have thousands of old 35mm negatives that we would like to quickly go through so we can determine which ones are worth keeping. I personally want good quality copies made from less than 1% of my negatives. My flatbed scanner is too slow with negatives, and it isn't reasonable to spend a lot of money on a high end film scanner when the higher resolution they provide will only slow the process down.

[David E. @ Jan 8th 2009 9:56AM]

I bought the ION Slides 2 PC device. Depending on the slide quality, the transfers were good enough for me. It is really slow work, but worth the effort if you have the time.
It worked for around 60 slides and then they got to be lighter and lighter and now the device won't load the picture at all. No help from ION tech so far and it cannot be returned to where I bought it. I'm stuck with it.