Can't you just slide those metal things off the slides? I used a Pacific Electronics (?) slide scanner to good effect until I dropped it and am thinking about getting a new one. They're about $150 these days and their top resolution is 3600 dpi. It's time consuming but you might find it useful to have a slide scanner around.

(We have tens of thousands of slides around here from Mr. lbphilly's days as a professional photographer / obsessed shooter. I do need to get a new scanner now that Kodak won't be supporting the Carousel projector.)

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There is also a place called Cardinal Camera in Lansdale. I think they are familiar with all forms of film. I had them convert a bunch of 35mm slides a year or so ago. Worth a try. Good luck.

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I agree with the others about doing it yourself. I wouldn't risk sending out irreplaceable treasures to be lost or damaged. And quite often photo-labs do a crappy job anyway.

I bought a used Nikon CoolScan from Ebay for copying my fathers old slides. The CoolScan has ICE software.that removes dust and scratches from the scan for excellent 65mb (maximum resolution) Tiff images. I archived the original scans and copied smaller jpegs for family distribution. I later resold the scanner for the same purchase price.

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Philadelphia Photographics wants $3.50 a piece for hi res. I might go ahead and buy a real scanner...that is a lot of loot.

Thanks for all the advise!