Ion Audio has rapidly become one of my favorite gadget companies. First, they created the ION ITTUSB Turntable which allowed Baby boomers to take their vinyl LPs and rip them to digital mp3s. Then, Ion expanded that with the Tape 2 PC – which does the same thing for cassettes, a VHS version to capture old video home movies, and just about every other gadget in between. Now, they’re creating the next in that line with the SLIDES 2 PC, which allows photographers who have boxes of slides and negatives to digitize and archive generations of photographs and turn them into 5 megapixel digital stills. And do it at the simple touch of a button.

With the ability to connect directly into a computer via USB, the Slides 2 PC uses a special rail which houses multiple 35mm slides or a strip of negatives which can be read, scanned and saved one at a time. It uses a four glass optical element and automatically compensate for exposure and color correction. And the cost is a very affordable $100.

When you consider the memories lost by people in both New Orleans (during Hurricane Katrina) and Galveston (during Hurricane Ike) it becomes ever more important to take those stills and slides and get them into a format that can not only stand the test of time, but the elements as well. And the Slide 2 PC gives anyone the tools to ensure those Kodak moments stick around forever.

Hat Tip – The Giz