Kodak 35mm Slide Viewer review - a handy tool for sorting out your old photos

American photo giant Kodak has been around 1892 and has a become a household name in that time to its popular and reliable film and punchy colors. The brand has become a trusted name in the photography world and I recently got hold of its 35mm Slide Scanner to see how it performed on a few boxes of old film transparencies and negative strips.

I've also recently reviewed the SV-3 from Photolux, also called Zuma in the US, and this is a very similar-looking product on the surface. Though I'll dive into more detail regarding the differences between the two in this review, but some of the key differences are build quality and the Kodak comes with a handy USB cable to draw power. You'll find the review for the Photolux SV-3 plus many more film scanners and viewers in our Buying Guide.

So if you've got a box of old film and transparencies gathering dust perhaps the Kodak 35mm Slide Viewer will be for you. Remember that at this price point of just $40 there's no scanning ability, so a product like this is purely for looking through and sorting the winners from the dross. Read on to see how it performed and if it seems like a good fit for you or that film-lover in your life.

Kodak 35mm Slide Viewer: Specifications

Kodak 35mm Slide Viewer: Price

The Kodak 35mm Slide Viewer costs US$39.99 / £39.99  and in both countries is about twice the price of the Zuma / Photolux SV-3 which looks near-identical. However, putting their similarities on the surface to one side the build quality of the Kodak is much better and therefore delivers a better experience, plus it comes with a USB power cable and a proper physical instructions booklet which I think could make it worth the extra spend.

Kodak 35mm Slide Viewer: Design & Handling

At first glance the Kodak 35mm Slide Viewer looks almost identical to the Photolux SV-3 I reviewed recently, both share the same dimensions of 165x155x80mm and on the outside appear to have the same construction, but that doesn’t tell the whole story.

The Kodak is twice the price of the Photolux SV-3 and for your extra spend you do get better build quality. The joints and tolerances feel much more quality. Pieces of plastic which would flex under pressure on the SV-3 are much more robust with less play in them on the Kodak model and the battery door clicks much more firmly into place so it does feel like a more premium product, you’re not just paying for the Kodak name here. It also comes with a much more professional user manual. The Photolux SV-3 comes bundled with four AA batteries, and whilst the Kodak doesn’t come with these (but is also powered by the same four AA’s) it does come with a USB power adapter – something I really wish the Photolux model came with, so the Kodak wins some points here.

The Kodak 35mm Slide Viewer is capable of taking slides in 5x5cm surrounds whether mounted in plastic or cardboard. It also has two holes on each side of the backlight for a slide of negatives to be passed through and viewed too, this is something the much smaller and cheaper Photolux SV-2 lacks.

One issue which I also raised when reviewing the Photolux SV-3, is the Kodak 35mm Slide Viewer is fixed in an upright position and this may not necessarily be the most comfortable angle for you – so you might have to resort to picking it up and tilting it forward or back to get the best view.

Kodak 35mm Slide Viewer: Performance

Overall the Kodak and Photolux SV-3 models gave a similar performance though the Kodak did excel in some areas. Let’s start with what they share in common – their backlights both use four small daylight LEDs for even coverage across your film and slides. This is much more even and consistent than the Photolux SV-2 I also reviewed recently which used just one LED bulb in the centre and caused issues with vignetteing and a bright central hotspot.

Like the SV-2, the Kodak 35mm Slide Viewer is rear loaded and requires each slide to be inserted manually, and I wished there was a way to stack up slides in a row to save you having to insert each manually. Both models have a front tray to catch any slides ejected by the ejection button.

The image quality of both screens were similar and comparable – I was impressed with both. Though both large glass magnifiers are a bit of a magnet for dust and I would have preferred a soft protective bag to be included for storage purposes when it’s not being used.

The Kodak 35mm slide viewer uses four small daylight LEDs which provide even coverage and aren’t too strong to look at for long periods so it’s quite comfortable to view your slides for extended periods. The light coverage is very even so there’s no hotspotting or vignetting either which is good news.

One area where the Kodak did have one notable advantage over the cheaper Photolux SV-3 was when dealing with cardboard slides. Slides in plastic surrounds were no problem on either model as they tend to keep their shape well, but some of the slides I tested had warped significantly over time and a few of the worst offenders here would often get caught in the Photolux SV-3, however the tolerances in the Kodak 35mm slide viewer must be more forgiving as this wasn’t an issue when using the same warped slides.

The Kodak also uses a much darker black plastic, whereas the SV-3 is more of a washed out grey, so it looks a bit slicker on your desktop and also the darker color is less likely to cause internal reflections in the magnifying glass.

Kodak 35mm Slide Viewer: Verdict

If you’re after a simple slide scanner for culling old film and transparencies you could do far worse than the Kodak 35mm Slide Scanner, it’s a basic and affordable model that lives up to expectations.

If your budget can reach it I would suggest going the extra mile and looking at the Kodak 5” Slide N Scan (£140 / $180) as not only is this brilliant for viewing your old pictures, it can scan and digitize them very well too.

It’s a shame that this model doesn’t come included with batteries though it does come with a USB power cable which is arguably more useful and it comes packaged with a nice instruction booklet too. Although very similar to the Photolux SV-3 the Kodak model had notably better build quality and this became particularly clear when working with warped cardboard mounts which would jam in the Photolux model but caused the Kodak version no issues and this does help justify its higher price of $40.

Overall I recommend the Kodak 35mm Slide Viewer, it does exactly what it says on the tin, it doesn’t break the bank and it has decent build quality and an instruction manual which seems a bit of a rarity these days. Plus it comes with a USB power adapter so you can power the device without needing AA batteries.

Alternatives

Kodak Mobile Film Scanner: at digitalcameraworld.com

This is a low-tech, left-field solution for viewing your slides. This is a cardboard, collapsible device that is designed to help you digitize your transparencies and negatives using the camera on your smartphone. A free downloadable app helps you with the process. 

Kodak Slide N Scan: at digitalcameraworld.com

Compared with the Kodak Scanza Film Scanner, which costs a little less to by, this one has a larger screen for previewing scans or playing images back once you’ve scanned them, in Gallery view and slideshows. The control panel is rather different but again relies exclusively on pushbuttons, as the larger LCD still isn’t a touchscreen. Even so, operation is simple and effective, and scanning speed is quick, although the actual image quality isn’t overly impressive.