If you took photographs before digital cameras became prevalent, it’s quite possible that you have full slide carousels sitting around. You can scan those slides and create digital images, but it tends to be a time consuming task. I once had the chore of scanning in a full carousel by hand, and I wouldn’t wish that task on anyone.
If you’re planning to scan a whole bunch of slides, it might be worth investing in a slide scanner, like the Slides 2 PC scanner. Ion Audio makes this sub-$100 scanner that digitizes slides automatically at 5 megapixels. Up until recently, dedicated slide scanners have been horribly expensive. Despite the low price, the Slides 2 PC seems like a good little machine and worth the price.
Sam’s Club offers 14mp, 300 dpi, 24-bit resolution slides to CD scanning services for a mere 16 cents a frame. I think that’s a superior deal.
It is a matter of convenience. If you’ll be scanning a lot of slides and can’t easily get to Sam’s Club, having a tool at home may wind up being better.