Slide viewers have evolved dramatically from the bulky, temperamental machines many of us remember. The days of wrestling a heavy projector out of storage just to check a few frames are long gone. Today’s slide viewers are compact, lightweight, and often battery-powered, making it far easier to enjoy slides and transparencies without the fuss or the space-hogging hardware.
Modern designs do far more than simply illuminate film. Some viewers now double as simple digitising tools, letting you capture slides using a smartphone or via a USB connection to a computer. Power options are more flexible too, with models running on standard batteries, USB power, or the mains, so you can choose what suits your setup, whether that’s at a desk or on the move.
Whether you’ve rediscovered a dusty box of 35mm slides in the loft or you’re newly immersed in shooting film and want to see your results straight away, a dedicated viewer or projector makes the experience far more rewarding. With that in mind, we’ve rounded up eight of the best slide viewers you can buy right now.
There are, of course, other ways to view film. Traditional lightboxes and handheld loupes remain popular, especially for quickly inspecting frames before scanning. And if your main aim is to digitise an archive, our guide to the best film scanners is well worth a look. For now, though, these are our top picks for slide viewers, each chosen for its own strengths and suited to different ways of working.
Gavin has over 30 years’ experience of writing about photography and television. He is currently the editor of British Photographic Industry News, and previously served as editor of Which Digital Camera and deputy editor of Total Digital Photography. With his wealth of knowledge, Gavin is well placed to recognize great camera deals and recommend the best products in Digital Camera World’s buying guides.
The quick list
This simple and straightforward slide viewer carries the name of the most famous brand in film photography. It's simple to operate, with bright light and good magnification.
A slide viewer and digital scanner in one, this isn't the highest-quality option, but is an affordable and efficient way to digitize your slides, with a handy digital screen
Very tidy and portable, but still offering 3x magnification, the Kaiser Diascop Mini 3 is an ideal choice for anyone who wants something that won't take up space.
This simple lightbox provides a portable and effective way of viewing your slides, with a handy scanning option that works in conjunction with your smartphone.
While it's a pretty straightforward tabletop device, this slide viewer offers 4x magnification, and is compatible with both 35mm and 2x2-inch slides.
While it only offers 2x magnification, this simple slide viewer only needs a couple of AA batteries to run, and weighs a slender 196g, making it easy to transport.
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Best smartphone slide scanner
Want a quick way to digitise all those slides? The Kodak Mobile Film Scanner uses app integration to guide you through the process quickly and efficiently.
The best slide viewers in 2026
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Best budget slide viewer
When you think of 35mm slide film, you think of Kodachrome – so it makes sense that there exists a Kodak branded slide viewer and negative viewer combined. This angled desktop device is both battery operated and features a daylight-aping backlit LED display, with a 3x magnifying glass provided so you can really pore over the details of your shots.
Operation is straightforward: whereas the slides are slid into the device top-down, a second slot at the side is provided for inserting strips of negative, complete with quick release button for when you’re ready to slide in the next strip. Unsurprisingly, the four AA batteries required to power the device, slotted into the base, are extra, as is a power cable should you want to plug it into the mains, but neither is a deal breaker at this price point.
Overall, this is a simple, practical and affordable device from the most recognizable name in old school film photography.
See our full Kodak 35mm Slide Viewer review
Best slide viewer with screen
Rather than a magnifier, this slide viewer features its own five-inch LCD screen, which lets you view, edit and scan film slides and negatives. It can also convert them into handy-to-share JPEG digital files, thanks to 14MP sensor.
While not a professional-grade film scanner by any means, if operated as a standalone device, either 14MP or interpolated 22MP files can be saved directly to SD card (though you’ll need to provide your own card). More usefully, a USB cable for connection to your computer and HMDI cable for hooking it up to a TV set are provided out of the box, as are adapters for differing film formats, including 35mm, 126 and even 110 film, plus a cleaning brush to avoid dust intruding.
However, if you want to power the device via the mains rather than utilizing your computer’s USB port or USB-equipped power bank, you’ll have to shell out extra for a mains adapter as one isn’t included out of the box.
See our full Kodak Slide N Scan review
Best compact slide viewer
Kaiser is known for its broad range of photographic accessories, so it’s no surprise that it also offers options when it comes to 35mm slide viewing, including lightboxes. Like the inexpensive Kodak alternative, this compact viewer offers 3x magnification, is powered by a pair of optional yet essential AA batteries and, uniquely, features a fold out prop that allows for a more comfortable viewing angle when set down on a desktop.
The viewing area here is a compact, yet sufficiently large, 2x2-inches. Like the old school slide viewers people owned in the 1970s or 80s, the bulb in this device is activated by inserting a 35mm slide in the available top slot, and simply pressing down on it. There’s not much to this device and equally little it seems that can go wrong. An easy to use and affordable solution then; all you have to do is stump up extra for the batteries required.
See our full Kaiser Diascop Mini 3 review
Best lightbox slide viewer
A lightbox is a traditional way that professionals used to review their slides and negatives. And this slimline version offers an acrylic panel and LED light source for slide and negative viewing. It also acts as a portable scanner, in conjunction with your smartphone and SlideScan or FilmBox apps. In short, you're getting practicality, portability and value for money in spades, as long as you’re not expecting professional grade results.
Strips of film and slides can be placed side by side or in rows on the device to be viewed or ‘scanned’ simultaneously. Although there is an option for mains power, portability is offered by the fact that six optional AAAs can also be inserted, though this of course adds to the weight.
The viewing area is again a very compact 5x4-inches, but on the plus side this has allowed for the set up to stay very portable and lightweight. The lamp life of the LED is said to be a generous 10,000 hours, while a leather effect carry case is provided out of the box.
See our full Rybozen Ultra-Thin Portable Slide Viewer review
• See more options in our Best lightbox for photographers & artists guide.
Best simple slide viewer
An incandescent light is at the heart of this boxy viewer designed for tabletop viewing that allows users to stack and view up to 36 slides, while claiming to offer easy push-pull operation. The square format view screen resembling a standard definition TV set of old goes slightly further than others here in offering 4x magnification, but enthusiast photographers wanting more in the way of detail may prefer a lightbox and a handheld magnifying glass or loupe instead.
It’s compatible with both 35mm and all 2x2-inch (5x5cm) slides, but is battery operated only, with no mains power lead provided out of the box. Like the majority of its rivals, the batteries required also need to be purchased as an optional extra.
Best handheld slide viewer
This Photolux branded ‘SV2’ handheld LED illuminated device, also alternatively known as the Zuma Z-SV2 in the States, is another option for viewing 35mm slides that is as simple as they come. Offering a so-so 2x magnification, it’s powered by two AA batteries. You slide your 35mm slide for viewing into a vacant slot at the top, which activates the built-in daylight white LED light source and… that’s essentially it.
Unusually, the 2x AA batteries required for the light are actually included here. Extremely lightweight at just 196g and compact too, with a viewing screen size of 5.5x4.5cm, this basic yet supremely portable viewer would be ideal for casually browsing slides when feet up on the sofa.
See our full Photolux SV-2 review
Best smartphone slide scanner
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.
For something that looks like a cardboard box, it seems a bit expensive; but more robust film scanners cost significantly more. It is not a quick way of viewing boxes of old slides mind. Sold under the Kodak brand in the US, but found as the PictoScanner in Europe.
See our full Kodak Mobile Film Scanner review
How to choose the best slide viewer
When choosing a slide viewer, it’s worth thinking carefully about what you actually want it to do. Many modern viewers are multifunctional, so the first question is whether you’re simply looking to view your slides or if you’d also like to digitise them. Some models include built-in scanning features, while others are designed to make capturing images with a smartphone far easier. There are also more traditional options that focus purely on viewing, with no digital extras at all.
Because slides are so small, magnification plays a big role in how enjoyable they are to use. A good viewer will enlarge the image sufficiently to make details easy to see, but magnification levels can vary significantly between models. Higher-end viewers tend to offer stronger magnification, which can make a real difference when it comes to clarity and fine detail.
Lighting and power are also key considerations. Most slide viewers have an integrated light source and need power to operate, commonly via standard batteries such as AAA, AA, or C cells, which are rarely included. It’s always worth checking what your chosen model requires before buying. If you’d rather avoid disposable batteries altogether, some viewers can be powered or charged via USB-C or micro USB, offering a more convenient and modern alternative.
How we test slide viewers
When testing slide viewers, the starting point is always the same: load in a selection of slides and see how they perform in real use. We look closely at image magnification and overall viewing quality, as well as how quickly and straightforward the viewer to set up and start using.
Over longer periods of use, we also pay attention to battery life, building a picture of how practical the viewer is beyond a quick look at a few frames. If a model includes extra features such as digital scanning, these are tested thoroughly too, assessing both the quality of the resulting scans and how intuitive and workable the process is in everyday use.
You can read more about how we test and review photographic accessories at Digital Camera World.
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