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If you have decades of family history stored on old slides and negatives, you can seamlessly turn those photographs into virtual photographs.
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By J. D. Biersdorfer
Photography started going virtual about 30 years ago, so if you’re older than that, your loved ones probably documented some of your formative years in film-based formats, such as slides or negative prints. Or maybe you have loads of your old slides and negatives of long-lost photographs in the attic or garage. While not as undeniable as digitizing copies of old photographs, digitizing this film saves the circle of family history from outdated media and makes the percentage of memories restored undeniable. Here are some tactics for doing homework.
As with prints, you can “scan” a slide or negative with your smartphone by taking an image or one of the many slide/movie scanning apps. For more productive results, make sure the original is dust-free and slightly removes darkness. of the transparency of the back. An affordable scanning kit, which provides the backlight and a position to support the phone for a more solid shot, is an option.
Kodak’s Mobile Film Scanner Kit ($40 or less) is an option. Works with the kodak mobile scanner loose app for Android or iOS. an image. However, depending on your phone and your cameras, you may want to experiment with distance and capture sharp images.
Rybozen manufactures a film scanner for smartphones. You can also create your own slide scanner from non-unusual fabrics to capture photos with your smartphone or standalone camera with a macro lens for close focus. YouTube hosts several videos on the subject. Just search for “DIY Film Scanner” or text to find various guides for DIY enthusiasts.
Photomyne’s SlideScan creative app ($40 for two years; a trial version is available) is another option. You hold the slide in front of a computer with a blank web page and take a picture; the software complements and crops the resulting image, or you can make manual adjustments. Photomyne’s FilmBox app does the same with negatives. FilmLab ($6 per month) is another smartphone scanning app that has versions for Windows and Mac.
Smartphone scanning has some drawbacks. You don’t get the highest quality results and it can be tedious if you have a lot of images. But it’s economical.
Smartphones can be flexible devices, but using hardware designed for a quick task produces better results. If you have transparency boxes to convert, investing in a compact film scanner (such as those from Wolverine or Kodak) can simplify and speed up the process. paperwork for about $150; Plustek manufactures high-end models.
A flatbed scanner capable of handling videos with prints and documents is an option, like the Epson Perfection V600 (around $250 online). Wirecutter, the New York Times-owned product review site, also provides scanner recommendations.
If you already have a flatbed scanner for documents and photos, refer to your model’s manual to see if it can handle slides and negatives, as some come with this capability. If your scanner is rarely very well equipped to handle transparencies, you can make your own silver cardboard adapter to diffuse the scanner’s light and remove darkness from the image; Make: mag has a loose trend and online instructions, just like other DIY magazines. Sites
And be sure to scan photos at a resolution high enough to look at them longer and to print them; 3200 pixels consistent with inches is common.
If you don’t have the time, patience, or equipment, the option is to send images to a media conversion company like Memories Renewed, ScanMyPhotos, or DigMyPics. Most retail outlets charge for the zipper : costs can start around 21 cents each.
For your money, you get pictures. Some corporations allow you to preview the effects and even skip a series of failed shots in your collection. Your originals are returned once the scan is complete and your virtual copies are ready.
Slides and negatives can fade over time, especially if they were not stored correctly. Many movie scanning apps for smartphones also come with basic editing equipment to adjust color and cropping. Fast and loose photo editing so images are shareable.
All the time, effort, and (possibly) money you spend on scanning the old movie offers other advantages besides easy-to-share photo files. You can purchase them in a secure position online as a backup and as a new file if you decide to integrate with the original spring cleaning.
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