Projects At Home During Lockdown

[husaberg]

One of my projects during lockdown is to continue scanning the boxes of photos we have from decades ago. A lot of our earlier colour photos have suffered colour degradation and aren't worth scanning. However, we have zillions of 35mm negatives and also 35mm slides which we should make a start on. When I last looked a few years ago, good quality scanners for negatives and slides were prohibitively expensive. However, prices seem to be falling and quality increasing like so many types of electronic gear. I'm just starting to investigate what's available for domestic usage. Does anyone have recent personal experience of this type of gear?

The scanner on our Canon Pixma MG7760 is really good for photos. A couple of examples: The Black and white photo is of my grandfather in 1913. The colour photo is of our eldest son in the mid 90's on his Suzuki X7.

Couldn't use just project the negatives onto a screen and then photo the result? like an av projector or old 35mm movie projector?

[Blackbird]

i brought a kogan recently, photos slides and neg options

Thanks for the reply - have you had the chance to use it yet - impressions?

[merv]

One of my projects during lockdown is to continue scanning the boxes of photos we have from decades ago. A lot of our earlier colour photos have suffered colour degradation and aren't worth scanning. However, we have zillions of 35mm negatives and also 35mm slides which we should make a start on. When I last looked a few years ago, good quality scanners for negatives and slides were prohibitively expensive. However, prices seem to be falling and quality increasing like so many types of electronic gear. I'm just starting to investigate what's available for domestic usage. Does anyone have recent personal experience of this type of gear?

The scanner on our Canon Pixma MG7760 is really good for photos. A couple of examples: The Black and white photo is of my grandfather in 1913. The colour photo is of our eldest son in the mid 90's on his Suzuki X7.

I haven't had recent experience buying a new scanner, but I'm still scanning photos and slides since we bought our current Epson scanner way back in 2005 and I've done plenty in this lockdown. The key is having a good enough scan resolution. When I started I was scanning 35mm slides at 2400dpi but over time digital cameras and computer displays have got better so I'm doing them at 3200dpi now. My scanner is good for 9600dpi.

I do the prints at 800dpi. I'm not sure how that compares to what a professional would do but I always looked for a file size to be similar to what my camera takes and with the aim of the quality required to display on my smart TV.

A scanner that good, and it has to have a light lid for slides and negatives, still sets you back about $800 - $1,000 as far as I know.

Okay I had a look and current Epsons that do slides look like they start at $349 and better ones are still about $1,000 https://www.epson.co.nz/products/Sca...?grouptypeid=4

Example pics attached that I have done are from close to 30 year old originals, first one is off a 35mm negative I scanned this week and second one is off a 6x4 print I scanned back in 2015.

[Grumph]

Took contactless payment to a new level today, LOL.

Email - your crank's done, pick up from car reg no.... in our staff car park today.

So it's find car, open boot, extract box with crank - and leave envelope of cash tucked under his lunch....

Went back to our car and told my wife that the people watching from the high blocks surrounding this car park probably thought they'd seen a drug deal.

Got away cleanly with no sirens.

His work has recently changed their policy on outside jobs hence the drug deal style. Stupid part is that they want to keep him as long as possible - he's retiring soon.
And I know the management quite well....

[Drew]

One of my projects during lockdown is to continue scanning the boxes of photos we have from decades ago. A lot of our earlier colour photos have suffered colour degradation and aren't worth scanning. However, we have zillions of 35mm negatives and also 35mm slides which we should make a start on. When I last looked a few years ago, good quality scanners for negatives and slides were prohibitively expensive. However, prices seem to be falling and quality increasing like so many types of electronic gear. I'm just starting to investigate what's available for domestic usage. Does anyone have recent personal experience of this type of gear?

The scanner on our Canon Pixma MG7760 is really good for photos. A couple of examples: The Black and white photo is of my grandfather in 1913. The colour photo is of our eldest son in the mid 90's on his Suzuki X7.

i brought a kogan recently, photos slides and neg options

Riffer on here for a job, digitises shit for a living. I know he does audio and haven't heard him speak of pictures or film, but I bet it happens in the same office.
Send him a PM and I'm sure he could give some very clever help.

[Blackbird]

Riffer on here for a job, digitises shit for a living. I know he does audio and haven't heard him speak of pictures or film, but I bet it happens in the same office.
Send him a PM and I'm sure he could give some very clever help.

Thanks for that Drew, had no idea of Simon's background. Appreciated!

[Blackbird]

I haven't had recent experience buying a new scanner, but I'm still scanning photos and slides since we bought our current Epson scanner way back in 2005 and I've done plenty in this lockdown. The key is having a good enough scan resolution. When I started I was scanning 35mm slides at 2400dpi but over time digital cameras and computer displays have got better so I'm doing them at 3200dpi now. My scanner is good for 9600dpi.

I do the prints at 800dpi. I'm not sure how that compares to what a professional would do but I always looked for a file size to be similar to what my camera takes and with the aim of the quality required to display on my smart TV.

A scanner that good, and it has to have a light lid for slides and negatives, still sets you back about $800 - $1,000 as far as I know.

Okay I had a look and current Epsons that do slides look like they start at $349 and better ones are still about $1,000 https://www.epson.co.nz/products/Sca...?grouptypeid=4

Example pics attached that I have done are from close to 30 year old originals, first one is off a 35mm negative I scanned this week and second one is off a 6x4 print I scanned back in 2015.

Many thanks Merv, appreciate the info on resolution. There are obviously some traps for new players about with really cheap ones on the market so I'll do some real digging before shelling out any coinage!

[HenryDorsetCase]

Thanks for that Drew, had no idea of Simon's background. Appreciated!

Ask him about his bands and the Wellington punk scene early 80's.

Time for me to play my Flesh D-Vice LP

[merv]

Many thanks Merv, appreciate the info on resolution. There are obviously some traps for new players about with really cheap ones on the market so I'll do some real digging before shelling out any coinage!

As Drew says, Riffer does it for a living doing digital imaging of all sorts of things up to huge sizes and 3d these days too working for these guys http://www.micrographics.co.nz/

At home it is all about how much storage you want to use up too and the file size you want to handle on your PC when projecting on the TV, and I certainly don't trust leaving my history in the cloud where it can go 'poof' at the behest of a company if they quit, so I keep it all on portable drives including backing up to drives my son and daughter keep in separate locations. I digitised all my family stuff from about 1972 to 2001 (the date we got into digital cameras) and now I'm back doing early work related stuff and stuff from my parents and grandparents vintage. At the resolution I've been doing them at, along with all the digital photos and videos I've taken so far, they don't take up a terabyte yet and the biggest drive I'm using is 4TB.

[eldog]

Thanks for that Drew, had no idea of Simon's background. Appreciated!

Keen to hear how you get on.

My parents have a few slides and photos I want to digitize, before they forget who the people are. Want to get a record with names, dates etc. Don't mind if it costs.

Thank Merv for extra info.

[Blackbird]

Ask him about his bands and the Wellington punk scene early 80's.

Time for me to play my Flesh D-Vice LP

That's not music, I'll pass thanks

[jellywrestler]

A scanner that good, and it has to have a light lid for slides and negatives, still sets you back about $800 - $1,000 as far as I know.

Okay I had a look and current Epsons that do slides look like they start at $349 and better ones are still about $1,000 https://www.epson.co.nz/products/Sca...?grouptypeid=4

.

the kogan one i have is set up for slides negs and photos, not a A4 size that will compromise, was a couple of hundy and very suitable for what i'm doing here

[Blackbird]

As Drew says, Riffer does it for a living doing digital imaging of all sorts of things up to huge sizes and 3d these days too working for these guys http://www.micrographics.co.nz/

At home it is all about how much storage you want to use up too and the file size you want to handle on your PC when projecting on the TV, and I certainly don't trust leaving my history in the cloud where it can go 'poof' at the behest of a company if they quit, so I keep it all on portable drives including backing up to drives my son and daughter keep in separate locations. I digitised all my family stuff from about 1972 to 2001 (the date we got into digital cameras) and now I'm back doing early work related stuff and stuff from my parents and grandparents vintage. At the resolution I've been doing them at, along with all the digital photos and videos I've taken so far, they don't take up a terabyte yet and the biggest drive I'm using is 4TB.

Yep, I was thinking about portable drives too. My wife is a mad keen family historian. Whilst she keeps most of her data on commercial genealogy software, she also keeps all her old hand-written research. Not only does it fill a huge cupboard in our basement, she's also taken over a cupboard in the garage which is bordering on sacrilege. However, in the interests of harmony and cowardice on my part, I'm keeping my trap shut. I scanned a photo a wee while ago of my infinitely better half on our honeymoon back in 1972. I recently said that I didn't know what she saw in me. She said she didn't either. Cow........

Keen to hear how you get on.

My parents have a few slides and photos I want to digitize, before they forget who the people are. Want to get a record with names, dates etc. Don't mind if it costs.

Thank Merv for extra info.

Yep, will let you know how it goes. As with most things, there seems to be a significant difference in scanner price between NZ and overseas so that's something else to factor in when normal freight options kick in again. We had a few 35 mm colour slides commercially digitised 3 or 4 years ago and they were superb. They were also very expensive so there's no way we could get lots done this way.

[Bonez]

Well it looks like we may have video footage of both of the weekends little events. I'll get a copy of it and pass it on to po po. As well as the very clear photo of the numberplate of the car I took on Sunday. Apparently the twats doing Saturdays caper are from Highbury and Levin. And the Sundays lot were there to beat up one of the occupants.

To be continued.........

[Gearup]

Not only does it fill a huge cupboard in our basement, she's also taken over a cupboard in the garage which is bordering on sacrilege. However, in the interests of harmony and cowardice on my part, I'm keeping my trap shut.

Taken over a cupboard in the garage! A line has been crossed Blackbird...