Question - How do you guys handle old prints to digital

[Rambis]

Hello,

I was just wondering if you transfer old print photos to digital and what are the results. I have tried to do some on my Canon Pixma MP500, but they just don't seem to come out. I have tons of old photos that I have taken over the years, but they just don't turn out like digitals that I take now.

Thanks in advance.

[Steve Foss]

Rambis, even top-end scanners can only do so much. A print is a second-generation image (the negative or slide is first generation), so you're taking a second-generation image and scanning it to make a third-generation image. You lose a little bit every time you create a new generation. Like photocopying a photocopy, it keeps getting worse.

And a lot of those old prints aren't very sharp to begin with, so it's a tough situation. My wife is a professional digital photo restorer. I've learned a lot about this from her.

[Tom Wilson]

Rambis,

About the only way you can get a digital file from an older picture that has any real quality is to scan the negative. There are a lot of high quality film scanners on the market that will scan your negatives for you. I'm not talking about the flatbeds that do this as an option, but the dedicated film scanners like the nikon coolscan 500ed. I have the coolscan and used it for some time transferring my slide film to digital files before I made the leap to digital. You could also save the money and take the negatives down to your local wal-mart and just ask them to put them on a disc for you. This isn't as good, but for pic posting, or for personal files to show family and stuff like that, it's great.

There is also an expensive, but extremely high quality option of sending your slides/negatives to a professional lab that does does drum scanning. This isn't cheap and some charge you for doing a set number of files no matter how much you send them, but it makes magazine editor quality digital files out of your film photos.

Lastly, as much as I loved film and still do (even though I'm just not shooting it anymore), Digital is geting to the point of surpassing film quality. Digital has colors superior to what most films were able to produce, and with calibrated monitors, and good PP one can make photos look far superior to film. Digital also has a contrast range that most people find much more pleasing than film. All in all, you just have to celebrate the capabilities of digital and keep taking photos.

If you don't have any of the negatives for any of those photos, then the flatbed is your best option, and all you can do is learn to get the most quality you can out of the scans. Good luck, and I hope it works for you.

Tom W

[Rambis]

Thanks for the info. I do not have my negatives anymore so I guess I will just keep shooting with the digital.

I do have some scans that turned out pretty good, but others just don't cut it.

I just want to thank you guys for responding, this is a great site.

Rambis