loppylugs 8,429 Posted October 6, 2009 Report Share Posted October 6, 2009 Firbeck's comment about slides in the thread about the locomotive got me thinking. Photography and video have always been major hobbies with me. Recently got onto transferring all the miles of super 8 film I have made over the years onto video for my kids. Editing on the computer is so much easier than cutting and gluing film. I have found that I have been able to transfer my slides quite successfully via an attachment that just fits into my regular HP scanner. Sloooow process but it works quite well and is probably the only way to preserve this stuff before it fades into oblivion. I was editing some 8mm of Nottingham city center as it was in 1974 last night. Plan to post it to youtube eventually will let you know when. What methods have ya'll found to be the best for photographic preservation. BTW. Read recently that writeable DVDs are sometimes failing after 5 or 6 years. That is too bad. We need some kind of media that will last. I think solid state memory is probably the best hope. Ideas, anybody? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Fynger 841 Posted October 6, 2009 Report Share Posted October 6, 2009 Just bought a new stereo with usb socket so now putting all my MP3s on flashdrives....no disks to get mucky and jump....reckon that'll be the same for other data storage. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
littlebro 234 Posted October 6, 2009 Report Share Posted October 6, 2009 I have been digitising slides all day today. I keep a backup on an external hard drive. Also, I suggest you never rely solely on DVD's for backup. Whilst CD's do not hold as much data they seem to be more stable. I would not use re-writable DVD's or CD's. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
loppylugs 8,429 Posted October 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2009 I have been digitising slides all day today. I keep a backup on an external hard drive. Also, I suggest you never rely solely on DVD's for backup. Whilst CD's do not hold as much data they seem to be more stable. I would not use re-writable DVD's or CD's. Long job isn't it? But worth it. CDs may be a bit more stable as I assume the data is not quite so tightly packed. 600+meg compared to 4+gig in the same physical space. Like you, I use an external HD for backup. Keeps my internal drive fairly empty, which is necessary for video editing as some pretty big files are created during the process. I only use re-writable dvds to make a first copy of my video. If I don't like it for whatever reason or if something goes wrong in the transfer I do not end up making lots of expensive coasters. Once I'm satisfied the final product is saved to DVD and the HD. I make several DVDs. One for each of my daughters and one for me so hopefully they will not all croak at the same time. Seems like tape is still a good medium I have several thirty+ year old VHS tapes and they still seem fine. I use mini DV tape in the camcorder so that should be of good archive quality. Probably outlast me anyway!!! I am just starting in HD video. I don't have a Blue ray player or writer yet and I may not bother. Blank discs are up in the teens each. I think the players are over priced. Heard recently of a device called a WD-Tv. Stands for Western Digital. No bigger than an external HD it has HDMI connections and all you need to connect to your TV. This device can play files direct from your external drive or any kind of usb device. An hour of HD video can run around 12 gig so this sounds like it might be a good option. If you are interested try googling it there is plenty of info on it. $100 or so here so should be about 50 pounds or so there I would think. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mick2me 3,033 Posted October 7, 2009 Report Share Posted October 7, 2009 Excuse typing using bleddy iPod! Sounds interesting,I have a old coop fi about notyingha to copy. Just took half N hour to tips type !!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beefsteak 305 Posted October 7, 2009 Report Share Posted October 7, 2009 Excuse typing using bleddy iPod! Sounds interesting,I have a old coop fi about notyingha to copy. Just took half N hour to tips type !!! Sorry , didn't catch a word, I know you're jet lagged and all that, but come ,on give us a clue!!!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
loppylugs 8,429 Posted October 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2009 Yeh!!!! Geeus a clue. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Limey 242 Posted October 7, 2009 Report Share Posted October 7, 2009 Regarding long-term storage on CDs and DVDs, they both have the same problem - LIGHT! If you do use them, keep them in a dark place, preferably in an opaque storage case or envelope. They can be very rapidly affected if the recording side is exposed to sunlight - they will be destroyed in a matter of days. Also, be careful of cheap, "off brand" writers - both CD and DVD. If they are not properly aligned, disks written with them will only be readable on THAT device! With those caveats, they are as reliable as removable disks, or solid-state devices (thumb drives) for long term storage and are not susceptible to magnetism like regular disks are! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
loppylugs 8,429 Posted October 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2009 Agreed! Seems like all media is best kept in a relatively cool dark place. That certainly applies to the original films, slides and negatives as well. We don't know how some of the folks who complain of the short shelf lives of DVDs are keeping them. That said it would appear that the commercial movie DVDs seem less susceptible to failure that the writable kind. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Limey 242 Posted October 7, 2009 Report Share Posted October 7, 2009 Although I have had a commercial movie DVD go bad due to exposure to sunlight! It was sitting on a shelf, half covered by a book for several weeks. When we found it, the recorded side was distinctly two-colors with the covered half slightly darker - the DVD would not play at all! With regards to negatives and slides - I bought a negative/slide scanner a number of years ago and (very) slowly scanned all my negs and slides. It was well worth the effort as the photos are so much more "useable". As someone said, newer scanners often have an adapter for negatives or slides. It is a bit slow, but they generally do a good job. My brother-in-law sent several 8mm reels to a company in Atlanta to be digitized - they did an excellent job - again, well worth the cost - although I believe it was not cheap. I understand there are several firms that provide the service, and costs vary, but the more expensive ones do color, scratch and noise correction as well as image sharpening. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
loppylugs 8,429 Posted October 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2009 Never tried the commercial transfer companies. So far I've had pretty good success by projecting a small image which then tends to be nice and bright. I then zoom in tight with the camera and have even been able to convert the original 4:3 aspect ratio to 16:9. Just have to try not to cut heads off. Requires a lot of attention. Can't just set and go have a coffee. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ashley 288 Posted October 8, 2009 Report Share Posted October 8, 2009 By co incidence picked up an epson perfection 1200 scanner with slide gizmo off freecycle at weekend and got working yesterday, it's old, meant for windows98 but via email "chat" with epson got the xp drivers, also does negatives too, great tool! incidently the chap said if the xp download didn't work the 2000 drivers from disk would as fully compatiable, Quote Link to post Share on other sites
loppylugs 8,429 Posted October 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2009 Sounds like a good deal. Those negative scanners are great. I was amazed when I could take old color negatives and get a print that looked as fresh as new. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ashley 288 Posted October 9, 2009 Report Share Posted October 9, 2009 now if I can just get them onto a disk! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beefsteak 305 Posted October 9, 2009 Report Share Posted October 9, 2009 Could be worse, i've just spent a ton on a terrabite external hard drive to back my photos up on to , (It's a quarter full already !!) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mick2me 3,033 Posted October 9, 2009 Report Share Posted October 9, 2009 Yeh!!!! Geeus a clue. Translation: I am sitting in a 5 star turkish hotel, drinking free beer. Tried to acces NS by the turkish keybord of the internet cafe. Wont accept the password! Now trying to type on a Shi-ite Ipod! ¿Comprende? Now bak in sunny Sawley typing on a proper keybord, and no beer! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
loppylugs 8,429 Posted October 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2009 Those Turkish keyboards 'll do it to ya all the time. Thanks for the translation. How was Turkey? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Fynger 841 Posted October 10, 2009 Report Share Posted October 10, 2009 Its a very dry meat.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
letsavagoo 964 Posted October 11, 2009 Report Share Posted October 11, 2009 Getting back to your original question what exactly do you mean? Do you mean preserving the actual old snapshot, the physical item that is? If so put them in an acid free bag (search Google for this) and keep them dark and dry. I have letters from my grandad written from the trenches in WW1 in which he was later killed. I got a load of acid free sleeves to keep them in. Not cheap but worth it. As for your digital files. Be warned that CD's can and do degrade and may become unreadable. Precious items should not be kept on flash drives (USB sticks) as they are decidedly dodgy. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
letsavagoo 964 Posted October 11, 2009 Report Share Posted October 11, 2009 I think the best bet is to use an external hard drive specifically for archiving ie not used day in and day out but just updated when necessary. These are not too expensive now 1TB for £60, and keep several duplicate DVDs and spread em about at family and friends in case of theft fire etc. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ayupmeducks 1,730 Posted October 11, 2009 Report Share Posted October 11, 2009 CD/DVD's also suffer corrosion problems after so many years!! I only found out about the light issue a few days back from an IT friend of mine. He warned me to store all CD's/DVD's well away from UV light if I want to keep them! My Epson scanner will scan negatives, slides and several formats of negs, I bought it a few years ago for digital film restoration together with Photoshop 7 and an Epson photo printer. I note the latest version of Photoshop is listed at nearly $1000!!! Somehow I don't think I'll be upgrading in the near future!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
loppylugs 8,429 Posted October 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2009 My original meaning really referred to such items as 8mm movies and older vhs video. However, we want to try to preserve all originals as much as we can to allow for copying and re-copying as necessary. Good idea to keep original photos in acid free bags etc. I am always amazed at how well they hold up. I agree that once digitized it is a good idea to store on an external HD which is only used for this purpose and preferably kept hidden from potential thieves. Also a good idea to make copies for family, friends etc. and then keep these off site. Unlikely they would all go bad at once. Seems like some of the web based storage might be a good idea but I would think a bit slow for uploading gigs of movie film. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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