Film Makeover
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Getting your photos and film digitized is a great way to preserve, share, and enjoy
them today and tomorrow. By sending them to DigMyPics, you will benefit from our
sophisticated hardware and software, as well as the skill and talent of our digital
imaging professionals. We will take you inside the process of how we scan and optimize
your film. You'll be amazed at the number of slides,
negatives, and prints
we can make look new again!
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Scanning
Every piece of film is evaluated by our scanning technicians before scanning even
takes place. They look at the quality of your original film and note any potential
problems that might occur during scanning. The best method for ensuring fantastic
results is to make sure our technicians are trained in knowing the best settings
for every film type and to apply Digital ICE
only when it will improve your image. Sometimes this means that we will scan the
same slide several times to achieve the best possible image for you.
We don’t we use other software like Digital ROC and Digital GEM. Settings that look
good on the first slide or set of negatives may not look so great on the second.
Our scanning technicians evaluate each scan on an image-by-image basis.
Our internal database lets the scanning technician write notes about your slides
and negatives. You can view the notes by going to your own
Real Time Scanning page, and the folks in our post production, customer
service, and shipping departments can also view the details about your order. Once
your project is completely scanned, it moves to our Post Production Department.
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Digital ICE
One of the best technologies available in specialized film scanners is Digital ICE
dust and scratch removal. While some flatbeds have come to market claiming to have
this feature, we've found that the technology doesn't perform like it does in a
dedicated film scanner like the Nikon Coolscan 5000s
and 9000s we use at DigMyPics.
Digital ICE works by doing a scan of the film with Infra-red (IR) light. This IR
scan enables the machine to visualize surface defects in the film, like dust and
scratches. The scanner then scans the film normally. Using the map of defects from
the IR scan, special software can replace the defective areas by interpolating between
the pixels around the defect. It then fills in that
area with an approximation of what was likely beneath the defect. The results are
often amazing.
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Digital ICE & DigMyPics Basic Enhancement Service
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Take a look at this 40-year-old slide
we scanned without using Digital ICE:
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Here is the same 40 year old slide
scanned with Digital ICE:
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This is the final image after our artists
have corrected the color and exposure:
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You'd never know that slide was 40 years old!
Let’s look at the difference split-screen:
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Notice the amount of dirt and scratches Digital ICE was able to remove. Using
this feature adds approximately 30 seconds to each scan, however, it would take
a talented artist hours or days to correct this image using photo editing software.
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Post Production
Our skilled Post Production technicians have backgrounds in photography and the
arts. They use Adobe Photoshop (the industry standard digital imaging software)
to perform basic enhancements to all of your images. We do our best to correct as
many issues as possible, but the quality and condition of your film is the major
deciding factor in what we can accomplish. Some film problems, such as mold growth,
require specialized digital restoration to remove and are not considered basic enhancement.
What does basic enhancement
include?
- Improving contrast when possible
- Improving and correcting exposure problems when possible
- Improving and correcting color problems when possible
- Cropping the image to the edge of the frame
- Rotating the image to the proper orientation
We’ve done nothing but sing Digital ICE’s praises, but there are some caveats. Digital
ICE doesn't work with most black and white film and there are some errors in scans
of Kodachrome film with past versions of Digital ICE. Now, we use the
Nikon Super Coolscan 9000 scanners for all 35mm slide scanning and Medium Format film. The version of Digital ICE that comes with that
scanner does a great job with Kodachrome slides. As you saw above, the technology
does work, but it works best with small pieces of dust and fine scratches. Large
blotches (such as those created by mold growth) can not be recovered using this
technology. We encourage to call for details about our digital restoration service
if you think your film may need additional attention.
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Would you like to know more about going digital?
Visit our Scanning 101 page for a primer on common
terms you'll encounter!
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