How to view negatives at home. Digitizing negatives with a camera. Conventional document scanner

For your information. The process of digitizing photographic film using digital camera is called reshooting.

The essence of reshooting is to photograph the film against a white background and correct the resulting digital image using special programs.

For such digitization, many models of photographic equipment are now sold with a special lens attachment, which already has a white background.

If your camera does not have such a nozzle, you can make it yourself, using the materials at hand. To do this, you need a cylinder with a cavity inside, which is slightly larger than the diameter of the lens (for example, a cylindrical can from fish food, tea, or another). You need to attach a platform (a piece of thick cardboard, plastic) to the cylinder on one side, having previously cut a hole on it for the frame.

On the other side, we put our cylinder on the camera lens.

A camera on a tripod with a homemade attachment must be placed in front of the light source. The best way- This is a liquid crystal monitor of a computer or laptop. A white background is created by opening a new document in Adobe Photoshop and expanding it to full screen.

IMPORTANT. It is better to re-shoot the film in complete darkness, turning off all additional light sources, except for the main one - the monitor.

The film must be installed at some distance from the monitor (up to 15 cm) so that the wave-like glow from the screen does not go, but the brightness of the screen does not decrease. Next, turn off the light and reshoot the film on a digital camera.

We digitize the film without a nozzle

Full-fledged digitization of photographic film with your own hands is possible without purchasing a special attachment for the camera lens.

To do this, we need a camera, tripods and a computer monitor directly. We fix the camera on one tripod, and on the other - a device with which we fix the film or slide. You can use frames from enlargers or projectors for this.

If they are not available, then you can make the following design.

We take two glasses from the photo frames, glue their edges with white self-adhesive tape to protect them from sharp corners and thickening of the structure. We apply two glasses to each other, from above and below we also glue them with tape. Insert the film into the resulting gap between the glasses. Next, we put this structure parallel to the monitor, you can fix it with improvised materials, for example, stacks of books on both sides, turn off the light and start shooting.

The resulting image is processed using inversion (Ctrl + i keys), adjustment layers, channels (blue, green, red Ctrl + m) and manual correction using Adobe Photoshop or another graphics editor.

As you can see, this method of transferring a film image to digital is also quite affordable and feasible at home, therefore, how to digitize a photographic film is up to you. Scanning, camera or darkroom - the choice is yours. The main thing is that the result should meet expectations and give pleasure from the received and viewed images.

Digitizing photographic film at home is not a myth, but a completely normal phenomenon. In the text below, you will learn about two easy and budget ways to digitize your photos yourself. In both cases "PhotoMASTER" is required. In this program, you can translate negative into positive, and improve the quality of pictures. Download the distribution kit from our website right now, then you can easily solve these problems:

Method one: scanning film

For digitizing photographic film, special mini-scanners are best suited: KONICA MINOLTA Dimage Scan Dual IV, Espada QPix MDFC-1400, etc. However, there is no need to spend money on the purchase of such devices: a regular scanner is also suitable for work. In addition, modern models often have a special compartment for fixing photographic film. For example, it can be found in Canon CanoScan 9000F Mark II, Epson Perfection V600 Photo and other scanners.

With such a device, the principle of digitizing becomes utterly simple: you need to fix the film in the holder and scan it. Then save the resulting negatives to your PC and proceed to post-processing.

Method two: "reshooting" negatives

Not everyone has a scanner at home or in the office. This means that the first method is not suitable. But even then, you should not give up trying, collect films in a bag and put them in the closet until better times. They can still be digitized at home. The second easiest way is to reshoot the negatives. You will need:

• camera.

You can use both a camera and a camera on a smartphone. Be sure to turn off the flash in advance and set the maximum resolution in the settings.

• backlight.

Its role can be played by a table lamp, flashlight, or even a laptop screen, if you set the maximum brightness for it in the settings. It is also advisable to open a full screen "Notepad" or a blank sheet in Paint.

• a device for fixing the film.

Figure out how to mount the film in front of the light source. Otherwise, it will curl during shooting, the photo will turn out to be blurry. The device for fixing the film can be built from scrap materials. For example, you can take a small sheet of cardboard or thick paper and cut out a 35x35 window in the center. Make two cuts two centimeters from it to the left and right. You can put the film into it, then it will not curl and bend. You can get a good shot quickly and easily.

To make the structure stable, make two folds at the edges of the sheet. Secure the resulting "legs" with a stapler or tape. Now you can place the film in front of a monitor screen or over a lamp and figure out how to digitize photographic film at home.

Arrange the items in the following order: light source, film construction, camera. It is highly desirable to pre-install a camera or smartphone on a tripod or a stack of books. If you shoot handheld, the photo may turn out to be blurry. Take a picture of everything the required frames and then transfer them to your PC.

Post-processing: perfect result

Now you need to. In this program you can turn the resulting negatives into normal images and, if necessary, improve their quality, remove minor defects and much more.

Launch the editor and open any of the photos. Go to the Tools section and select the Curves tool. Change the position of the RGB curve: move the bottom edge up, and the top - down. All light shades will instantly turn dark, and light shades will instantly turn dark.

If necessary, you can adjust the brightness of the photo. Create an additional point (or several) on the line and drag it up or down. Watch the result in the preview window.

If the edges of the photo do not look very neat, then crop them. This is where the Crop feature comes in handy. You can manually mark the borders of cropping or use the proportions offered in the program. With their help, you can easily and quickly prepare a photo for a post on VKontakte or for publication on any other site.

Sometimes there are various defects on the films: burn-in, spots, scratches or holes. While it is problematic to digitize a videotape or film with such shortcomings, the situation is different with photographic film. Digitization is the only chance to save the life of old personnel.

In the photo editor, you can easily "patch" holes, and generally improve the quality of the source. Activate the Healing Brush to remove scratches and blemishes. Adjust its size and feathering in the right panel and click on the problem area. A moment - and the defect is no more.

Now you know how to digitize old film at home. Pictures can be saved on a computer or printed out immediately. Download the program "PhotoMASTER" and give new life frames from photographic films today!

Since the beginning of the 90s, virtually anyone could afford to purchase a camera, take pictures, and then print them in one of the photographic laboratories, of which there were many at that time, for a reasonable price. However, with the advent of digital photography, analog has become history and those people who have preserved old films now do not know how to print them. In this situation, there is a way out and for this it is enough to know how to digitize photographic film at home to be able to print them or simply view them on a computer or laptop.

What does that require

To complete this procedure, you need things that are available in most houses or apartments. More specifically, these are:

• developed photographic film;
• a small piece of thick cardboard (it is optimal that it is A4 size);
• stationery knife (for paper);
• four staples (a stapler can also be used for joining purposes);
• an ordinary table lamp, but preferably with a lamp that transmits the maximum White color no different tones;
• ordinary digital camera;
• a small piece of plastic with a matte shade (the size should be at least 40x40 mm) and if there is none, white tape can be used as a replacement;
• a tripod for fixing the camera (if there is none, you can use available tools or even try to take pictures with your hands);
• photo editor for post-processing (will be used in this example).

When all this is collected, you can proceed to the preparation of the process of digitizing photographic film.

Creating a stand for transferring photos from film to a computer

This requires the skill of human hands, because in fact everything will have to be made by hand, because no template designs from factory components simply do not exist. Let's describe all the necessary steps:

• on a piece of cardboard, in the center, cut out a square area, the sides of which should be about 35 mm, preferably not less;
• make 4 cuts in the cardboard, 2 on one side of the square, 2 on the other, and the size of which will be approximately 37 mm (shown in the screenshot);
  
• place the plastic on the cut-out area in the cardboard and secure it there, and if using tape, then just glue the resulting opening with it;
  
• in order for the cardboard to have sufficient rigidity and it can be installed on any structure without sagging, turn it on both sides and fix the ends with a stapler or paper clips in such a way as shown in the screenshot;
  
• insert the film into the cuts that were made at the initial stage, and place one of the frames in place of the cut area;
  
• mount the camera on a tripod and set it in such a position so that the lens is pointed at the ground (if there is no such device, use your imagination to secure the camera in a similar position, or try to take pictures directly from your hands in the future), which will allow you to shoot what lies parallel to the horizontal surface;
• under the lens, on some stands (in this article, small columns were used) place a structure with a film so that the cut-out opening and the frame in it are placed parallel to the lens;
• put the lamp under the place where the cutout area is, and one of the frames on the film is placed in it.

At this point, our photo studio, so to speak, is ready and now it is necessary to make a direct translation of analog frames into digital ones.

Digitizing each frame on film

To save all the images on film to your computer, follow these steps:

Note: To avoid minor vibrations when pressing a button, it is best to connect the camera to a computer and use certain software that allows you to take pictures by clicking the corresponding button with the mouse. For example, for Canon equipment, such a program is called EOS Utility.

After everything has been captured, when opened, the image does not look like a full-fledged photo, therefore, to bring it to its normal form, you need to edit all frames. To do this, open Adobe Photoshop, and then do the following:

In fact, we got a full-fledged image from a photographic film on a computer. Of course, here you can still experiment with color correction, but this is more connected with working in a photo editor, and so we were able to digitize photographic film at home, and there are no particular difficulties in this procedure.

Read your favorite stills from film with one click! Plunge into these old memories again! The project for the coming weekend will be the creation of a portable cinema projector for a mobile phone for less than 150 rubles. Our future device is perfectly compatible with iPhone, iTouch, Galaxy S4, HTC and other brands of smartphones on the market.

This is a great way to capture 35mm film frames on mobile phone! It is as easy to use as its commercial counterparts.

New Year's gift for dad:
Preparing a gift for my dad is always difficult given that he has everything he needs. There is no better New Year's present than one made by his son's hands: D He is an excellent photographer (amateur), and in his youth he shot many beautiful photographs. Of course, even before switching to digital SLRs, my father used analog single-lens reflex cameras. Unfortunately, most of the family photos were washed away by the floods in the 90s. But my father kept the films themselves in a waterproof box. Now thousands of negatives are waiting for a projector to appear in the family: D I can't wait to give him this gift!

This is just the perfect present for old school photographers! : D

How easy is the process?

Just insert 35mm film> Turn on the power> Activate the phone camera> Select a convenient scale> In the settings, select the photo negative effect> Do it again. It's that simple! : D

Attention: The photo quality depends on the phone camera. In my photo examples, I used a cheap 5MP smartphone, as well as an iPhone. I tested the projector on Samsung's Galaxy S4 and the quality was better than the others! The more megapixels, the better: D

Step 1: collecting tools and materials

The spare parts I needed cost less than 150 rubles (not counting the smartphone)

What we need:
- Your smartphone
- rectangular case
- 6 white ultra bright diodes
- 100 Ohm resistor (1 / 4W)
- 9 volt battery with clip
- simple slide switch
- a piece of white acrylic 40x70 mm
- tube of superglue

Tools and equipment:
- multi-blade folding knife
- hand drill
- soldering iron
- hot glue gun

Step 2: camera hole and film slot

Use a light-colored matte marker or highlighter to mark the measurements, and then drill a hole large enough for your phone's camera. I used a 10mm drill bit and cut the edges of the hole at an angle with my penknife.
File the edge of the housing cover with a file, making a slot for the film. I grinded off a 40mm slot for my 35mm films.

Step 3: making an acrylic diffuse screen

White LEDs produce spot lighting, but for our purposes the light needs to be diffused for the picture to be well balanced and well lit.

1) Cut a 40x70mm rectangle out of acrylic
2) File off the edges of this rectangle with a file to make the film easier to feed.
3) Glue the acrylic plate into the body on the pre-glued 4 foam squares

Step 4: take-up mechanism

Film sometimes wrinkles making it difficult to feed. I have added a take-off mechanism that grabs the film from the other side so that it can pass into the projector.

To do this, I used a piece of an old ruler and super glue, constructing clips in the case.

Step 5: install diodes

You need to install diodes on either side of the acrylic screen. Divide the diodes by 3 for both sides, this will make the lighting better. Positive contacts go up, negative ones go down.

We glue the diodes to the body with hot glue. The glue also works well as a reflector for light!

Step 6: soldering the parts

I showed the scheme in the photo above. Solder the battery, resistor, switch and diodes together.

Step 7: testing diodes

Plug in the battery, turn on the switch, and your diodes should light up.

Step 8: Customize your phone camera settings!

The translation of film materials and slides into digital format does not lose its relevance today, when, it would seem, everything has long been processed and placed on virtual media. Old archives, photo albums and negatives require or special conditions storage, or final transformation into computer files. In this regard, the question arises: "How to digitize photographic film at home and at minimal cost?" It should be noted right away that it will not be possible to limit oneself to the means at hand, especially if the result is to be of high quality. Professional equipment that is used for digitizing in laboratories and studios, of course, is not required, but you need to prepare for the purchase of an appropriate scanner. At worst, you can get by with a DSLR camera, although in this case, the responsibility of already manual work increases.

Digitization workflow

To understand how, in principle, the methods of converting film frames into computer image formats work, it is necessary to disassemble the technology of this transformation. By and large, the digitization of photographic films provides for the division of each frame into pixels - small elements from which another, computer picture is composed. The generated in the course saves data about colors image and other photographic properties in the digital file.

Scanner for digitizing - which one to choose?

At the moment, from the point of view of digitization, there is no worthy alternative to the scanner. There are two types of these and models equipped with a slide module. The advantages of flatbed slide modules include the ability to digitize both film materials and finished photographs. If you need to digitize photographic films at home, then the slide module will be the best solution. It is inexpensive, provides a minimum of functionality for the workflow, and takes up a little extra space.

Film scanner can be classified as equipment close to professional models. It allows you to obtain high quality digitized images with user friendliness. This option is suitable if you need to process both regularly appearing new frames and old film. Many scanners help to digitize images at the amateur level, but if you want to get a high-quality professional result, then drum photo scanners and mini-laboratories are required.

Optimal resolution

It is important to follow a simple rule here: as you know, 300dpi is the standard for printing - accordingly, the scanner must at least support this parameter. In general, modern photographic equipment and scanning devices are capable of supporting 4800dpi - another thing is that such a format simply does not justify itself when working with old film. For example, many are interested in how to digitize film at home so that each element is as detailed as possible. In practice, it is impossible to select more from the finished frame than it provides. As the optimal resolution, you can take a format that is twice as large as the similar capabilities of film. For example, 900dpi can go well with almost all old photographic materials. Even if the resolution significantly exceeds all the boundaries and limits of the negative, you can always crop the excess - the main thing is that there will be no loss in quality.

Digitization process

On a scanner, the procedure is elementary and requires almost no input from the user. Of course, before the first processing, you will have to load the necessary drivers and software for the equipment to work - then the settings are set, and scanning starts. It is important to note that a film scanner for digitizing photographic films, depending on the model, can have a whole range of useful options that will increase the quality of the finished images. Among them:

• decrease in graininess;
• removal of dust and oil traces;
• restoration of shades;
• increased noise reduction and sharpness;
• auto exposure;
• histogram for adjusting tone curves.

In modern versions of Epson, Digital ICE technology is also provided, with the help of which the device independently cleans working and processed surfaces, and also removes scratches.

In which file to save?

The main mistake of novice amateur photographers, for whom the digitization of photographic films at home is associated with the usual conversion of files, is the wrong format for saving the image. It is not recommended to use JPEG in the output, as it will lead to significant loss in compression. The best option would be TIFF. Here again, the following principle is relevant: it is better to immediately make voluminous, but high-quality sources than to suffer in the future with unsatisfactory resolution, etc. Indeed, TIFF is a rather bulky format, but these inconveniences will be more than compensated for by decent printing in the future.

The problem of digitizing negatives

Most printers have a negative attitude towards the task of scanning negatives. This is by no means due to the correction of color rendition, fine-tuning of contrasts, etc. The question of how to digitize photographic film at home and without pronounced "noise" is often encountered. So negatives in this regard are considered the most problematic.

If the slides are digitized, the "noise" falls into the shadows, where it is quite difficult to detect. When processing the negative, the same thing happens, and it seems that all the flaws have gone into naturally dark areas. Disappointment comes when a scanner for digitizing photographic films turns the negative into a positive - after this operation, all the "noise" is transferred to the light. You should remember this and make the most of the autocorrection capabilities aimed at suppressing "noise".

Digitizing negatives with a DSLR camera

Many people think that this way of working with negatives is optimal for amateurs. The negative is filmed on the camera, after which it is converted and processed. Technically, the procedure is as follows: the camera is firmly fixed in front of working platform, the LED lamp is installed (with filters if necessary), and the exposure is adjusted. Such digitization of photographic films can be streamed, but only if the frames have the same lighting conditions. In other cases, for each frame, for example, it is selected individually. Actually, personal revision and settings for each picture can be considered a plus: firstly, it is freedom of creativity, and secondly, they are practiced with photographic materials.

Conclusion

At the last stage, it remains only to decide on the file cataloging system. In general, the question of how to digitize photographic film at home and obtain high-quality images at the output suggests an elementary answer. To do this, you need to have an appropriate scanner or SLR camera - in the first case, most of the workflow is assigned to the equipment, and in the second, to the user, who, at his discretion, adjusts the digitization settings and the conditions for its implementation. That is, all opinions that scanning and digitizing kills all the advantages of photography are untenable. There are a lot of tools, methods, parameters and adjusting subtleties that allow you to create a real work of art from an old negative.