--- Forwarded Message from Roberto Perez <[log in to unmask]> --- >Date: Tue, 01 May 2007 09:06:39 -0400 >To: [log in to unmask] >From: Roberto Perez <[log in to unmask]> >Subject: saving positive/negative film Hi all, There has been exchanges in the past discussing how to transfer old analog audio tapes to digital formats (wav, aiff) so as to preserve those materials. There has been similar (though fewer) discussions on how to transfer old VHS tapes to digital formats (avi, mpg) for similar preservation purposes. Now I'd like to ask about transferring old slides/negative film into digital format (e.g., jpg) for the purposes of preserving those materials. For example: 1- would you get better results scanning your paper printouts, or scanning your negatives? 2- if the second, would would be a good resolution? 600 dpi? 1200 dpi? If I use the larger resolution, but then I want to post that picture on a website, I'm afraid too much resizing may affect quality in a noticeable way. On the other hand, if I use a smaller resolution, and then I want a larger paper printout, the (lower) quality due to resizing would also be noticeable... 3- What about the scanning size? 4x6? 7x9? The same concerns as above regarding potential resizing needs would apply... 4- If you have your negatives, and you have your scanned pictures, and you want a printout, would one source (e.g., negatives vs. digital copy) provide any advantage over the other? In other words, would a printout created from the actual negative have any advantage over a printout generated from a digital copy (assuming a good quality digital version), or viceversa? 5- Once you get your digital versions, is it ok to dispose of the negatives (as, I assume, you dispose of the analogue tapes once they have been converted to digital format)? I'm trying to think what having the negatives would allow me to do (that the digital copies wouldn't), but then again, if I had taken those pictures with a digital camera there wouldn't even be any negatives anyway... Any ideas, pointers, suggestions, will be appreciated. Regards, Roberto Perez [log in to unmask] *********************************************** LLTI is a service of IALLT, the International Association for Language Learning (http://iallt.org/), and The Consortium for Language Teaching and Learning (http://www.languageconsortium.org/). Join IALLT at http://iallt.org. Otmar Foelsche, LLTI-Editor ([log in to unmask]) ***********************************************