While I have been getting ready to move and sorting all the items around the house out before my move away. I have come across a large quantity of film negatives and was wondering if anyone could help me with ideas as how to transfer these on to cd's/dvd's. Most of the negatives have to be from the 80's and early 90's and it would be great to see them again. Many thanks in advance Adrian
The easiest way would be to contact a photo specialist in your country. They'll have all of the tools to scan them and put them on cds, dvds, a thumb drive, or whatever you'd like.
The cheaper alternative is to buy a scanner, either a new one or second hand (perhaps from eBay). But scanning would use up a lot of your time - as I have learned from experience.
I went through the process of scanning all of my parents old photos quite a few years back - I bought a Nikon Super CoolScan 5000 film scanner and used VueScan software to produce high resolution scans of all their old photos - dating back to the 1970s. Some of the old zoo photos I scanned have been uploaded to ZooChat. I'm not sure what the current generation of film scanners are like - haven't looked at recent models. Quality varies a lot and depending on how many you have to do - it might be more cost effective to find a local service provider who can scan them for you.
I worked at a photo lab for two decades and we scanned lots of slides and negatives. It is better quality and easier than doing it yourself, but it can get expensive. You can save money if you do it yourself but it will be very time consuming (especially if you take the time to balance the color and exposure in software). If you have free time and enjoy working on photos you can try it, but if not find a service in your country. Just do an internet search on "film scanning" and then look at reviews of the company you are considering to make sure it's a legitimate business.
