Think about the oldest photos you have. The odds are that it is probably pretty important to you. What kind of condition is it in now? 30-40 year old photos tend to have more problems that not, often suffering from torn edges, faded colors, creases, and so on. It could probably benefit from some photo retouching work. Before the digital age, photo retouching was all done by hand on either the photo itself, the negative, or a combination of both.

Photo retouching has provided people with the ability to manipulate their images in a favorable way, either by removing blemishes, or adding effects to enhance the quality of the photo. There are some steps to take which will make the whole process go a little smoother. With the right amount of time and ability, you can restore old photos such as this.

To make retouching your own photos a little easier, try to follow these steps. Remember that photo restoration techniques come with first hand experience and knowledge, and the best jobs are often result of trial and error. Try different approaches and techniques to find the style that fits you.

1. Always save the original image. This is a key point that sometimes people will look over. Always saving your original image will prevent you from accidentally deleting or altering it. You will never get that data back unless you re-digitize the image. When performing photo retouching work, you should ALWAYS be working from a copy!

2. Make sure to align the image properly. After scanning, images can sometimes be tilted or shifted left or right or slightly rotated. Try to align the image as straight as possible using the image rotation tools of your photo editing software.

3. Once the image has been straightened out, you should now make your initial crop. This is just a basic crop which will remove any unwanted areas such as scanner glass or black borders that are sometimes present after scanning.

4. Try your best and assess the damage of the photo. Find out exactly what you’d like restored, and what kind of damage it is. Find out the causes of the problem, and what you can use to fix it up.

5. Adjust the tone of the image, so that the colors appear natural. Photos that are extensively faded may need the tone adjusted before you assess the damage, as the damage could be harder to detect and assess before the tone fixes have been applied.

6. Now it’s time to do the cleanup work for the restoration. Use your knowledge, the various filters and plugins at your disposal to your advantage.

7. Once the bulk of the restoration work is completed, you may need to alter the color levels of your image. Sometimes you may need to add color to black & white image or change color levels.

8. Add any enhancements to the photo through various tools and plugins. This step is all about applying the finishing touches to your retouched image.

9. Once all the work has been completed it’s time for a final crop. This will determine the final size and output of your image so make sure you crop it correctly!

10. Save the results. If you followed these each 10 steps you should now have a clean, retouched image that will last you a lifetime! You should ideally use this 10 step process for any photo scanning and restoration project for best results.

One of the easiest ways to convert your camcorder to DVD is to hook up the camcorder to a recording device such as a DVR with a DVD Burner. For this example I’ll be using a Sony Hi8 camcorder. To do this yourself, follow these steps.

1. Locate your camcorder and make sure you have the RCA (red, white, yellow) cables and the power cord.

2. Insert the tape you’d like to convert into the camcorder, and make sure it’s rewound. Plug the RCA cables into the video out jack on the camera, also make sure the power supply is connected, and plugged into the wall.

3. Insert the cables into the INPUT of the DVR or recording device. (make note of what input your used, as often DVRs have multiple inputs. This is normally clearly labeled just above or below the jacks as input 1, 2 or 3.)

4. Power on the DVR and ensure you set it on the same input as the step previous.

5. Test out the picture and sound by pressing play on the camcorder and making sure everything is fine on the monitor.

6. Rewind the tape back to the beginning, and then press play. Immediately after pressing play, hit record on the DVR and now your video will be recorded to the DVR’s hard drive.

7. From here, if your DVR supports burning video to DVDs you can burn your discs straight from the interface menu.

If you wanted a more advanced capture that would allow you the ability to edit or manipulate your footage, you’ll want to transfer it over to your computer first. To accomplish this, there are a variety of different methods you could try. For best results, you’ll want to get your hands on a video capture card or device that allows you to capture directly to your computer’s hard drive. For a guide on how to do this check out my guide on how to capture video using a Canopus capture unit. Feel free to comment for any help/tips. Good luck!

Disc film is an old outdated Kodak format developed in 1982. Disc film came housed within a plastic cartridge which provided the user with a disc of 15 images, as negatives. The size of the negatives on the disc were 11x8mm exposures arranged around the outside of the disc, with the disc being rotated 24° between each image. The format, although convenient, did not prove to be particularly popular amongst consumers. This can be mainly attributed to the fact that the images were only 11x8mm, which resulted in sub-par quality on the resulting images. The film was intended to be printed with special 6-element lenses from Kodak, but many labs simply printed discs with standard 3-element lenses used for larger negative formats. The resulting prints often disappointed the consumer. The cameras did not last in the market very long, but the film stayed around quite a bit. In fact, it wasn’t discontinued by Kodak until 1999. Are you looking for a company to help you with disc film scanning?

DVD Your Memories is one of the few places left in the country which provides disc scanning services. If you still have cartridges of disc film, bring them on by to convert them to lasting images on DVD or hard drive. We scan disc film in a unique way using our premium Nikon scanners to get the best image possible. We recommend a resolution of 4000dpi due to the fact that these negatives are much smaller than a standard 35mm negative you’re used to seeing.

VHS tapes were never perfect. They often broke, got stuck in the VCR, or didn’t want to rewind. Whatever the problem is, it usually happens the the tape you care most about. If you’ve ever had a VHS tape that wouldn’t play, rewind, or fast forward, you might be able to fix it by manually rewinding your VHS tape. You will need to fix this issue if you ever wanted to do a VHS to DVD transfer, or even watch the tape again. Tapes usually get stuck when one of the reels gets caught on one of the cassette mechanisms, or there is a crease or foreign object blockage in the tape itself. Here’s how to easily unwind a VHS tape.

The first step is to try to manually rewind the cassette. You may notice that the white reels will not turn in either direction. To accomplish this, you’ll need to press something thin like a paper click or pencil into the socket in the back of the VHS tape. There is a small button here that when pressed, will unlock the reels so that they can be turned in either direction. Try turning the reels a few times with either your fingers, or using scissors like I do. Hopefully, the reels will begin to turn and with any luck you’ll be able to see what’s causing the blockage.

If you’re still unable to turn the reels after pressing the button on the back of the tape, you’re likely going to have to open the tape up to take a look inside. This is usually a case of a broken internal mechanism, or foreign object blockage. Unscrew the screws in the back of the cassette to separate the two shells. Check here for a guide on how to do this. Once you separate the tape, try to locate the source of the problem by turning the reels, or lifting them out and inspecting them. If you are experiencing a broken internal mechanism, it’s highly recommended you transfer the tape to a new cassette by following the VHS repair guide.

If there is one common trend this decade, it’s that consumers love new gadgets. From the iPod to in-car GPS devices, we pretty much have everything we could ever want, right at our fingertips. In this new wave of convenience devices, our lifestyles are changing dramatically. Remember how things were before cell phones, GPS and ipods? How did we ever survive? It’s almost like living in the dark ages compared to today! Thankfully, media has kept up remarkably well with the pace of technology and even allows us to place older media such as VHS to iPod! Today’s tiny cell phones and ipods can do the work of several devices, like shooting high quality video and pictures, all from the palm of your hand.

Nowadays, we are constantly using our personal devices like ipods and smart phones to share our memories with family and friends. Out on the go, you don’t always have the luxury of a DVD player or computer at your fingertips, so it can be a challenge to access your media while you’re on the go. Wouldn’t it be handy if you could store your home videos on your hand-held devices?… Good news, you can! Nowadays it’s easier than ever to convert your VHS to iPod? You could theoretically put your entire family history of media, right onto your iPod. Since the iPod is very similar to a computer hard drive, you can upload your media, and store them on a mobile device like an iPod or smart phone.

Many devices are now able to support a wide variety of video formats, but if you have an iPod or other device that is a slightly older model, you may need to convert the video to an MP4 format before it will be ready to be viewed on your device.

To convert the video, all you’ll need is a small, lightweight program called HandBrake. This program will take any video and convert it to iPod format. This is very useful, especially if you’d like to convert a wide range of video formats onto the iPod. As you may have guessed, this method could be used for your old VHS tapes, audio tapes, film and images as well so you can finally get that old VHS to iPod conversion you’ve always dreamed about.

First load up HandBrake, and then you’re going to want to choose your source video. This is where you pick the video you’d like to convert into the iPod format. Click “Source” and then “Video File” from the dropdown. (If you wanted to convert a DVD to iPod, you can alternatively choose a DVD movie from this menu, which will convert a whole DVD to Ipod fomat. Once you locate the video you’d like to convert, you now must choose your settings.

On the right side of the program, there are several preset settings which are useful for this project. If you have a standard iPod, you’d pick the iPod settings. On the other hand, if you have a more advanced device such as an iPhone or iPod Touch, choose the option built for those, as it’s a slightly better resolution. After you choose your settings, simply choose where you’d like to save the file, and then click start. After it’s done encoding you’ll see the finished video in the destination you chose.

Once your media is loaded onto your ipod or mobile device you will have the freedom to take your memories with you on the go, so go ahead and brag about your granddaughters ballet recital and reminisce about the days the kids were young, because now you have those special moments in the palm of your hand. With all the ways to view media today VHS to iPod is probably one of the most convenient, the process may be piece of cake but keeping your memories close to your heart is priceless.

8mm vs Super 8 Film

Different Film Formats

Both 8mm and Super 8 formats of film look really similar at first glance. That makes it hard to determine whether you’ve got your hands on either 8mm or Super8. That’s especially true if you’ve got a collection that contains both types of film. However, spotting the difference and recognizing what you have isn’t too hard, as long as you know what to look for. In future, you’ll be able to easily recognize 8mm vs Super8 after reading this. 16mm should be very easy to recognize, as it’ll be twice the width of both 8mm and Super 8. 35mm is equally easy to spot, as it’ll be four times the width of those, and twice that of 16mm.

The History of Film Formats

The oldest film that was really standardized was 35mm. William Kennedy Dickson, a photographer for Thomas Edison’s company, invented a device that could be used to view film that was 35mm wide. Edison patented and popularized the device, and in so doing standardized 35mm as the film format of the day. 16mm was introduced in 1923 by Kodak to give amateurs an affordable alternative to the expensive 35mm film. Kodak introduced a more affordable still format in 8mm during the Great Depression, for the purposes of making home movies. In the 1960s, Kodak started using cartridge-loaded film in a plastic cylinder to avoid the jamming issues that plagued older formats. With that innovation came the introduction of the even-cheaper Super8 format.

Spotting 8mm vs Super 8

As the above image shows, Super8 film has much smaller sprocket holes. The sprocket holes are the perforations on each side of the film, and they help guide it through the camera from its canister smoothly. If you compare two reels of film and notice one has significantly smaller sprocket holes, that’s Super8. The frames are also much larger on Super8 film, hence the name. In short, to spot the difference between 8mm vs Super 8, look for larger sprocket holes and smaller frames. That’s the 8mm film. If you’ve got film in canisters that happens to contain leader tape, you can just look at the size of the sprocket holes on that, too. That’ll give you the same result. If you think your film might have sound on it, check out our guide about that here.

Any Other Questions?

Our film to digital technicians are very knowledgeable and can answer all your questions about your digital transfer. We’ve been the best film transfer company in Southern California since 2009. We are also one of the few digital transfer companies that clean every inch of your film prior to transferring. This cleaning process using silicone cloths will give you the best digital transfer possible. The older your film is, the more likely it is that it’s got dust on it, so especially for older film, cleaning it is a must. Whether it’s a 35mm film from the 1920s or a Super 8 film from the 70s that’s never left its canister, our process remains the same. Our technicians carefully clean every inch of your film before we transfer any of it. If you want to read more about our preparation process for transferring your film, we’ve documented it here.

Valentine’s Day Slideshow

The new year is upon us and now Valentine’s day is just around the corner. Stumped on gift ideas? Well, it’s 2011 and time to think outside the heart-shaped box! Show your special someone how much you care by creating a Valentine’s Day Slideshow!

Have you considered creating your own special custom slideshow video for your Valentine? Instead of the typical chocolates and roses, why not light the fireplace and pop in a brand new, custom DVD filled with all your memories together. It will make her heart melt!

Don’t forget to add voice-overs to your video to give it an extra personal touch. Not only will it be very special for Valentine’s Day, but your video will be placed on a high-quality 100-year archival DVD complete with a compatibility guarantee, so you will never have to worry about your DVD not working some day.

Our talented editors are full of excellent ideas to make this the best Valentine’s day ever! Check out a quick sample of a Valentine’s Day slideshow that could be staring YOU! Don’t forget that we can create awesome videos like this for ANY occasion!