Photography Query

nelson_b

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Hi -

My neighbour has some (50+) year old family film and some type of negatives that belonged to her sister, that she has just asked my advice about ...

i have no Photography knowledge at all so i,m posting on here to see if anyone can advise ...

she would like to be able to view the content ... can these be made into digital images in some way .. to be put on disc to view on a P.C or laptop ... or just made into prints, if not digital images ?

Being so old i thought they may need specialised processing .. any ideas anyone ?
pics of the items below ...

1.webp 2.webp 3.webp 4.webp 5.webp
 
Piccy 4 & 5 are roll films that are " Exposed " but not developed to negatives/positives yet.

You might get in touch with a lab/service that scans negative film to digital format for the others.

Good luck
 
While no expert on this, I do believe you would need to seek specialist help.
I think you may be able to find somewhere to send them off to, and they can convert the prints to digital.
 
Thanks for the replies "skomedal" and "st1" ... i will pass on what you have told me regarding these ..
As there is no hurry with this .. i will also await further replies and see if anyone knows of a reliable lab service company that could deal with either or both of these items ...
 
You might even try the photo service in a local supermarket such as TESCO which often has Max Spielmann outlets (MS is/was also a specialist processor), but you can also find some specialist processors at the backs of magazines such as Amateur Photographer (available in most supermarkets and W H Smiths).

I think the rolls of film are the very old "620" size, not the still-available "120" size, but the films of both are the same width and so any processor that can handle 120 might also be able to deal with 62o films. The bigger problem might be the Verichrome emulsion for which the relevant correct chemicals are probably not still available - some processors might be prepared to attempt to process that but- particularly given how old the films are - with no guarantee of the results (e.g. whether the colours would be correct!), or that anything could even be salvaged at all.

OTOH, most specialists should be able to scan the already-processed negatives to a disc.

Whatever can be done, unfortunately, it will not be cheap.
 
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Thanks "jeallen01" for all the useful info .. i will pass on your advice to my neighbour :)
 
Piccy 4 & 5 are verichrome as oppossed to vericolour, this denotes they are slide/positive films requiring the appropriate development process eg Kodak films required E6 for slides and C41 for negs, other manufacturers ( ie Agfa ) had different names for these development processes.

"" Slide film is commonly referred to as “E-6” because of the development process consists of 6 baths which includes developer, stop and fixer. While less common, color negatives are referred to as C-41 and uses a chromogenic color print film developing process. ""

E6 Slide Film vs C-41Color Negative Film | The Darkroom

When I ran my own photo service I could scan both of these film formats in all film sizes and covert to either piccy or digital format.

Good luck

Correction

Its a B&W film

Kodak Verichrome Pan
  • Launch Date: 1956
  • Discontinued: 1995? (127 format), 1970's (120 format)
  • Suggested Replacement: Kodak Professional T-MAX 100 Film/100TMX KODAK PROFESSIONAL PLUS-X 125 Film / 125PX. For more information, see KODAK Publications F-4016, KODAK PROFESSIONAL T-MAX Films, and F-4018, KODAK PROFESSIONAL PLUS-X 125 Film, available from www.kodak.com/go/bwfilms
  • Type: panchromatic (B&W)
  • Speed: Medium Speed (EI 125)(Early 620: EI 80 Daylight, 60 Tungsten, as printed on film leader paper along with exposure settings advice).
  • Available formats: 120, 127, 116, 126, 616, 110, 620, 8" x 5 feet for Cirkut cameras
  • Granularity: Diffuse rms Granularity 9 Extremely fine- Read at a net diffuse density of 1.0, using a 48-micrometre aperture, 12X magnification.
  • Latitude: Wide
  • Resolving power: Good
  • History: KODAK VERICHROME PAN Film was a panchromatic replacement for KODAK VERICHROME film, which was orthochromatic.
  • Film Characteristics: KODAK VERICHROME Pan (VP) Film is a medium-speed (EI 125) panchromatic film that features extremely fine grain. Its excellent gradation and wide exposure latitude make it a good choice for general-purpose applications. This film has characteristics similar to those of KODAK PLUS-X Pan Professional Film, but does not have retouching surfaces.
  • Primary usage: General Purpose

List of discontinued photographic films - Wikipedia
 
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Some 10 or so years ago I used special scanner (do not remember where did I borrow it) to scan all my negative films to digitalize them. Same scanner was also able to digitalize positive films. Scanning took some time but result was OK, at least memories are saved.
 
Interesting link - @skomedal thanks .... all new knowledge to me ...
Pity you are not still running you photo service, there could have been a little job here for you :)
 
Did a quick search on processing Verichrome (there is also a "Verichrome Pan" as mentioned in this thread, but "your" rolls are marked "Verichrome") and this showed up - might be a good idea to pass this on because some of the developing chemicals mentioned are (at least historically!) well-known and that might assist in getting someone to process it.

PS: from the post in that link and what skomedal just posted about it, that film would appear to be a normal "black & white" "negative" film and not a "slide"/"reversal" film.
 
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The 35mm negatives can be scanned into a PC. USB scanners are available from 'that' auction site for around £30 (or less).

The roll films are, as stated, black & white and that was a standard process way back when. You can still get all the necessary - developing tank, developer and fixer from the same place. However, in view of the age of the undeveloped films, you maybe should speak to a specialist
 
The 35mm negatives can be scanned into a PC. USB scanners are available from 'that' auction site for around £30 (or less).
A note of caution! Film that old will likely be very brittle and might well crack when you try to unwind it for scanning (it has to be pretty flat- so it will probably also need professional attention!
 
A note of caution! Film that old will likely be very brittle and might well crack when you try to unwind it for scanning (it has to be pretty flat- so it will probably also need professional attention!


Agree

But needs developing before scanning
 
Agree

But needs developing before scanning

Was only thinking of the already-developed 35mm film strips - the undeveloped 620 (or whatever) film will (hopefully!) get softened during development, but that will be too big to scan in one of the cheap scanners referenced because most, if not all, will only take 35mm film.
 
the undeveloped 620 (or whatever) film will (hopefully!) get softened during development, but that will be too big to scan in one of the cheap scanners referenced because most, if not all, will only take 35mm film.


Re post #7 all film types in all formats.

Proff photo and digital lab workshop, before I had an unforeseen/unfortunate stroke:-toiletSh1t happens
 
Re the roll films; once they have been developed, it may be possible to obtain what's best described a slide copier, which will hold the film in position close to a digital camera so that you can shine light through it and photograph the negative (and then turn it into a positive on the PC), hence, capturing it in that way.

Cameras using that size of film were capable of taking 8, 12 or 16 photos on one roll, so unless you have the camera, you won't know which until it's processed.
 
Re the roll films; once they have been developed, it may be possible to obtain what's best described a slide copier, which will hold the film in position close to a digital camera so that you can shine light through it and photograph the negative (and then turn it into a positive on the PC), hence, capturing it in that way.

Cameras using that size of film were capable of taking 8, 12 or 16 photos on one roll, so unless you have the camera, you won't know which until it's processed.
Agree, but, as I said, the film still needs to be flattened to scan it - and the additional cost (and effort) of the copying rig (and they are often difficult to find) to fit an appropriate camera (that too!) might outweigh any additional cost of getting the negs scanned by whomsoever can be found to develop the films!
 
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