greg_miller10

<p>Generally the work we do is proprietary but I don't mind sharing this one because it's a headache to do and don't expect by sharing that anyone is going to go out and set themselves up a disc scanning business.<br>

We use an epson V750 with a custom laser cut metal carrier that holds several discs at once. The carrier is critical because it is necessary to hold the disc in precisely the same place on the flatbed with each new scan so that the action that we've created in photoshop to cut the the images out does not give us frame lines and the carrier needs to hold the negatives a precise distance off of the glass because focus is so critical with these little images. Also careful sharpening and degraining is critical to getting a good scan out of these little negatives.</p>

<p>I won't say it's a very lucrative business because it's not...that said though at the prices we charge it is worth while given the amount of work that's involved and how much messing around we needed to do get this up and going in a reliable and consistent manner.</p>

<p>All the best<br>

Greg Miller<br>

Film Rescue International</p>

<p>Thank you for your understanding Tom.</p>

<p>I certainly do feel for the fellow keeping an e-6 process going. People often don't realize how difficult process control is when dealing with small amounts of film and with E-6 it couldn't be more important. We deal with it by sticking with one shot developer in a rotary tube processor. While perhaps not entirely necessary and process control is not paramount with what we do (what works well for one film will not be entirely perfect for another in the exact same packaging due to variability in how the film was stored) it does allow us to keep reliable track of trends. That is how a given film is generally responding in a given process. In two of our processes we also need to kill our developer with concentrated stop before draining so one shot is the only option. So yes...this needs to be built into the price.</p>

<p>Greg Miller</p>

<p>Thank you Michael and Roger</p>

<p>Michael...I hope you got back some wonderful pictures with whoever you sent it too.</p>

<p>Roger...Though based in North America approximately 20% of our work is from overseas. The world is smaller all of the time and we encourage our oversees customers to send us an e-mail with a phone number and a good time to call their time. Proper consultations are so much easier over the phone. Should you decide to shoot some of that old stock in your freezer let us know what it is...if it's been frozen since new you probably don't need us.</p>

<p>Thanks all<br>

Greg</p>

<p>There are so many companies out there now doing this type of work. Some are very good and some are very bad. Unless you have a very solid referral I would highly recommend you do a test reel before handing over the works. There are some questions you can ask though.</p>

<p>At the heart of a telecine transfer unit is the video camera that is used to capture the image. This with the exception of a flying spot scanner which doesn't really use a "camera" per say. You can ask them what they are using for a camera. In the past the conventional wisdom was that a 3 chip unit was better then a single chip. I think this still stands to some degree though the single chip units have improved a great deal. If you have a choice between a CCD sensor camera or a CMOS sensor camera the CMOS seem to be better for capturing highlights and shadows on contrasty film without burning highlights or blocking shadows. If you come across someone using an Elmo Trans video unit, quickly turn the other way and run. These were state of the art in the early 80s. Video has come a long way since then.</p>

<p>You can also ask if the transfer is fully attended. A lot of place just grind out the transfers and pay little attention to what is going on on the screen. So much of getting a good transfer is having a good attendent.</p>

<p>Cleaning and color correction are also things you might want to ask about.</p>

<p>You will hear a lot of people talking about frame by frame units and how they are superior. They are but just barely. The camera and the person doing the transfer is far more important. With the frame by frame unit you don't get shared frames on your dvd as you do with a realtime unit. That is if you go slow motion and look at the video frame by frame, shared means that some of those frames you will see one frame superimposed underneith the next frame. Once you hit play the effect is completely gone.</p>

<p>Lastly....Everything is going to HD like it or not...the manufactures will be pushing this through completely eventually. You might want to wait a couple of years. While there are some doing HD transfers it's a little bit buggy still and quite expensive. This will change. If you have great looking film then HD does definitely look better then SD. If the film is not really sharp then it simply has sharper grain an no more detail. I still perfer it but just.</p>

<p>All the best<br>

Greg Miller<br>

Film Rescue International</p>

<p>Film over time looses its sensitivity to light - fortunately for you especially Kodachrome.</p>

<p>One completely bizzarre phenomenon that we've seen is vintage kodachrome having completely lost its sensitivity too light while still maintaining the latent image. With our motion picture processor the films must be loaded into magazines. From that magazine about 4 inches of film sticks out into full light. Time and time again that tab of film still has the originally exposed images on them - completely uneffected by light.</p>

<p>This complete loss of sensitivity to light is most often seen primarily on older Kodachrome then yours which is only about 35 to 45 years old though yours will likely have some of the same characteristic. I don't think the opening of the camera as you describe it will have had much of an effect. Regardless...depending who you use to process it, there will be no charge if it is blank.</p>

<p>cheers</p>

<p> </p>

<p>If you can't afford distilled water then water filtered via reverse osmosis is virtually as good. This is readly available in 5 gallon jugs at a much lower price then distilled. I have concerns that your boiling and charcoal filtering is still going to leave a good deal of suspended solids in your water but if your negs dry clean without putting a squeegee to them it's probably fine.</p>

<p>I don't think I'd use the fixer, though it might work...it's a bit of a more complex chemical and no point in having to wash that out of your negative again (do wash after of course regardless)...if you don't have stop then use vinegar as Bob Sunley has suggested. Might take a bit longer but will do the same job.</p>

<p>Truly Tom...thanks so much for your support but I need to correct you. Your assumption is entirely forgivable and it is one most everyone makes.</p>

<p>Oh what I'd give for some downtime! The reason that the cost is higher than a c-41 lab is that the C-41 lab has a processor filled with chemical ready to go at a moments notice because volume allows for this. In this environment a drip replenishment system can be used to keep the chemical fresh. Depending on your processing unit you need about 15 to 20 rolls a day to keep chemical fresh. We have, including motion picture, 10 processes that we need to cycle through. None have that kind of volume let alone the number of seperate units that would be needed. Because of this we must batch our work, preparing and running one process then the next - that is labor intensive. It also explains the wait.</p>

<p>People imagine us to be a one or two person operation working out of a home perhaps. We are currently 7 (and could use a couple of more) operating on two floors of a vintage bank building.</p>

<p>I was reluctant to correct you because the support is truly appreciated but the point of my post was to help people to understand who we are.</p>

<p>thanks again<br>

Greg Miller</p><div></div>

<p>It's hard to say just what that is but if it's from drying poorly after a thorough wash in water it's likely a calcium deposit. Calcium comes off with acid. I sometimes I use concentrated stop bath to quickly remove calcuim deposits from my taps. Beats the heck out of CLR but does require a bit of special handling. I'd experiment with a stronger then normal stop bath solution and let the neg soak a while in it...start with maybe 10 minutes and then give it a look. You may have to use a bit of gentle rubbing with a q-tip or a kim-wipe but do be careful and try to let the acid bath do it's work before getting too touchy feely with your negative. When you're done give it a good long wash and then dunk it in photoflow mixed with distilled water. Distilled water is the trick to getting negs to dry consistently clean without having to squeege. DON"T do them all at once. Make sure your approach is good on a single unimportant strip. Hope that is some help.</p>

<p>Hello and thanks to those who gave us referrals and especially to Nicholas who actual had our information correct but I think what this person is asking for is scanning and/or reprinting. </p>

<p>We do this work but at the same time because it is not at all automated it is expensive. With the volume that Florence is talking about she would be at our maximum discount of 2.55 for scan only or 2.85 for scan and print. We do a great job of these including spotting and even some localized corrections but a lot of people don't need this or want to pay for it. </p>

<p>If you send it to Walmart as Larry has suggested a lot of it will ultimately end up at Dwaynes. That's a good thing...Dwaynes is a reputable company and the price is very reasonable and I actually think you pay less through Walmart then sending it direct....I'm not sure of that though. I'm pretty sure that Dwaynes will only do reprints on disc, 110, 126, 135, aps, and 620/120. I don't think they handle the quite common vintage 127 format. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong on that.</p>

<p>The other option, if you have the time and inclination is to purchase your own scanner and do it yourself. There's a significant learning curve but it is a good option for those that want it.</p>

<p>Anyway...we do this work but are also very happy to refer people to a less expensive service option if we are aware of one. I don't think you'll get what we do for less anywhere but often what we do is not at all needed.</p>

<p>If anyone out there is aware of any company doing inexpensive machine prints of formats such as 127, 116, 616 I'd like to hear about it.</p>

<p>Hope this helps<br>

Greg Miller<br>

Film Rescue International</p>

<p>I'm going to do a small amount of shameless self promotion here as it seems that there is a good deal of misinformation in various news groups regarding our service. Here are some common conceptions that I do not find accurate. Most have some truth but are not the complete story.<br /> Professional vintage film processing is very expensive.</p>

<p>I guess it depends on what an individual calls expensive but I do feel our price is now approach bare bones for the effort that is put into it. Depending what you have our prices range from 12.00 (disc film) to 21.00 dollars (36 exp 35mm). This gets the film processed, scanned, a quick digital fix-up and upload for preview. Once you have the preview you can order what you want at 65 cents per image copied to cd or printed. There are also further restoration options but in most cases these are not necessary. If an order is placed within a week of the customer getting their preview there is a 20% discount to that portion of the order. On the negative but necessary side if an order is placed there is 8 dollars shipping and handling.</p>

<p>Professional vintage film processing is very slow to get back</p>

<p>Well there is some truth to this. Our turn around time ranges from 3 weeks to 8 weeks to get the on-line preview of your images from the time we receive it. There is a reason for this. Unlike a normal photo finisher that has one or maybe two processes under its roof we have 10. This creates the demand to work in batches. First cycling through the processes before moving on to scanning and transferring in the case of motion picture. We would love to speed this up but have found that very difficult.</p>

<p>You will pay regardless of the results</p>

<p>With vintage still film processing if there is nothing on a customers film then there is no charge. Our success in salvaging something from properly exposed vintage film, all film types and vintages included is nearly 95% so guaranteeing is not a problem. We do currently have a couple of exceptions with Triple print cassette film (excluding ones with magenta/pink text) and GAF cassette films. That said we have a new process for these that has greatly increased our success but it renders an unstable negative that must be scanned within a couple of days of processing. It fades to nothing in a couple of months. I think we will soon also be guaranteeing these too.</p>

<p>Why send it off when you can do it yourself in B&W</p>

<p>There is some truth in this too. Some vintage films do still respond well in conventional B&W developer but many do not. I would encourage someone who is mildly curious of what is on their film or someone who has recently shot some not to important pictures on a vintage film to go ahead and try some of the formulas that are offered on these news groups. Keep in mind though that we have the experience of thousands of rolls of film and keep careful track of how a given film is responding in a given process. Not only do we not get paid if we don't salvage something but we actually give a damn about these lost and found treasures. I have not yet seen a formula here that is greatly similar to what we do and there is no catch all process. One film of a certain type and format does not necessarily react the same as another and different processes are necessary and you can only make this decision by having the advantage of a huge amount of past experience.</p>

<p>I'm sorry if anyone feels that this is not appropriate here but it can be frustrating reading the post in regards to old film development. We love this work and really do want to be doing it right.</p>

<p>all the best<br /> Greg Miller<br /> Film Rescue International</p>

<p>Ha...I'm not sure if I like to be compared to being similar to Rocky Mountain but I do appreciate the plug regardless. I'm going to do a small amount of shameless self promotion here as it seems that there is a good deal of misinformation in various news groups regarding our service. Here are some common conceptions that I do not find accurate. Most have some truth but are not the complete story.</p>

<p>Professional vintage film processing is very expensive.</p>

<p>I guess it depends on what an individual calls expensive but I do feel our price is now approach bare bones for the effort that is put into it. Depending what you have our prices range from 12.00 (disc film) to 21.00 dollars (36 exp 35mm). This gets the film processed, scanned, a quick digital fix-up and upload for preview. Once you have the preview you can order what you want at 65 cents per image copied to cd or printed. There are also further restoration options but in most cases these are not necessary.</p>

<p>Professional vintage film processing is very slow to get back</p>

<p>Well there is some truth to this. Our turn around time ranges from 3 weeks to 8 weeks to get the on-line preview of your images from the time we receive it. There is a reason for this. Unlike a normal photo finisher that has one or maybe two processes under its roof we have 10. This creates the demand to work in batches. First cycling through the processes before moving on to scanning and transferring in the case of motion picture. We would love to speed this up but have found that very difficult.</p>

<p>You will pay regardless of the results</p>

<p>True we do charge something for motion picture that does not turn out as the effort in keeping this going is huge but for still film no. If there is nothing on a customers still film then there is no charge. Our success in salvaging something from properly exposed vintage film, all film types and vintages included is nearly 95% so guaranteeing is not a problem. We do currently have a couple of exceptions with Triple print cassette film (excluding ones with magenta/pink text) and GAF cassette films. That said we have a new process for these that has greatly increased our success but it renders an unstable negative that must be scanned within a couple of days of processing. It fades to nothing in a couple of months. I think we will soon also be guaranteeing these too.</p>

<p>Why send it off when you can do it yourself in B&W</p>

<p>There is some truth in this too. Some vintage films do still respond well in conventional B&W developer but many do not. I would encourage someone who is mildly curious of what is on their film or someone who has recently shot some not to important pictures on a vintage film to go ahead and try some of the formulas that are offered on these news groups. Keep in mind though that we have the experience of thousands of rolls of film and keep careful track of how a given film is responding in a given process. Not only do we not get paid if we don't salvage something but we actually give a damn about these lost and found treasures. I have not yet seen a formula here that is greatly similar to what we do and there is no catch all process. One film of a certain type and format does not necessarily react the same as another and different processes are necessary and you can only make this decision by having the advantage of a huge amount of past experience.</p>

<p>I'm sorry if anyone feels that this is not appropriate here but it can be frustrating reading the post in regards to old film development. We love this work and really do want to be doing it right.</p>

<p>all the best<br /> Greg Miller<br /> Film Rescue International</p>

<p> </p>

<p>If you have not sent these films out yet we are very happy to give you a phone consultation as to what is the best approach. We do our very best to give an honest opinion and steer you to a provider that will best serve you given the film type and format. We do not simply say that our services are need. In many cases with newer film we are not necessary but so much depends on storage and the type of film that you have. For instance 12o film or any roll film has a much longer undeveloped shelf life then anything in a cassette such as 35mm or 110. As a rule of thumb cassette film newer then 10 to 15 years old in normal room temperature storage conditions is generally ok to have developed locally and if there is problems they can be dealt with in post editing. The exception to this is 110 which has trended very poorly in comparison to its 35mm counterpart. We feel this is due to the design of the cartridge allowing a quicker exchange of air into the cartridge over time thus increasing the effects of oxidization.</p>

<p>If you like. Call 1 800 329 8988 and ask for me. Make sure you have film in hand. We will need information from the labels.</p>

<p>All the best<br>

Greg Miller<br>

Film Rescue International</p>

<p>Hello Martin</p>

<p>I didn't know you were still out there. We'll put you back into our rolodex.<br>

Thanks for the plug</p>

<p>cheers<br>

Greg Miller<br>

Film Rescue International</p>

<p>ps...martin is cheaper then us.</p>

<p>For the record...Film Rescue now charges 12 dollars to process, scan, do a quick digital fix-up and upload for customer preview. From the preview the customer can then pick and choose the images that they want for 65 cents each to be copied to cd or printed. If there is no image there is no charge. Shipping and handling of 8 dollars applies if an order is placed for images.</p>

<p>Sorry...I need to update a previous post I'd put here.</p>

<p>All the best</p>

In some small defense of RMFL and perhaps some comfort to customers who feel that they will never receive their film back, I do think that one day your films will eventually arrive back in your hands. RMFL is a very lucrative business and have a referral network that our company (Film Rescue) could only dream of. I don't see them falling off the map anytime soon.

Check you camera manual to find out what your fastest flash sync speed is and don't exceed that. What's happening is that in order for your camera to have available as fast as shutter speeds as it does is to move a slot of light over the surface of the film. The faster the shutter speed the narrower the slot. What creates this slot is the shutter curtain in your camera. At slower speeds the one curtain will fully open light to the sensor or film before the second curtain or rear curtain begins moving across to close the shutter and block of the light to the sensor or film. It's these slower speeds that you need in order to not have the black portions of the image that you are seeing. You will be safe at 1/60th of a second but most new cameras will flash sync and faster shutter speeds. Good luck with it.

 

cheers

 

Greg Miller

 

Film Rescue International

M.....yes.....I mistakenly wrote it backwards.

Hello Mendel.

 

If you were not removing your old film from the mount then you likely have dirt soaking out from between the two halves of the mount leaching onto the surface of the film. Also...there are coatings, a type of lacquer, on old Kodachrome (if it was Kodachrome) film. This can be disturbed in a rewash and create a bit of a mess. Sorry...I can only speculate. I'm not sure how you rewash film and end up with it being dirtier then when you started beyond the obvious (dirty environment). It has never been my experience.

 

With new film there is little to no risk of your emulsion having become water soluble..... regardless...you're right...it doesn't hurt to test a couple.

 

cheers

 

Greg Miller

You really have to wonder what the provider was thinking even to take in such work when they're not capable of doing a proper job. I can't image that they'd be able to get rich off of sensor cleaning and it hardly seems worth the risk to attempt it for a customer. Cleaning a sensor properly, I could only image, would be a daunting task. I'm not expert but just how do you clean a tiny plastic surface completely of all dirt. Even a spec of dust less then a micron (one millionth of a meter) will cover a pixel or two. I really can't believe that this is a job that should be attempted without a proper positive pressure clean room. I just had a students sensor cleaned. My local camera store knew enough not to attempt it themselves. The camera was sent to Nikon to be cleaned properly. A headache but worth the time. Came back spotless. I agree with Evan. Don't attempt to clean it yourself and demand it's properly cleaned or replaced by those that screwed it up so badly.....and from your sample...if they did that...that's screwed up pretty bad.

To me it looks like the coatings are toast. I'm siding with Allison.

 

cheers

 

Greg

Oh...one other thought. If the dirt is of such a nature that it can penetrate into the emulsion of the film there may be nothing you can do to possibly remove it. This is possible if the slides where Kodachromes and the dirt was from the carbon rem-jet backing that is part of Kodachrome film. Once the this backing has dried onto (or into) the emulsion side of the film it is impossible to completely remove. Like trying to remove an ingredient accidentally added into a baking recipe. Can't be done.

It sounds to me like the slides are dirtier then what your little pec pads can handle. First course of action that I'd try is to get yourself a box of Kimwipes made by Kimberly Clark. You can often find them in an art supply shop. What they are is large lint free wipes...pretty much identical to lens paper but at a fraction of the price. Also by yourself a bottle of 99 percent isopropyl alcohol at your local drug store. Perhaps not as effect a film cleaner as your Pec solution but very effective none the less. In the 90s shortly after film cleaners containing fluoral carbons were band and there was very little to replace it isopropyl alcohol was recommended by Kodak as a film cleaner. It will require a longer drying time but that shouldn't be an issue for your purposes. You may now clean away without worry of expense. But all that said you still must be careful not to distress your slides by handling them too much and will still likely end up with a build up of dirt in the corners where the slide meets the mount.

 

If you're more ambitious you may attempt a full rewash. You will need to remove the slides from the mounts and purchase a small bottle of E6 stabilizer or final rinse along with a jug or two of distilled water, three trays, a wire stretched between two points, as many paper clips as you have images, a box of q-tips and a tweezers. Mix your stabilizer with the distilled water and pour it into the three trays. You will use the three trays for cleaning the film moving from one bath to the next (each bath being cleaner then the last). In the first and perhaps the second bath use a q-tip to gently remove the grime from the surface. Save the final bath for a final rinse without rubbing with the q-tip. Then hang each piece of film from a bent paper clip from the wire or string stretched between two points. Having used distilled water when mixing your rinsing solution (also functions as a wetting agent) you can expect the slides to dry spot free. Oh...the tweezers are for handling your film between baths but be careful to handle only the rebate of the film (the edges not the picture area) You will then need to remount the slides.

 

Of the two methods I believe the second will be the most satisfactory but also the far more work. Good luck with it

 

 

Cheers

 

Greg Miller

 

Film Rescue International

Developers of old film.

Nord has a great suggestion but alternately you could mix the two mystery fixes together and use them as your second fix and mix fresh for your first fix. Perhaps better safe then sorry.

 

cheers

 

Greg Miller

 

Film Rescue International.

What does the tab look like....the piece that gets fully exposed that sticks out of the cassette. Compare the density to previously processed identical rolls. If it's thin or thinner then you likely have a lab problem. If not then the issue is likely your own. Good luck with it

 

All the best

 

Greg Miller

 

Film Rescue International.

Cassette film is notoriously prone to age fogging due to the loose wrap of the film inside of the cassette. Even with our extended experience and extreme processes for this type of film the success rates are sadly and frustratingly very low. Approximately 60 percent of the mentioned film of this vintage will we recover recognizable images. Good luck with it.

 

cheers

 

Greg Miller

 

Film Rescue International