Quote: I have a question about PhD4. Is it possible to make from only a negative a positive photograph with PhD4?
I have received some very old negatives on a glass plate with the question or I can make normal pictures from it, but I didn't found an option for this and I don't have a dark room anymore.

Hope somebody did this already before and will tell me how to do this.


Theo

The first question that comes to mind is "How are you going to get the glass plate negatives onto your computer? Are you going to scan them in? What scanner? What is the format of the scanned negatives? .
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BoilerPlate: To posters who ask for help -- it is nice to thank the volunteers who try to answer your questions !
Anything I post unless stated with a reference is my personal opinion.

Hello Theo,

Welcome to the PhD forum.

I can't offer any first hand experience, but scanning the glass plate negatives is doable (with the right scanner) - http://digitalunh.wikidot.com/scanning-glass-plate-negatives
http://www.photo-i.co.uk/BB/viewtopic.php?f=34&t=2359
http://images.library.amnh.org/photos/imageworkflow.html

From the little I've read, care with settings & techniques would be critical to success.

Another possibility would be to take the negatives to a photo processing store & have them digitised. Photo Restoration services would be worth looking into, also.

To the question about whether PhotoDirector 4 would be able to process the negative images: There's no facility (I can find) to invert the tone curve, which would typically be how it's done. I may be missing something & I'd be happy to be enlightened.



It's quite easily done in other software. Screen capture shows curve inversion in GIMP. In fact, all you need to do is select Color > Invert.

PIX

PIX YouTube channel

Dear Stevek and PIX,

thanks for the reply on my question, I have really in mind to scan the negatives with my flat bed scanner. I have for this job a Canon Lide 700F this scanner must do it. I got 3 copies of this negatives from them but the quality is very poor and blur, this copies were made by a commercial photo shop. so they gave it up.
I think that it is better to keep the project under my own control, I know it is not easy to work with plates but I will give it a try and I prefer to do it with PhD4.

Anyway thanks for the nice information, I will make some experiment with this and see how far I come. if it not works I can always switch over to other software. I also have to retouch and repair the photographs after scanning while most of them are badly damaged bud this is no problem for me.

Thank you very much for the help.

Theo

I have had Canon flatbed scanners for awhile and I know they can scan 35mm negative film. I would bet you could use your Canon scanner to get those glass negatives digitized and flipped. ~Tom~

Thanks kmot,

I have experience with nagatives but did never glass negatives, I know it needs a lot of preparations before it will work but I know I can do this.
Only I must get it under control, but strange is the solution PIX gave to me is not working by me. I have to ask him again for the details of the software operation.
Now we celibrate the Chinese new year here in Hong Kong and have not much time to study on this problem.

Anyway have a nice day and thanks for the 7nformatio

Theo

Hello Theo,

Perhaps I didn't write it clearly enough. My apologies.

I cannot find a way to invert the tone curve in PhD4, so I think you'd need to process your negatives in other software before importing them into PhD. The screen capture I posted was done in GIMP (freeware) - http://www.gimp.org/

PIX PIX YouTube channel

Hello PIX,

after 4 days celebrating Chinese new year than you are not so fresh anymore in the morning ha ha, and missed your secret weapon.
Now it is fully clear for me and know how to continue with it, on the same way as I did the other negatives before but glass negatives I never did and I had in mind to do it this time with PhD4. Was too focused on this.
Still I don't understand that this option not excised in PhD4 maybe a good idea for a next update.

Anyway thanks for all the help on glass negatives and patience.

Theo

I looked at that Canon scanner and got mixed information. When you bought it, did it have the film scanner accessories? If not, it is a document scanner and will not scan negatives. The issue is that the scanner is designed to work with reflected light from the document to a receiver near the traveling lights. With the glass negatives, the light passes through the negative and then reflects from part of the negative and from parts of the white upper plate.

Film scanners have light from the top shining through to the receiver on the bottom. There is no double reflection. I don't believe that what you have has that top light function. If you have the film scanner accessory, then that either has a light or has some other way of not getting the double reflection.

Here is the US, we could probably rent a film scanner for a couple of days. I'm not sure that is true for where you are. If you are in a business and will sometimes scan film negatives, you should consider buying a film scanner.

Have you considered trying to put a black background behind the glass negatives and then taking a photograph of the negative? That may be better than what you have if you don't have a film scanner. Once you have the image, something like the free GIMP may be able to reverse it. I'm never tried this. .
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BoilerPlate: To posters who ask for help -- it is nice to thank the volunteers who try to answer your questions !
Anything I post unless stated with a reference is my personal opinion.

Hello Stevek,

Yes my scanner is complete with film scanner, I used it many times for negatives but never on glass. Later in a other software
I reversed it that was working very good up till now.
To rent a scanner is here not possible and it is not for a couple of days that is the problem, my cotumer has many of this negatives
And willl them all repaired that takes month, later this pics comes in een exhibition.
Hij gave me some copies but are useless and very poor quality. But we see how it all goes

Theo

Quote: Hello Stevek,

Yes my scanner is complete with film scanner, I used it many times for negatives but never on glass. Later in a other software
I reversed it that was working very good up till now.
To rent a scanner is here not possible and it is not for a couple of days that is the problem, my cotumer has many of this negatives
And willl them all repaired that takes month, later this pics comes in een exhibition.
Hij gave me some copies but are useless and very poor quality. But we see how it all goes

Theo

I cannot see how that film scanner works. Is it a box smaller than the full size of the scanner plate? How is it made? Is there a light source on the top cover of the scanner without the film scanner in place? .
.
BoilerPlate: To posters who ask for help -- it is nice to thank the volunteers who try to answer your questions !
Anything I post unless stated with a reference is my personal opinion.

There's software out there (Photomizer Scan 2) that can do this, but I don't see any ability to do it in Photodirector 4. Win8 64-bit Pro Retail
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