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07/06/2004 04:47:48 PM · #1 |
I have lots and lots of very nice slides I took back in my youth, but I was wondering about their shelf life. Do they fade or become less saturated over time?
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07/06/2004 05:07:48 PM · #2 |
Originally posted by dsidwell:
I have lots and lots of very nice slides I took back in my youth, but I was wondering about their shelf life. Do they fade or become less saturated over time? |
I too have a lot David, in my shed at the moment.
Have a quick read of this.
//www.photographicage.com/content/issues/volume_01/issue_03/feature_1.htm?results=feature_txt_1.htm
Paul.
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07/06/2004 05:33:51 PM · #3 |
I have my grandfather's slides that he took starting in the 1950's and they are still in good shape. They are always kept in the case and out of direct light, unless I'm working with them.
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07/06/2004 05:55:38 PM · #4 |
| If you ever notice a vinegar smell around your slides or negatives, be careful. I lost ALL of my father's movies --- some dating back to the early 1930's --- because of improper storage. They became very brittle and could not be saved. Do a google on "vinegar effect" to find out more. He shot Kodachrome and later Ektachrome 8mm movies. This effect seems to carry over to other items stored with the older stuff and, in my case, ruined some movies I had taken in the late 1960's. |
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07/06/2004 06:39:20 PM · #5 |
We should also ask the question, "What is the shelf life of a digital photograph?"
Why? Because there are two threats to a digital photo. The first is the aging and deterioration of the media. The second is the aging and obsolescence of the software through which we access the photo. Images today tend to be stored in JPG, PNG or TIFF formats. What happens when these formats are replaced with newer ones and the old formats can't be read by then current software? The image will be just as "lost" as if the media had deteriorated.
Think back to spreadsheets stored in Visicalc format. They are lost forever because Excel and such won't read visicalc formatted data. The same will inevitably be true of JPG, PNG and TIFF. Only question is, "When?" |
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07/06/2004 09:18:55 PM · #6 |
I have been working on scanning my Dad's collection of over 40 years of family photos, all on slides. Some of the earliest, from the early 1950's, seem to have faded, however the vast majority are in perfect condition.
It's interesting, I've got 5500 photos from the past year, while my Dad had about 3200 slides from 40 years.
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07/06/2004 09:45:02 PM · #7 |
| A Nikon Coolscan V ED can extend that shelf life virtually indefinitely and even restore fading. JPEGs are so pervasive that any format of the near future will have to be backwards compatible, and there will be conversion tools available for decades. |
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07/06/2004 09:53:56 PM · #8 |
Even if the jpeg format were replaced, newer software would have converting ability. Then, whatever the next format is, that software can convert the previous version, etc. Just don't let your jpgs sit around for 100 years. If jpg goes away, just keep everything current. No problem.
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07/07/2004 12:49:29 AM · #9 |
Very helpful, all. Thanks! Interesting info about .jpg, too.
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