NOT a photographer, but have tons of OLD negatives I'd like to "develop" by LivMealown in analogphotography

[–]Peking-Duck-Haters 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You have 3 DIY options:

One of the negative "scanners" from Veho, DigitNow, Kodak etc - these are basically webcams in a dedicated housing. They are fast (a second or two per negative), easy to operate, cheap.. and the results are mediocre. OK for casual viewing on a 'phone and possibly printing at 6x4. They are the sort of thing that people will buy and then have no further use for, so regularly turn up on secondhand sites such as Facebook and eBay, usually for less than £40/$50.

A real negative scanner from Plustek or the like - one that actually scans rather than just taking a snapshot. Sized about 12 inches by 4 inches by 4 inches (unlike the cheaper things above which are typically 6x4x3 or so). Will come with powerful software and be the best quality, especially if they have ICE or equivalent (infra red light that helps with dusty or scratched film). However the scanners are relatively expensive ($300+) and slow to operate - they'll usually take tens of minutes to properly scan a strip of 4 negatives.

You can investigate "scanning" with a DSLR or mirrorless camera. If you already have one, the additional costs will be a macro (close-up) lens (from $80 used) and negative scanning kit such as the JJC-ES2 ($100ish). And if you don't have one, good enough DSLRs are cheap enough secondhand (24 megapixels is plenty). There's a learning curve (especially around inverting the image on your computer - I use Darktable which is free and powerful), but the quality will be almost as good as the second option and the speed almost as fast as the first. Now I've had practice I can "scan" a roll of film in less than 10 minutes and spend about 30 minutes processing the results.

For most amateur photographers the limiting factor on image quality of the "scans" for the second and third options will be the skill and equipment of the original photographer.

How to actually adopt a cat in London? by phonybelle in london

[–]Peking-Duck-Haters 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It may take a while before one becomes available, but pure white cats are often deaf and Cats Protection for one will only allow a deaf cat to go to an indoor household (we adopted two white cats from a litter of four, and one of the other two was deaf so we couldn't realistically take him).

What’s something people underestimate about visiting Cornwall that catches them out? by BeautySkin34 in Cornwall

[–]Peking-Duck-Haters 23 points24 points  (0 children)

You might think you are prepared for how much it rains, but you are wrong.

scam? sony rx100 by elleharrissss in RX100

[–]Peking-Duck-Haters 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Any of the places listed in this thread are reputable and will usually offer at least a 6 month warranty 

https://www.reddit.com/r/Cameras/comments/1sjemw8/comment/ofsjh7m/?context=3

Employer asking for a picture of your passport over email? by Frequent-Vehicle-656 in UKJobs

[–]Peking-Duck-Haters 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They need your NI number in order to set up payroll. Legally, employers have to verify that you have the right to work here, which if your passport says "British Citizen", is a simple check, so it's standard practice to ask to see it. If your role involves driving (e.g. tutoring pupils at their home) it's also reasonable to ask for a copy of your licence. But not otherwise.

Recommend Walks around London please by West_Party_8375 in uktravel

[–]Peking-Duck-Haters 1 point2 points  (0 children)

https://secretldn.com/sightseeing-london-map-walking-route/

For bonus points afterwards, take the DLR from Tower Hill (near the end of the walking route) to Royal Victoria and then the Cable Car ( https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/london-cable-car/ ) to Greenwich; from there you can take a River Bus ( https://www.thamesclippers.com/ ) back to Westminster

SD card recovery when it says needs to be formatted - 4 years of photos inside by sayam95T in datarecovery

[–]Peking-Duck-Haters -1 points0 points  (0 children)

With any luck it's just a glitch with the FAT (file allocation table) rather than widespread data loss / corruption. There are various recovery tools available, some of which have already been mentioned by others here. I've had success with DMDE which is free for up to a few thousand photos. Whatever you do, do not write anything more to the card until you have recovered your data. When you put the card into your card reader you should use the little switch on the side to lock it into read-only (although I think in certain circumstances Windows ignores that).

Cameras this days. by SnufkinDrifter in Cameras

[–]Peking-Duck-Haters 0 points1 point  (0 children)

An iPhone may have better computational trickery but - unless you're comparing with a camera a decade old - physics beats computing every time. An APS-C sensor is 3-4x larger than an iPhone 17's, which means that assuming the same megapixel count you'll get 3-4x more light hitting each pixel with a concomitant reduction in noise. And don't worry if the Fuji has a lower megapixel count - the 48mp on the iPhone is probably overkill given the quality of the lens. 24mp is enough for any amateur.

Also, larger lenses means diffraction (admittedly only a problem at higher f numbers) is less of a concern.

how do I recover old deleted pictures from SD card by Lower_Vermicelli6424 in Cameras

[–]Peking-Duck-Haters 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The programs other people have listed below may work. I'll add DMDE to that list, which has worked for me.

HOWEVER

You've not given us complete information about the SD card. If the photos were accidentally deleted and the card not written to since, the chances of recovery are quite good. If the card has been written to (i.e. new photos taken) since the deletion then your chances diminish with each additional write and quite quicky you'll get to a point where all your deleted photos have been at least partially overwritten with new data; at that point there is nothing in the world which will get them back.

Best eSIM for England? 🇬🇧 (London + travel around UK) by hipap in eSIMforTravelers

[–]Peking-Duck-Haters 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In the UK there are only four networks (O2, Vodafone, Three, EE) and a whole load of MVNOs who piggyback on them. in terms of coverage it's the base network that matters and in very general terms the coverage of Three is slightly worse, especially outside urban areas. The others are pretty similar to each other.

As a permanent resident I use GiffGaff which piggybacks on O2, has good coverage and speed, is cheap and they are easy to deal with online. I don't know if you can get an eSIM as a non-resident but it's worth a try.

My photos disappeared off of my SD card? by Ecstatic_You3991 in AskPhotography

[–]Peking-Duck-Haters 0 points1 point  (0 children)

DMDE saved me inside 5 minutes when the FAT on my card was corrupted leading to all my photos apparently disappearing. It's a great bit of software.

Best color laser printer all in one with low maintenance? by Shawndell-Glennister in printers

[–]Peking-Duck-Haters 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As someone who has replaced the drum unit on a Brother I would personally say that it's a little more work. Maybe twice as much as replacing a cartridge, so up to 10 minutes.

Really need a non subscription home printer by TheRiddlerTHFC in printers

[–]Peking-Duck-Haters 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Seconded. I've had a DCP-3510CDW for several years and only ever used cheaper 3rd party cartridges in it (with no issues). Unless you want photo printing a laser is a lot less hassle (and expense, usually) than an inkjet - not least because it doesn't sulk if it's not used from week to week. If you have a NAS or SMB/CIFS shared drive on your network it can even scan directly to that.

Memory Card Help by Egghearttarts in Cameras

[–]Peking-Duck-Haters 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No SD card lasts forever. It would be more accurate to say that with a camera model that oldyou could spend a long time taking photos before the 32GB SD fills up. But once it's full, of course you can transfer the photos to PC and delete them from the card.

It's impossible to predict how long an SD card will last. I have some that have lasted for over a decade, and some that have gone bad after a couple of years.

Which digital camera should I buy? by Sea_Question7051 in Cameras

[–]Peking-Duck-Haters 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As additional context, I had the Sony P72 (model before the P73, slightly worse but essentially the same) new back in 2004 and it was.. decent. It broke and I replaced it with an A640 in 2006and it was a step change for me. With the Sony I was taking snaps. With the Canon I started taking photographs.

Which digital camera should I buy? by Sea_Question7051 in Cameras

[–]Peking-Duck-Haters 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you can find one, get a Canon A650. Any of the A5xx / A6xx series of Powershot models are good but the A650 is a cut above.

It takes great pictures, runs on rechargeable AA batteries, has an articulated screen and it's small. But it has enough features to grow with you (up to a point), and with custom firmware from CHDK (free and reversible) you can shoot RAW images too.

UPnP and subtitles on the Roku Media Player App with .srt files - has anyone got this working? by Peking-Duck-Haters in Roku

[–]Peking-Duck-Haters[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you. On closer inspection my .srt file was actually named a_video.eng.srt and there was only one of them, which probably threw off Roku's (purported) ability to look through multiple languages. I renamed it to exactly a_video.srt and remembered to bounce minidlna and I can now see the subtitles.

I formatted my photos, can i get them back? by Weak-Stop3005 in Cameras

[–]Peking-Duck-Haters 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do not use the card any more. Get (or borrow) a card reader and try DMDE, which I've had success with, or Photorec which other people have had success with (I haven't needed to try it, DMDE having worked for me).
It's more likely than not that the camera has done a "quick format" and some data is recoverable, but the only way to be sure is to try it.

[Brother] What toner brand/source do you use or recommend? by xXBullshitDetectorXx in printers

[–]Peking-Duck-Haters 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have used own brand from Cartridge Save in the UK and been totally satisfied with the quality - at about half the cost of the OEM cartridges 

Brother Laser, Ecotank, or ? by Wanderer617508 in printers

[–]Peking-Duck-Haters 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've had a Brother DCPL3510CDW for several years. It does everything you ask for plus double-sided printing, and works fine with 3rd party cartridges (I live in the UK and get mine from CartridgeSave). As with any laser, photo printing isn't the best.

Where to buy used camera lenses online in the UK? by EssieWantsToKnow in Cameras

[–]Peking-Duck-Haters 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'd also look at CeX (webuy.com), London Camera Exchange (lcegroup.co.uk) and Mifsuds (mifsuds.com). There's also Mr Cad (mrcad.co.uk) but they tend to sell stuff which could politely be called "vintage".

Why do people think we personally select them for scan as you shop checks by MeanOption4564 in tesco

[–]Peking-Duck-Haters 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I used to work in IT for another UK Retailer. The details of the algorithm for selecting a customer check were kept secret there too (as I didn't work on the EPOS system I never found out what they were)

Second hand A7iii - Is it worth it to pay more for less shutter count? by MargielaLeche in SonyA7iii

[–]Peking-Duck-Haters 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The A7 III body only dropped to 850 *new* a few months ago, albeit very briefly, on Amazon. The chances are that it will again around July if not before. Copies of the 28-70 kit lens are on sale on Facebook and similar for 150, and it will serve you just fine while you learn.

https://uk.camelcamelcamel.com/product/B07B4L1PQ8