Tech tip: Convert your old film negatives into digital photos

January 6, 2022

By Kim Komando

Preserving old photos, films and videos is an art form in and of its own. If you stumble upon a cache of old film negatives, you may start to research the best preservation methods. If so, prepare to be blown away by what you find.

Resources on the internet will point you towards all sorts of expensive tools for getting the job done, like fancy mounts, scanning masks, light tables, costly cameras and more. Tap or click here for Kim’s tips on buying good cameras and other photography gear.

Good news: Kim has a tip for converting old film negatives to save you time and money. She whipped out this trick when a listener named James asked for help scanning old 35mm negatives from 1975 to 2003. Here’s what she told him to do and how you can use these tips in the future.

First, get a high-quality scanner

If you don’t have a fancy camera at your disposal, a scanner gets the job done efficiently. When James asked Kim which device would work best, she pointed him toward the Epson Perfection V600 Scanner. This gadget does a great job of enhancing old films.

The Epson scanner can enlarge images without compromising quality. It doesn’t need time to warm up, so you can start scanning in a jiffy. There are a ton of other features it has that are specifically designed to help while you’re digitizing old physical colors, papers, film and more.

Its one-touch restoration of faded color is one of many features that make the job a breeze. Not only that, but this scanner can even remove the appearance of dust, scratches, tears and creases. That means no matter how busted up your old photos are, they can still get a second life with this high-quality scanner.

Prints, negatives and slides fit into this scanner, including 35mm film strips. It even comes with a convenient resizable preview window so you can see how you’re doing throughout the process. When it comes to gadgets that restore old media, you’d be hard-pressed to find something better.

That’s because this device does more than scan and digitize your film negatives. It also comes with software that helps organize your collection. So if you’re working on an enormous project with thousands of slides, Epson’s scanner software can help you keep track of everything.

Now that you scanned everything, you need to find a good storage space

Your next order of business is to find a secure home for everything you just went to the trouble of scanning. Don’t lose all of your hard work; use a hard drive. If you don’t have one, invest in one now so that even if your computer goes kaput, your photos are still secured.

We recommend Western Digital’s portable external hard drive. It’s plug-in ready, so you can start transferring files immediately. So if you’re looking for a reliable drive that works straight out of the box, this is the perfect device for you.

This portable hard drive comes with 5TB of storage space. No matter how enormous your photo collection is, it can fit on this easy-to-use device. It has automatic backup features and encryption and password protection features that put your security first.

Getting a hard drive is an excellent way to get peace of mind. By coming up with a backup plan, you’re making sure that you keep these digitized copies of family moments even if your computer crashes.

Don’t relax yet, though. Your photo collection could be in danger

This option protects you against digital threats — but don’t forget about all the physical threats looming out there. A physical hard drive could get damaged in case of a natural disaster. Floods, tornados or even freezing cold temperatures are notorious for damaging all sorts of devices.

Don’t forget about theft. We’re not just talking about sticky-fingered bandits taking off with the purse or backpack you’re carrying your hard drive in. You also need to be careful if you bring your physical drive on the go.

For instance, carjacking is a huge issue nowadays. If you leave your drive in your parked car’s glove compartment, it could be long gone by the time you return. Tap or click here for six ways to keep your car safe from thieves.

Heck, even if you keep your drive in a safe at home, it still could be in danger. Burglars might break into your home while you’re away and snatch away the drive with all of the photos you worked to back up. Tap or click here for nine simple ways to protect your home from burglars.

Here’s a safe, secure way to store your stuff

One of the best ways to back up your photos is using an online cloud backup service. Come rain or shine, sleet or snow, everything you back up is impenetrable with this option.

Storms can’t hit the digital cloud and sticky fingers can’t reach the sky, so use it to securely back up your data across a wide range of devices. You can think of it as a one-stop solution to what can be a multifaceted and often complex process.

We may receive a commission when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.