Jason Dunn
12-07-2009, 03:00 PM
<p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/dht/auto/1257993972.usr1.jpg" style="border: #d2d2bb 1px solid;" /></p><p>One of my favourite photo-related newsletters, <a href="http://www.photojojo.com" target="_blank">Photojojo</a>, had an interesting offer a few weeks ago: <a href="http://www.scancafe.com" target="_blank">ScanCafe</a>, a scanning service, was offering a free <a href="http://www.scancafe.com/services/photo-restoration" target="_blank">photo restoration</a>. I decided I'd take them up on the offer, sending in a very beat-up photo of my grandfather. I'd restored a copy of this photo myself, so I was going to compare ScanCafe's work to my own. See the results after the break. <MORE /></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/dht/auto/1257797839.usr1.jpg" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" /></p><p><em>Figure 1: The source image. Small tears, lots of crinkles and wrinkles, and yellowed with age. Quite a challenge!</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/dht/auto/1257797858.usr1.jpg" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" /></p><p><em>Figure 2: This was my attempt at restoration back in 2008. To allow a normal sized print, I cropped it heavily. I'd say this took me about an hour of solid cloning and touch-up work - I'm by no means an expert at photo restoration, but I thought I did a pretty good job...until I saw the job that ScanCafe did (below).</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/dht/auto/1257797881.usr1.jpg" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" /></p><p><em>Figure 3: The ScanCafe photo restoration.</em></p><p>As you can see, there's no contest between my photo restoration job and that of ScanCafe. They did a great job repairing the damage to the original photo, and did a nice shift to B&W which, for whatever reason, I never thought of doing. Best of all, if they'd charged me for this service, it would have only cost $5.95. In my books, that's very reasonable. They offer a free estimate - rates start at $6.95 for a restoration and movie up from there, presumably if it's a more complex job. Why did they tell me it would have cost me $5.95 instead of $6.95? I have no idea. If you have an old, damaged photo that you'd like to see restored, give ScanCafe a try - I know I'll definitely be going back to them in the future with other images in need of repair.</p><p><em>Jason Dunn owns and operates <a href="http://www.thoughtsmedia.com/" target="_blank">Thoughts Media Inc.</a>, a company dedicated to creating the best in online communities. He enjoys <a href="http://photos.jasondunn.com/" target="_blank">photography</a>, mobile devices, <a href="http://www.jasondunn.com/" target="_blank">blogging</a>, digital media content creation/editing, and pretty much all technology. He lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada with his lovely wife, and his sometimes obedient dog. His big toe hurts a bit right now.</em></p><p><em></em><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com//ppct/auto/1240336793.usr1.gif" /></p><p><strong>Do you enjoy using new hardware, <a class="iAs" href="http://www.digitalhomethoughts.com/news/show/96085/delkin-s-sd-to-cf-adaptor-it-works-like-it-should.html" target="_blank">software</a> and accessories, then sharing your experience with others? Then join us on the <a href="http://www.thoughtsmedia.com/reviewteam.php" target="_blank">Thoughts Media Review Team</a>! We're looking for individuals who find it fun to test new gear and give their honest opinions about the experience. It's a volunteer role with some great perks. Interested? <a href="http://www.thoughtsmedia.com/reviewteam.php" target="_blank">Then click here for more information.</a></strong></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com//ppct/auto/1240336793.usr1.gif" /></p><p> </p>