Making Digital Photographs and Slides Without a Scanner

by

Michael Tobin, M.D., Ph.D.

Introduction

Being able to import images into a computer has a variety of uses and is much in demand. Images already in a digital format present little problem, provided the appropriate software is available to interpret the image file structure. Non-digital images, such as photographs and slides, must first be converted to digital format. This paper explores four methods of making digital images:

1. Seattle FilmWorks (*)
2. Kodak PhotoCD
3. Olympus D-600L digital camera
4. Canon Xapshot camera

SEATTLE FILMWORKS

One of the more intriguing options for digital photography is provided by Seattle FilmWorks, who not only develop film into prints and slides but can also convert these pictures into digital format and distribute them on floppy disks, CD-ROM, or via the Internet.

Initially, Seattle sends two rolls of film and assigns you a customer number that you affix to each roll film when you send it back in the postage-free mailer.

I had previously reviewed Seattle FilmWorks around 1996, at which time photos were distributed exclusively on floppy disks and were highly compressed. I concluded that, while convenient and acceptable for some purposes, image quality was limited. Also, Amiga users had no way of viewing the images directly because they are stored in Seattle FilmWorks proprietary SFW format. I was most interested to find out if the situation had changed.

Seattle's CD-ROM

Seattle FilmWorks can send your digital images on a floppy disk if you wish, but now provide the option of CD-ROM storage at no extra charge. Photos are still stored in Seattle's proprietary SFW format. Seattle FilmWorks does not supply software needed by the Amiga to read these images. However, Andreas Kleinert has ported to the Amiga a UNIX program written by Everett Lipman that can convert SFW files to JPEG format. This program, sfwjpg, can be found on Aminet. Once in JPEG format, photos can be loaded into almost any Amiga image processing or viewing program.

You will find that your images are flipped vertically. Although programs like ADPro and ImageFX can quickly correct this, flipjpeg is included in the sfwjpg.lha archive to perform a lossless, vertical inversion prior to viewing.

Although I found sfwjpg flawless, Everett cautions,

"As far as I am aware, Seattle FilmWorks does not make public the specifications of these formats. The format specifications were deduced by examining a number of .sfw and .pwp files, and may not be entirely accurate. In particular, some .sfw files which were downloaded from the SFW web site were not properly converted to JFIF."

Seattle's Website

Seattle FilmWorks customers can receive their photos before their CD-ROM arrives by visiting Seattle's website, http://www.filmworks.com [no longer available] where they can view and download their pictures. To do this, they need their customer and film roll numbers.

If Seattle's website detects your use of a browser other than Netscape or Microsoft Internet Explorer, it will allow you to download your entire roll of film but will not let you view your photos or download individual images. The way to circumvent this is to make your Amiga browser masquerade ("spoof") as Netscape (i.e., Mozilla). If you use AWeb, the process is as easy as using the "Spoof as" option in Networks Settings. Seattle's website will now be tricked into letting you use AWeb to preview your photos before downloading some or all of them (Figure 1).

Although you can patch IBrowse so that it spoofs as Netscape, AWeb is still a better choice when visiting Seattle FilmWorks' website because AWeb has a JavaScript interpreter, which is needed to take advantage of Seattle's photomail options, whereas IBrowse does not.

Seattle FilmWork's places one more obstacle before Amigans can view their downloaded pictures. Photos are not sent as individual SFW files but rather, are combined first into a single, proprietary, PWP archive. However, thanks to Lipman and Kleinert, individual images can be extracted from the PWP archive and converted transparently to JPEG files by using pwpjpg, which is included in sfwjpg.lha.

Seattle Image Quality and Other Issues

I found the quality of the Amiga-converted images to be excellent (Figure 2). Images have 768x512 pixel resolution and 24 bit color depth and appear identical to those generated on the PC using Seattle FilmWorks' own Photoworks software. Surprisingly, Photoworks allows you to save SFW images in Amiga IFF format. Because there is no intermediate conversion to a JPEG file, IFF images thus produced may be superior for detailed applications.

Seattle FilmWorks is a very cost-effective choice. For a 24 exposure roll, you can get slides and a set of 4x6 prints and an index picture, and all images on a CD-ROM with free Photoworks software, and one month's storage on Seattle's web site, and a new roll of film for $18.35, including standard USPS shipping! You can save even more if you are willing to forgo the prints.

THE KODAK PHOTOCD

If you have slides or negatives that you want to digitize, you can have them scanned at a professional photo lab and then put onto a Kodak PhotoCD. While not every photo lab offers this service, Kodak's website has information to help you find a local facility.

Users of Asimwares' AsimCDFS CD-ROM file system will have no trouble viewing PhotoCD images. On a standard Kodak PhotoCD, each slide or negative is scanned at 192x128, 384x256, 768x512, 1536x1024, and 3072x2048 resolutions. If you opt for a Pro PhotoCD, you can also have a 4096x6144 image, at additional cost.

The detail provided by a Kodak PhotoCD image (3072x2048 pixel resolution and almost 19 MB in size) far surpasses that of Seattle FilmWorks (768x512 pixel resolution, compressed 10:1 and, when converted to a 24 bit IFF file, approximately 1 MB in size).

The higher resolution images provided by Kodak PhotoCDs are not inexpensive. First, you must purchase a PhotoCD master disk, unless you have space on one you already own. Using my local photolab as an example, the total cost for a master disk ($10.95), 24 slides at $2.25/slide, and an index picture at $5.95 is $70.90.

THE OLYMPUS D-600L DIGITAL CAMERA

If you use a digital camera, your photos are already digital and the only issue is how to get them into an Amiga computer. Although there is software on Aminet that supports serial transfer from selected Kodak digital cameras to an Amiga, it is Andreas Gunther and Vesalia Computer who provide Amiga software for a wide variety of digital cameras. This software is available from Eyetech.

I have used Vesalia's CamControl software successfully to transfer digital images from the Olympus D-600L (Figure 3) to the serial port of my Amiga 1200 computer.

Digital camera images are immediately viewable and the quality can be impressive (Figure 4). The pixel resolution of the Olympus D-600L is 1280x1024 with three different levels of compression. Less compression means more image quality but a larger file and fewer images that can be stored on the removable disk.

The initial outlay for digital camera imaging can range from a few hundred dollars to well over one thousand. For this, you get to see your images immediately, with a quality, at the high end, that rivals 35 mm. film. Many digital cameras allow output directly to television or to thermal printers. All allow images to be transferred to a computer for further processing.

THE CANON XAPSHOT

Before the advent of digital photography, analog still video cameras made by Canon were capable of storing 50 individually erasable images on 2-inch removable video disks. Images were viewed by connecting the camera's video output to a television's video input via an AC coupling device. One of the more popular Canon models was the Xapshot (Figure 5).

As with any NTSC video image, Xapshot photos can be digitized and imported into an Amiga by connecting the camera's video output to a frame capture device, such as the GVP IV24 video board. Images, while adequate for some applications, are not of the same quality as those produced by modern digital cameras. For example, on a Xapshot photo of the author, scan lines are visible (Figure 6).

RECOMMENDATIONS

If you have a digital camera, by all means use it. They are great fun and can produce excellent images especially if you own one of the newer megapixel models. Digital cameras are especially appealing now that software exists to help interface them with the Amiga.

If you own a Canon Xapshot camera, you can continue to enjoy it by purchasing re-chargeable BP-4P batteries from Pictech, Inc., who are located in Toronto, Canada (telephone: 416-961-5970, e- mail: imaging@pictech.com. Your level of satisfaction with Xapshot's images will depend on your intended use.

If you don't own a digital camera, I can recommend Seattle FilmWorks to process your 35 mm. film into digital images, especially now that Amiga decoding software is available. Not only are the prices very reasonable, but the images sent on CD-ROM are of higher quality than those previously available only on floppy disk. This is because they are much less compressed (10:1 vs. 30:1). In addition, Seattle FilmWorks can scan already developed slides and prints onto a CD-ROM.

Prior to receiving their CD-ROMS, Amiga users can view and download their photos from Seattle's website by spoofing AWeb as Mozilla. Finally, Seattle's telephone support line is excellent, with knowledgeable and helpful staff, and only a minimal wait for service.

Amigans will find Seattle's 768x512 resolution suitable for many purposes, including Internet and video projects. For applications requiring higher resolution digital images, the corresponding slides can be taken to a local photo lab for scanning onto a Kodak PhotoCD.

ADDENDUM

In the inevitable time between writing an article and having it published, changes can, and do, occur.

Seattle FilmWorks, perhaps recognizing the challenge from digital cameras and PhotoCD's, decided to provide digital pictures in three different pixel resolutions, including high quality 1472 x 984 images. By modifying its .sfw format to account for multiple resolutions, Seattle rendered the original sfwjpg program useless. Fortunately, Everett Lipman and Andreas Kleinert have been able to update sfwjpg appropriately.

There is, of course, no guarantee that Seattle FilmWorks will not once again decide to alter its proprietary format, which is why many in the computer industry insist on open standards.

Fortunately, there are now low cost, alternatives to Seattle FilmWorks whose images adhere to open standards. For example, Kodak offers a "Picture CD" for storing 35 mm camera pictures as 1024 x 1536 pixel resolution .jpeg files. I plan on testing this new product shortly and will be able to provide more information on its suitability for Amiga users at that time.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The author would like to thank Wendell Watanabe, Mike Leavitt, and Keith B. Noble for their suggestions on spoofing with AWeb and to Stephen Leibowitz and Linda E. Ketchum for reviewing this article.

May, 1999

(*) N.B. Since this article was written, Seattle Filmworks has morphed into Photoworks.

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