Before and After: digitizing by hand
Take a look here to see the differences between certificates that have been digitized by a microfilm reader, and the ones that Helen has digitized “by hand.”
At Mass Capture, we think of the work that Helen has been doing as being akin to hand-processing. She has shot each certificate frame by frame and processes them one by one. We want to show you what a difference this kind of attention to detail can make.
Reel 6038
Certificate No 16379 v. Canadiana Image 682
The photographed image has greater detail in the portraits – notice the detail in the brow line and eyes – there is more nuance in the shadows
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Certificate No 16190 v. Canadiana Image 492
Another example of the photograph having more detail – you can make out his right eye in the shadow, whereas with the Canadiana image you can’t.
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Reel 6040
Certificate No 21101 v. Canadiana Image 1
This is a damaged certificate and the image quality is relatively low. You can barely read the information at the bottom. In this instance, having superior quality is very important. We want to get as much detail as possible. Though the image that has been digitized with the camera (on the left) is still in rough shape (because of the original scan), you achieve more detail, which becomes useful when looking at the finer areas
Reel 6049
Certificate No 22946 v. Canadiana Image 48
The photographed one on the left is very sharp and still keeps the integrity of the written notes.
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Certificate No 22923 v. Canadiana Image 25
The certificate is ripped and the original reel has a copy of the certificate ripped in addition to the one that had been fixed. Although Canadiana has not included the ripped one, in terms of analyzing these certificates as visual objects, it is important for us to have both.
Mass Capture 