Our High Resolution Digital Capture using our Digital Heritage DT Atom large format digital camera system is better than drum scan. Our digitization system produces drum scan quality in a fraction of the time, at a fraction of the price, and without the risk of damage to delicate film and originals. We can make this claim because we ran a test. The examples in this post show the same black & white negative reproduced by drum scan and by our digitization system. These are straight reproductions, just as they would be delivered with only the image inversion performed.

From the samples shown here, it is obvious that there is no qualitative difference between the two. This is amazing in that our High Resolution Digital Capture is 1/5 to 1/10 the price of most drum scans and it takes only 1/60 of a second, allowing for hundreds of high resolution captures to be executed in a day. To produce a similar drum scan the film is taped to a drum and coated with a specialized fluid. The drum scanner then rotates at high speed as it digitally records the image. The drum scanning process is not only expensive put introduces a variety of factors that could lead to damage of the original film. The Library of Congress does not consider drum scanning as an acceptable archiving solution because of the inherent dangers. Value, speed and safety makes our high resolution digital capture better than drum scans and the best way to digitize your valuable film and negatives.

To see how our system works follow this link to a video of the process.