At the beginning of 2023 we embarked on a task to digitise our entire analogue library. The formats are predominantly 35mm slide and negative film. We also inherited some very old glass plates of the local area which date back to the late 1800’s as well as hundreds of old family prints of all sizes, the original negatives long since lost. So what we have before us is a motley collection of varying formats that immediately narrowed down the search for a scanner that could handle the diverse task.
Here at PhotoArk we tend not to upgrade our computer equipment very often and any upgrades tend to be out of necessity and not simply taking advantage of the latest technology. Our oldest MacBook Pro has been with us ten years and recently replaced with one of the new line of M3 MacBooks.
The past few years have seen a massive leap in mobile technology with devices getting smaller, more powerful and lasting longer on a single charge. But when considering a mobile device for photography out in the field there is one niggling question; how small is too small?
Our photo editing has long been taken care of by Apple products, the current machine being a Mac Mini plugged into a 27inch Thunderbolt display. This combination provides us with an incredibly fast image throughput with beautifully accurate colours. Recently we felt the need to add portable devices that retained this level of accuracy and speed, so began a long evaluation process of the myriad of tablet and laptop devices currently on the market.