Subject: Re: [MER] Reading fiches
Hi Lizzie,
I have the same problem with no room for a big fiche reader here.
I tried a 2400 dpi scanner a couple of years ago and found I could almost
read the tiny names. I could for some of them, especially familiar ones.
I reckoned, at the time, that a 4800 dpi scanner might do quite well, when
they brought one out.
Well they did that last year at about $599 Canadian.
I just saw one two weeks ago for $200 US in a 'big-box' store in Bellingham.
In the meantime I borrowed a Nikon 4800 digital camera, which can focus on
objects as close as 1 cm away.
At that distance, one microfiche 'page-image' fills the whole field of view
and you can definitely read the names.
I found the difficulty was illuminating the fiche sufficiently and lining
it all up properly to focus evenly all across.
With an appropriate fiche-holder and backlighting, it would be easy.
But you'd still have the trouble of changing the view for each 'page-image'.
Maybe a 4800 dpi scanner for $200 would be easier & quicker to use.
cheers, Tony
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Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2005 15:34:14 +1000
From: aspenlea <aspenlea(a)uq.net.au>
Subject: [MER] Reading fiches
X-Mailing-List: <WLS-MERIONETHSHIRE-L(a)rootsweb.com> archive/latest/2586
Not having a fiche reader, I wondered if there was any way of using a
computer and scanner to read them? Has anyone tried this?
Lizzie
Brisbane, Australia
FHS: Gwynedd #2991