Seekerz

Digitizing Camcorder VideosBy Dale E. Lee2024.04.24 This week we’ll discuss digitizing camcorder videos. Hi8, Video8, and Digital8 are all stored on magnetic tape. However, just like any other media, it has a shelf life. Magnetic tapes loose data over time and it’s a good idea to convert it to digital format as soon as practical. A good rule of thumb is to copy your data onto the newest media available every 10 years or so. Magnetically recorded medias tend to loose the magnetic charges over time. Even flash drives should be replaced after 10 years. Camcorders can link their electronic […]

Digitizing BooksBy Dale E. Lee2024.04.17 In the past, I’ve talked about several different digitizing machines. Each machine has it’s pros and cons and each media it is digitizing has its own particular challenges. This week I’ll discuss digitizing books. Books have a unique set of challenges. I recently used a book digitizer which had a collapsible arm that reached out about a foot above a black scanning surface. The scanning surface was black in order to reduce glare and show contrast from the picture that was being taken. The scanner displayed a continuous video feed to a computer of what […]

What Can I Digitize?By Dale E. Lee2024.04.10 If you are curious about all the different types of old media it is possible to convert to digital format, this article is for you. I have visited the Mesa Family History Library several times during the past little while, after realizing they had a lot of equipment I could use to digitize my old records. Having grown up in an era of rapid innovation in picture and voice recording, I found I have many different types of recordings on old media. This presents a problem because each type of media, whether VHS, […]

8mm and Super8 DigitizerBy Dale E. Lee2024.04.02 Many people know that it is possible to digitize photos, but did you know that you can also digitize 8mm and Super 8 film? You can, and I did, at least the Super 8 film. I was, and you may be, concerned about preserving these films, as by now they may be very old and brittle. Even though I tried to be very careful when threading the film into the digitizer and through no fault of the digitizer itself, I broke the film a couple of times in different places. I do not […]

Slide DigitizerBy Dale E. Lee2024.03.27 In prior weeks I’ve discussed some of the equipment that is available to help you digitize your pictures and sound recordings. Over time pictures have taken many different formats: photos, slides, negatives, super-8, camcorder, and etc. So digitizing them can be a challenge unless you have a machine that will digitize the format you used to store the picture. Once the picture or sound recording has been digitized into a common computer format, it will be much simpler to convert to a different format in the future. The conversion can normally be done using software, […]

Fast Scanning of PhotosBy Dale E. Lee2024.03.20 Last week I talked about scanning Photo Negatives. This week I’ll discuss scanning photos themselves. Most people probably know about scanning photos and documents using flat bed scanners. Flat bed scanners allow you to place the photos on the photo bed and align them with the sides of the bed, so they’ll appear straight when the final digital picture appears. However, there is another way to scan photos, that of using a scanner with a hopper. I recently used one of these faster scanners at the Family History Library in Mesa, Arizona. There […]

Digitizing Photo NegativesBy Dale E. Lee2024.03.13 As you review the projects you could potentially undertake to record your own Family History, you’ll find there is a category that encompasses many such projects, that of digitizing documents and photos. If you grew up during the era of digital documents and photos, you may not have to worry about digitizing them, unless of course you want to do it for your ancestors. But if at least part of your life included recording media such as Super-8, camcorders, slides, and photos which needed to be developed with chemicals, you’ll probably want to put […]

Who You AreBy Dale E. Lee © 20222022.06.29 You don’t know who, you truly are,Until you know who, your ancestors were,You don’t know why, you were born where you were,Until you know why, they were placed there,Your parents were born, in their birth place,For many reasons, their parents knew,Though each can choose, a course while alive,Their parents provide, the starting line,And so it goes, back on through time,By passing the baton, to generations next,Knowing who you are, and why you are here,Is not as simple, a task as it appears,Its reasons are buried, back deep in time,Inviting you on, an […]

Tracing the Threads of Time: A Journey Through Family GenealogyBy Davis Jameson2024.02.28 Embarking on the path of genealogical research is akin to setting off on a profound journey through the corridors of time, one that unveils the intricate tapestry of your lineage and uncovers the rich narratives and secrets ensconced within your family’s history. This pursuit transcends the mere collection of data and dates, morphing into a quest to grasp the very essence of your family’s legacy—the triumphs, struggles, and enduring spirit that courses through generations. Brimming with emotion and discovery, this exploration forges a deep, tangible connection with those […]

Family History Numbering SystemsBy Dale E. Lee2021.09.08 Summary: Detail: If you’ve followed The Seekerz’s advice and have requested and collected all the information you can from your family, as well as near and far relatives, you’ll find that you may be getting more information than you expected. One of the most important things in Family History is to organize the information you are given. These days we are given a lot of help in automatically organizing information we put into our desktop utilities and online repositories. But what if Old Aunt Evelyn didn’t have or didn’t use a computer when […]