Fujifilm has launched a service through its Printlife branding called Capture Canada, which offers consumers there the opportunity to digitize prints, film, slides, and videotapes by mailing them in.
It’s an entirely Canadian venture for now and available only to residents in the country. The basics are like this: customers would place an order on the Capture Canada website, where packages and service options can vary by volume, then put the items in a box and send the package over via Canada Post. Staff at Printlife will “work their digital magic” to convert the old photos, film, and slides into digital files, complete with enhancements where necessary to breathe new life into the images without completely altering the photo.
Regardless of the purchased package, the newly digitized files will be sent to the user’s Google Photos library en masse. However, there are also options for physical media, like a USB stick or DVD, which incur an extra cost at checkout. The customer pays for shipping both ways, so Fujifilm advises including a prepaid label in the box to simplify returning the materials Capture worked on.
This is similar to another service Fujifilm already offers aimed at 35mm film and QuickSnap cameras to develop and print them on the company’s photography paper. It continues to operate independently of Capture Canada.
Fujifilm confirmed various details with PetaPixel, including a turnaround time of about two-to-three weeks from the time they receive it and ship it back. Staff will send an email notification when the package arrives in the lab and again when the package is shipped back. The company was non-committal when asked if brick-and-mortar partners might participate in the service in the future to reduce customer shipping costs.
All digitized images will come out as 12-megapixel JPEGs, regardless of whether they’re sent to Google Photos or stored on USB or DVD. There is no option to obtain DNG files or request higher resolution scans now — or if those will ever be offered as alternatives. Google Photos is also standard for delivery, meaning you can still get images sent there if you’ve also opted to buy one of the physical storage mediums.
For prints, Capture Canada can process photos ranging from 2×2 to 8×12 inches. For slides, the formats are 35mm, Super 35mm, 35mm Half Frame, 110, 126, 127, 127 Superslide, and 120/220 medium format. All slides must be in plastic or cardboard mounts. Details are a little murkier for film strips, where a company rep couldn’t confirm whether individual frames in a typical strip of four or five would be treated the same as individual slides. However, Fujifilm recommends sending them in sequence if there is any preference for that, also tied up in bundles of up to 50 with a rubber band.
Capture Canada will also accept video and film formats, including VHS, S-VHS, Betamax, VHS-C, S-VHS-C, Hi-8, Digital8, Video8, DV, DVCAM, MiniDV, and DVC. Videotapes can be in NTSC or PAL formats. Capture will also accept damaged videotapes and repair them as part of the process at no extra charge. It’s the same for damaged tape ribbon and will contact the client in the event a repair involves removing any portion of the footage.
With these video and film formats, staff will produce continuous playback of the footage, with DVD chapters “at natural scene breaks” and a case with thumbnail images of each chapter. There will also be the option to set a title and theme with three one-minute music video trailers that would be easier to share with others online. On top of that, staff will take 80 still image JPEGs from the footage as part of the deal, delivering them to the associated Google Photos account as well.
There is no limit on how much video or film reel will be stored on USB, though there is a limit of 1,600 feet worth of film on one DVD. If an additional DVD or USB stick is necessary, Capture won’t charge for it, though duplicate ones incur a cost. It’s also possible to send your physical storage if you prefer to go that route, so long as it’s large enough to accommodate all the files. It will also clean movie film, splice it onto new 7-inch plastic reels, and return the original reels empty.
It costs $39.99 CAD for up to 50 prints or slides, and it’s not possible to mix them together if you have less than 50 of both. The fee is always separate. For film reels, it starts at $39.99 for 100 feet and 35 cents per foot after that. With videotapes, it’s $39.99 for every two hours’ worth of footage.
Image credits: Fujifilm Capture Canada