OVER 2 YOU 232 (24/05/05)

DIGITAL TO FILM

My local history group has an archive of digital images but our finances do not run to purchasing a digital system for projecting images on to a screen for presentations to large groups. We do have a 35mm projector however, so does anybody know of a way to convert digital images into colour transparencies or can recommend a company that can do this?

Geoff Sadler, via email

I can thoroughly recommend a company based in Worksop called Micro-Quiz who specialize in 35mm slide services. I have used them on several occasions to convert my digitally manipulated images into 35mm slides. They charge from £1.15 for a plastic mounted slide and can work from most image formats. Their website is user friendly, as is their personal response to telephone enquiries. The slides are usually returned within two days. Their website address is: www.micro-quiz.co.uk

Mike Jones, via email

The following company did an excellent job of transferring some of my digital photographs onto slides. Cavendish Photography, 2, Tumbling Hill, Pontefract WF8 3SA (01977 702356)

They claim the equivalent of 44 million pixels. Ring for more info.

Geoff Green, via email

Fotopic.net have just introduced such a service, though as I have not yet tried it myself I cannot say what sort of quality the results are. It sounds quite expensive at £2.30 per slide but could still be cheaper than a digital projector! Go to: http://shop.fotopic.net/product3600.html from where you can upload the files and order slides online.

Geoff Plumb, via email

I remember that several years ago Polaroid produced a dedicated slide printer, which attached to the computer by serial cable but these were quite expensive and I have not seen one for years. Maybe there will be a few knocking around on the Internet, possibly on ebay. If newer ones are still available from Polaroid they would probably be a lot dearer than a video projector, which can now be bought for less than £500. A friend also claims that he has printed pictures onto overhead projection film, using the highest resolution of his printer and then cut the 24 x 36mm images from the sheet and mounted them in conventional slide mounts. I haven't tried this but it might be worth a go.

Bryan Scott, via email

It can be done professionally at Jessops and other photo dealers but it is expensive. I got round this by photographing full flat screen monitor images with an ordinary 35mm SLR camera with zoom lens and a close-up attachment. It is essential that the camera has shutter speed priority and through the lens metering. The lens should be stopped down between f8 to f11 to produce a shutter speed of around one second but no more. It must never be faster than one tenth second. A tripod is essential and the camera lens was around 70cm from the monitor screen. You will have to experiment with the factors mentioned to conform to your lens capabilities and monitor size.

I used 100ASA colour slide film processed by the manufacturers so you can easily calculate the cost for 36 slides. Do allow for errors since it is very annoying to see the mouse pointer in the projected frame (and this will happen). Finally have your first cassette developed asap to ensure that the results are what you require when projected on screen.

John Pergande (79 year old digital photographic enthusiast), via email

BOWLING CLIPART

I have recently joined the management committee of our local bowling club (lawn and short mat) and I am looking to acquire a collection of Clip Art to use for notices, newsletters etc.

I have spent considerable time "Googling" but always seem to find mentions of 10-pin bowling. Can anybody suggest a source of suitable (preferably free) Clip Art that pertains to the English game?

Ian Perry, via email

Your correspondent might want to look at our bowls club website: www.wpbconline.co.uk.

John Tilsiter, via email

Ian Perry can find the images he needs by going to Google Images and searching for "lawn bowls" (including apostrophes). I got 2000 hits, most of which were club photos, which he could possibly adapt, but there are plenty of good clipart images there as well.

Malcolm Youd, via email

In my Home Views Collection, the only exclusively British collection of clip art, there are 4 for bowls, but I must charge £10 for the CD with the whole collection (many more very useful pictures of our other sports and everything else). For further details: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/rt.allen/hv/index.html

R T Allen, via email

CAN YOU HELP?

My elderly mother now has very restricted movement of her hands, preventing her from enjoying many of her past hobbies, such as embroidery. Can anyone recommend computer games, appropriate to her age, that require little hand movement, which she could play on a laptop PC?

Jon Warren

My wife and I have recently moved to a new house with a largish garden that probably contains well over 100 different and varied shrubs and conifers. We would like to get them named (we know someone who will do this for us) and then map them out professionally on a sheet no larger than A3. Can anyone suggest a way of doing this on our home computer?

Ric Toovey, via email