Slide Filing/Numbering

kodachrome64 · Jun 17, 2008

Hello,

I am just getting into slide shooting and after getting quite a few rolls piled up, it is apparent that I will need a filing system. I like to project but I want to keep the slides in archival plastic sheets which I already have. I am also creating a database in MS Access for keeping track of the slides. My question is regarding assigning unique numbers to each slide. How do all of you APUGers do this with your slides and/or negatives? I do not want to sort my slides by subject, so that is out of the question. I see no reason not to just store by the roll...I just want to consider all the factors before committing to a scheme.

My current thought is:

S1-0001-01

S for slide (or N for neg), 1 for format (1=35mm, 2=4x5, etc), 0001 as a roll ID, 01 for frame number.

What do you think?

Nick

MattKing · Jun 17, 2008

Nick:

1) are you planning on limiting yourself to just 9999 rolls - 4 digits might do that;
2) dates are very useful;
3) while you may not want to sort by subject, you may appreciate having the ability to record some subject information in the database.

Hope this helps.

Matt

jbbooks · Jun 17, 2008

I would strongly recommend that you use a system that provides date and subject information noted on or with the slide in a way that insures that, if you are the person who has the slide, you will at least have that information without recourse to any other source.

marsbars · Jun 17, 2008

I will have to agree that dates are a good thing to add. I do sort by subject for the most part. Just makes it easier to find. However, I shoot a good deal of slides and I follow a rule of ruthlessly editing. So out of 36 exposures I might only have 1/2 that I am willing to file as keepers so that really makes my sorting and storage a lot easier. Negatives is another issue but I still don't file all of them. Once you start to get a large amount of keepers in your files having some subject info will help.

kodachrome64 · Jun 17, 2008

I agree that a date will be a good thing to add. I still do not wish to file by subject; it does not really suit my shooting style. Someday I may want to do that, but now it would be more of a hassle than it's worth. I will record detailed subject information, film information, etc. in the database. Keep the suggestions coming!

Thanks,
Nick

Jim Jones · Jun 18, 2008

Nick, I have maybe 20,000 Kodachromes from the past 55 years filed in your system without the indicator for type and format. A catalog briefly describing each roll lets me find any particular slide if it's still in the right order. Computerizing the catalog would speed searching up. When I stopped shooting slides the month and year were lab printed on the slide mount.

kodachrome64 · Jun 19, 2008

Yes, slides are still stamped with the month and date. It is true that the ID number given to each slide really doesn't need to contain any information about the slide except what's necessary to find it.

George Collier · Jun 19, 2008

I do this with Filemaker Pro (much easier to use, but you already have Access). I have hundreds of records, and several books of negs, all B&W, 3 formats.
The thing to remember is that since it is a database, you can search at any time by any attribute (field), so it doesn't matter how they are organized in physical books, since you can sort and find any way you want in the dbase.
You just have to be sure to have enough searching fields, as suggested by others in the thread.
I start out with one record being a roll of film, then as individual frames emerge as important images, those frames become their own record, copying the first (roll) record, and adding the frame number, etc.
I would do at least date, type of film, subject (specific, like rock, sister Jane, etc.) and general (like nature, family, etc).
I have development info (very specific) and even printing "recipes", including burn and dodge info.
It seems like a lot of work, but it's much faster than looking for negs. I also have a check box for stuff that needs to be printed, so I can do a quick search for these before a darkroom session.

kodachrome64 · Jun 19, 2008

George Collier said:
I do this with Filemaker Pro (much easier to use, but you already have Access). I have hundreds of records, and several books of negs, all B&W, 3 formats.
The thing to remember is that since it is a database, you can search at any time by any attribute (field), so it doesn't matter how they are organized in physical books, since you can sort and find any way you want in the dbase.
You just have to be sure to have enough searching fields, as suggested by others in the thread.
I start out with one record being a roll of film, then as individual frames emerge as important images, those frames become their own record, copying the first (roll) record, and adding the frame number, etc.
I would do at least date, type of film, subject (specific, like rock, sister Jane, etc.) and general (like nature, family, etc).
I have development info (very specific) and even printing "recipes", including burn and dodge info.
It seems like a lot of work, but it's much faster than looking for negs. I also have a check box for stuff that needs to be printed, so I can do a quick search for these before a darkroom session.

Thanks for sharing your experience. Access isn't the easiest program to use for this but I work with dbases daily so it's no biggie.

Surely every photog on here must have a system...at least I hope so! Keep the suggestions coming.

Thanks,
Nick

hansutrecht · Jun 20, 2008

In this modern world DBs can contain non-textural records as well. As I scan my every film/dia the thumbnails are an excelent item to put it into the DB. Gives you pictorial feedback immediately. (I really don't know Access is capable storing these pictures... there are DBs who can acomodate).
Hans.

Bob F. · Jun 20, 2008

As already suggested, access to the the data will be by query so you can sort and display on any field you like as long as it is in the database.

Each neg/slide will need a unique identifier but that can just as easily be an auto-incrementing identity field, or a combination of date, roll number and frame number to comprise the primary key. Obviously, you need to have a number on the slide so possibly use an identity field and write it on as you enter the slide/neg into the database. Alternately use the date+rollnumber+framenumber but that will take up much more room than a simple identity number so is perhaps more useful for negatives in their sleeves (using date+rollnumber).

Fields such as: IdNo (an auto-increment identity field), Date, RollNumber, FrameNumber, Subject (perhaps selected from a constrained selection), Location, FilmType (slide, colour neg, b&w), Thumbnail, FilmMake (Velvia, FP4 etc) immediately spring to mind.

If you have any programming experience, think about using Visual Studio 2008 Express and SQL Server Express free from MS, but Access gives you good query and display resources out of the box and can talk to SQL Server if the data gets too big for Access.

I've not bothered as I don't have that many negs: a few ring-binders does me!

Have fun, Bob.

JOSarff · Jun 20, 2008

I use the year, then the type neg or chrome, then a number. 08-n-123 That way your not limited to 9999 as Matt remarked. BTW, this is for each image.

kodachrome64 · Jun 20, 2008

I doubt I will outgrow Access! Although if I do, I have SQL anyway.

Slide Filing/Numbering

Moderator

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency