FAQ

How long will it take?
Under normal circumstances, most orders are usually completed within 10 working days from the date we receive your parcel, but larger orders may take additional time. Please contact us if you have a specific timeline in mind. Current completion date is 25 working days.(Updated 23 December 2024)

How do I get my order to you?
Please use a secure NZ Post or courier service to ship your order directly to us.
Or, if you are local, you can drop off your order at our address in Nelson.

Can I provide you with a USB or external drive?
Yes you can. Please make sure that your USB or external hard drive has enough space to hold your transferred files. Minimum of 8GB recommended. Please see USB size guideline table.  We are also able to provide you with a USB or external hard drive for an additional fee.

Do you outsource orders overseas or to other providers?
No. Photofriend is a quality service provided by White Cloud Creative Limited – A 100% New Zealand family owned and operated company. All orders are processed locally at our secure location. We never ship your order overseas, or outsource it to another company.

How do I send my material to you?
Send your carefully packaged material to:

PHOTOFRIEND,
6 Huntaway Close,
Stoke, 
Nelson 7011

How do I pay?
You only need to pay once your order has been completed and you have received our invoice by email or text. Payment is required on presentation of the invoice.
Note: We will dispatch or deliver your order once payment has been received.

Payment method

• By direct internet banking (our preferred option)
• By credit card – PayPal, VISA or Mastercard (on request). Credit card fee applies.

VIDEO TRANSFERS

How private are the video transfers?
We always respect your privacy, as we do our own. We will never share your files with anyone. Only our technicians will view portions of your material to ensure we get the best quality. We keep a copy of your files for 25 days after completion, in case any changes are required, after which we delete your files forever.

We recommend that you copy all the converted  files on the supplied USB stick to your computer as soon as you receive it back from us.

Are you able to create custom videos of special occasions?
Yes we can. We can create custom videos, slideshows and presentations from your supplied material to suit any special occasion. We use Adobe Premier Pro and other professional editing software to edit your video files. Please contact us for pricing.

Can you transfer my tapes in order if I label them?
If so requested, your video tapes will be converted in order. If you want them transferred onto a USB or external hard drive, we will create a file name with the same title as your tape for easy navigation and editing on your computer.

Can you transfer my video to files so I can use it on my computer?
Yes, we can convert your video to MP4,  MOV files for Mac and or AVI files for PC for easy editing.

We can also convert video files to the following formats:
MP4, Apple Videos(MOV, M4V, QT for iTunes/Quicktime), ProRes, HD Video(1080p, 4k, H.265), AVI, WMV, ASF, SWF, FLV, F4V, DVD, H.264, MKV, 3GP, 3G2, MPG, MPEG-1, 2, 4, WebM, DivX, Xvid, DV, Web Video & 3D Video, for Youtube and Facebook.

Will the quality of my transferred video be as good, or better, than the original tape?
Video tapes deteriorate every day, some more than others, and some are beyond recovery. We can only transfer the tape in its present condition, however we can improve the quality to some extent – we can clean the tape if it’s moulded and adjust brightness, colour, contrast and sharpness if needed. We do not compress any video or use cheap USB conversion and transfer devices – all our transfers are done with high quality equipment at maximum resolution. You will get the best possible image quality the tape will allow us to extract from it. We will notify you if your video tape has deteriorated beyond recovery, before we attempt a transfer.

Can I watch my transferred video on my computer or TV if it is on a USB stick?
Absolutely, we transfer videos to USB in an MP4 format that PCs, Macs, streaming devices and all modern TVs and SMART TVs with a USB port can play perfectly. Please copy all the converted  files on the supplied USB stick to your computer as soon as you receive it back from us to prevent the loss of files in the event the USB stick gets damaged.

I have a lot of video tapes. Can I get a better rate?
Yes you can. We offer discounts for bulk orders. Please call us to discuss your order.

8MM AND SUPER 8 FILM REELS

The method

We use the frame-by-frame digital scanning process and not the old projection method. After we have cleaned the film, our professional HD digital film scanner scans each individual frame, extracting the maximum detail, contrast and colour. It is then further edited with professional video editing software to enhance the video quality. It is then transferred to your choice of USB or DVD.

How can I let you know what titles I want, if I don’t know what’s on my films?

We can create a 1 – 2 minute clip that you can view via an email link. We will scan and convert the whole film and take various small excerpts.  There will be a small watermark which we would remove on the final version. The cost for this service would be an extra $15.00 + GST

My film is broken. Can you fix it?

We can fix broken films with splices, and we can repair badly spliced or faulty original splices. This service is included in the price. However, if there are multiple unprofessional splices we will charge $8.00 + GST per extra splice.

Do you splice together smaller films to make a larger one?

No, we don’t provide this service. We sometimes find that this has been attempted with sellotape or similar. If we find a film like this, with such splices, we will charge $8.00 + GST per extra splice as there is a lot of work involved with re-splicing.

Do you transfer films with sound? I think my films have sound, but I’m not sure.

We can transfer Super 8 films with sound, but not standard 8mm films. Super 8 films have small sprockets (holes) and will have a noticeable orange strip on the opposite edge to the sprockets.

If you are still not sure we will let you know as soon as we’ve inspected your films.

Converting sound is a completely separate process to converting the rest of the film. It is extracted using a sound projector in real time. The digitalised files are then synchronised with the converted video files at the final editing stage. The cost for transferring sound is $10.00 + GST per 50ft of film.

My films look dirty. Can you clean them?

Yes, we clean all the films before we put them into our scanning machines. Sometimes there is embedded dirt which we can’t remove as it could damage the film, however, we still may be able to get a very good quality image. If they are extremely dirty, heavily moulded or have badly deteriorated, we may not be able to clean them fully without damaging the film. If this is the case we would contact you to discuss it.

Film deterioration

The most common deterioration of 8mm film is the lost of colour dye. Either Cyan or Magenta, extreme graininess, colour fading, excessive contrast and mould. And in some cases “Vinegar syndrome”. We do our best to extract the maximum quality possible from the film in its current state.

SLIDES, NEGATIVES AND PHOTOS

Why wouldn’t I scan the photos myself?
Of course you could scan your photos and slides yourself. However, you would need an excellent scanner, a 20mp (or more) digital camera with all the necessary attachments, and the latest image scanning technology. You would also need a solid knowledge of photographic principals and image manipulation skills in Photoshop or equivalent software. It would take weeks, if not months, and it could be very expensive if you don’t know all the pitfalls involved. You also stand the risk of damaging, scratching and leaving marks on your negatives or slides – why not just sit back, relax and let us take care of all that?

What does DPI or PPI mean?
DPI: Is dots per inch. That is the number of dots in a printed inch. The more dots, the higher the quality of the print with noticeably more sharpness and detail. PPI: Is pixels per inch. Also commonly used to describe the pixel density of a computer monitor, smart phone and tablet screen. But it can also refer to the pixel density of a digital image. We use 2400dpi for all slides but can scan to 4000dpi or even higher if requested at an extra cost per scan as it takes substantially longer.

Can you create a custom slideshow of my slides or photos?
Yes we can. Just let us know your requirements.

What do you do to my slides and photos during scanning?
Our photo and slide scanning service includes standard cleaning, dust removal, photo rotation, and basic editing in Photoshop where needed. We can scan your photos and slides in a particular order upon your request.

My 35mm slides are stored in carousels, is that a problem?
Not at all! There is no extra charge for sending us your slides in carousels (80/100/140 trays).

What if my photos are in albums and not loose?
No problem. We will remove the photos from your album, if not stuck permanently, and scan them in that exact same order for an additional fee of $0.25 per photo. We will scan or digitally re-photograph photos that cannot be removed from the album individually for an additional fee of $0.50 per photo.

If you have any other questions not mentioned here please contact us with the contact form, or call us on 03 546 4148 or 021 055 3102