Low quality images

OmarBudesca

Hi again!

I've noticed that the digital images for some microfilms are of unusually low quality. Specifically, this is very noticeable on film 1328740 (starting at Item 3) and film 1328441 (Items 8-10).

It seems to be an issue with the digital files rather than the original microfilms, as the file sizes and image dimensions are much smaller than comparable films from the same town and time period.

Could this be an upload error where a lower-resolution version or thumbnail was accidentally published? Or are these the only digital copies available, meaning the films would need to be re-digitized to improve the quality? (though I've read microfilms can't be re-scanned)

Thanks for your help!

sc woz

@OmarBudesca I will send it up the line and see if we can get you an answer.

David Alan Webber

@OmarBudesca Could you link more examples? The one link you gave seems pretty ok, but I only lightly perused the images.

OmarBudesca

https://community.familysearch.org/en/discussion/comment/623205#Comment_623205

I don't have many additional examples offhand, as this issue doesn't appear frequently in the records I usually work with, but I can provide a comparison.

The records in question are not entirely unreadable, but they are noticeably blurry. Here is one of the affected images (this particular microfilm is locked), shown at 200% zoom:

For comparison, here is another record from the same town and time period (but marriages, a different book and microfilm altogether), shown at 125% zoom:

As you can see, even though the first image is displayed at a higher zoom level, it still appears smaller and significantly less sharp than the second. The difference in overall resolution is quite noticeable.

To clarify, the first image is not illegible, but the entire volume is considerably harder to read unless you are already accustomed to this type of record.

If this is simply the quality of the original images and nothing can be improved, that's perfectly fine. I just wanted to confirm whether this might be the result of an upload issue or a similar problem.

sc woz

@OmarBudesca I am sorry you are having trouble seeing some of the images. I reviewed a large number of the images that you provided and they are clear and legible.

Are you seeing this blurriness across everything on your screen, or just within FamilySearch. Are you using Chrome, FireFox or Edge? Have you tried switching browsers, do you get a different result?

Some possible fixes.

Non-Native Resolution: Every monitor has a "native" resolution where it is sharpest. If your computer is set to a different resolution, it must interpolate pixels, which causes a soft or fuzzy look.

• Fix: Go to Display Settings and select the resolution labeled "Recommended".

Web Browser Settings: If you have accidentally zoomed in on a webpage (e.g., to 110% or more), the browser upscales the images, making them lose their sharpness.

• Press Ctrl + 0 (Cmd + 0 on Mac) to reset your browser zoom to 100%

OmarBudesca

https://community.familysearch.org/en/discussion/comment/626844#Comment_626844

Just to clarify, the images aren't blurry; they are simply low-resolution. If you download them and compare them to others, the file size is considerably smaller. They are still legible, just noticeably lower in resolution.

I'm positive this isn't an issue with my browser or PC. For example, looking at the book covers:

• 1328441 Item 8: 1401 x 1044
• 1328450 Item 9: 3474 x 2479

This size discrepancy happens with all the images, not just the ones I pointed out.

Does this check out on your end, or are both images roughly the same size for you? I suspect this might be a downscaling error that occurred when the images I have were downloaded years ago. Since viewing restrictions prevent me from checking the original microfilm online, I only have these older downloads to go by.

EDIT: Upon checking one of the other microfilms, I can see the same issue happening. Image 416 (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-D4X9-TY1), for example, along with the others in the book is also low-resolution. Once again, this does not make the pages ilegible, but they're significantly harder to read.

Tornado14b

@OmarBudesca thank you for providing specific examples and details on the resolution. I reviewed and tested the images you referenced and did observe some minor differences in file size between the images. However, the differences did not appear significant, and I was not able to identify the large discrepancy in resolution you observed. With this being the case I'm not able to submit a request for rescanning at this time.

I really appreciate the detail you provided in reporting this. Please feel free to share additional examples for review if you continue to encounter this issue.

OmarBudesca

https://community.familysearch.org/en/discussion/comment/626879#Comment_626879

Thank you for your answer.

Just to be clear, does this mean that you see the images I cited in a different size that I do? In other words, if you download 1328441 Item 8 book cover image, does it have different dimensions and file size than mine? (1401 x 1044, 119 KB)

As opposed to 1328450 Item 9 book cover image, which is 3474 x 2479 and 899 KB?

I'm asking just to be sure we're seeing the same thing. Look at the difference in quality between marriages:

And baptisms:

https://www.familysearch.org/en/search/film/004444250 and https://www.familysearch.org/en/search/film/004444142 have the same problem, and I'd argue the difference is significant if you compare them to other microfilms like https://www.familysearch.org/en/search/film/004444393 or https://www.familysearch.org/en/search/film/004444101.

I'd appreciate if you could confirm this with me, and confirm whether this is simply a matter of the quality not being low enough to warrant a re-scan or something else.

Thanks.

OmarBudesca

https://community.familysearch.org/en/discussion/comment/626879#Comment_626879

Hello again. Images like this one are almost impossible to read in this particular case: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-6Q9Q-DK5