Rare Nuclear Test Films Saved, Declassified, and Migrating to Digital
What is available so far is very low resolution. The original film in 35mm has what we now call 8k resolution. Budget or perhaps some quirk in the declassification process is in play.
Film guys like to say film is more lasting. It is until conditions are not good for storage or a fire or flood happens. But every digital image or file needs a printer or reader. Let the film v digital debate continue.
“You can smell vinegar when you open the cans, which is one of the byproducts of the decomposition process of these films,” Spriggs said in a statement to Gizmodo.
“We know that these films are on the brink of decomposing to the point where they’ll become useless,” said Spriggs. “The data that we’re collecting now must be preserved in a digital form because no matter how well you treat the films, no matter how well you preserve or store them, they will decompose. They’re made out of organic material, and organic material decomposes. So this is it. We got to this project just in time to save the data.”
More: Rare Nuclear Test Films Saved, Declassified, and Uploaded to YouTube