The best photo translators for iOS, Android and WP. The easiest way to translate text using your phone camera

In this article I will introduce you to the best online translator ami from the photo. Knowledge of foreign languages ​​is the key to full use of all opportunities modern world. But many users own it on entry level, which is enough for spending time online and playing games. At the same time, in the process of studying or working, sometimes it is necessary to translate text, and not just printed text, which can be inserted into an online translator using the commands ctrl+c/ ctrl+v, but depicted in electronic or printed form. This could be documentation for foreign language, text on photographs, pictures, signs, posters and much more.

Translation from foreign languages

Using programs and services that recognize text from an image, you can first extract what needs to be translated, and then use an online translator. After this, the text must be manually converted to readable form and used where required. The original image must be clear so that free programs there were no difficulties with recognition, since not all users have the opportunity to use paid services, working even with poor quality pictures. Developers software We also thought about combining two functions into one, that is, so that the program or service would recognize the text and immediately translate it. Online photo translators for mobile platforms are more common, but there is also an option for desktop computers.

Online photo translator for mobile platforms: Android, iOS, Windows Phone

Google Translate

In the shop Google Play The most popular application is Google Translator. So let's put it in the search bar. The following image will appear.

Google Translate

The application for translations from English into Russian has the following advantages:

• works with 103 languages ​​of the world;
• supports 59 languages ​​offline (for this you need to download additional dictionaries);
• automatically translates speech (from 32 languages ​​and back);
• translates text at high speed (both copied from any application and photographed).

You can also enter a sentence by hand; Google Translate successfully recognizes and translates handwritten text.

ABBYY Lingvo dictionaries

The application installed on a mobile gadget offers users an excellent opportunity to carry out various translations of texts, including from photographs, screenshots and using a video camera.

Abbyy Lingvo dictionaries work even when the Internet is turned off, which allows you to use them anywhere. In the application you can create your own set of necessary dictionaries (from 11 that are freely available and 200 paid). Another advantage of the program is its ability to remember new words and add them to the database. When shooting with a video camera, you need to keep it as level as possible and provide good lighting. Otherwise, the application will not even try to perform text recognition.

TextGrabber: OCR Text Recognition + Translator

Unlike the two translators discussed above, this program is paid. Using the camera, take a photograph, TextGrabber: OCR will recognize it and translate it from/to 100 or more languages ​​of the world.

Paid TextGrabber app: OCR

The application also works with any printed sources - advertisements, books, documents, etc. After translation, the text can be edited and sent either via SMS and e-mail, or through popular instant messengers installed on a tablet or smartphone. Without purchasing additional packages, the user has the opportunity to use translation from 60 or more languages. To make the application work faster, do not use the auto-language detection function, but select it yourself before starting work. The text is not formatted during the translation process - you will do the arrangement of paragraphs, lists and other details yourself.

Photo Translate

Photo Translate is another one online program for photo processing and recognition. It does not have its own database of languages, so it uses an Internet connection for translation. All functionality is limited only to working with images.

Translator

Translator is a simple name for an application for users of gadgets on Windows platform Phone. It is a basic online photo translator from Bing. In addition to performing basic functions, it helps users learn the language using the “word of the day” on the main screen. This application differs from other programs in one interesting detail - it writes the translation over the image. If this function interferes (the original text is written in small font or consists of large quantity words), then you can turn it off.

Translation over text

iSignTranslate (iOS)

iSignTranslate is a Russian development that you can be proud of. The application was created to translate various banners, signs, and signs using a phone or tablet camera. All you have to do is point the camera at the target, wait a little, and the translation will be placed on top of the captured image. English and Russian are available for free, the rest can be purchased for a fee. The program also does not have its own language base and uses Google, Bing and Yandex translators to translate text from images, so it can only work when connected to the Internet.

Online services for photo translations for desktop computers and laptops

Let's try to make a translation from a photograph on a desktop computer. Before you start, there are several steps you should take:

• make sure that the required image has good clarity, since this determines how well the service recognizes the text;
• make sure that the image is saved in one of the common formats: gif, jpeg, png, bmp and others;
• If possible, check the text for errors to ensure correct machine translation.

After this, you can start working with the online services themselves. For example, let's take Yandex Translator.

Go to Yandex Translator. In the upper left corner of the page you will find the words “Text”, “Site” and “Picture”, by clicking on which you can go to other tabs. We need a “Picture”. We click and this screen appears in front of us.

Selecting a file or dragging a picture

Select the file with hard drive or simply drag it with LMB into the field. The following screen appears with our photo.

Recognized image

To the right of the text in the upper corner there is the inscription “Open in translator”. Click on it, and the next page in a new tab splits the screen into two parts. On the left is the text extracted from the image, on the right is the translation. Note! The translation is machine-based and requires mandatory correction.

Text translation

The example shows a translation from English into Russian, but you can select any of the supported languages ​​or use their auto-detection function.

Look closely at right side. At the bottom there is a switch “ New technology translation." By moving it to the active position, you will take advantage of the fact that the translation will be carried out according to a statistical model and using neural networks. A special algorithm will select the most the best option and will offer it to you. Thanks to this technology, Yandex Translator is able to cope even with low-quality images. This service also has an Android version.

Follow simple requirements for image quality, and using online services for translating text from photographs yourself will not be difficult for you.

Translating text using the usual method is not always convenient and very tedious. We have already considered, but did not mention one more quick way transfer to mobile devices Oh. We are talking about photo translators.

Instead of entering text, you can take a photo with your phone camera and translate from it. Fortunately, in some translators the ability to convert text exists and at the same time works quite well. True, most of them only work online.

In this review, we will try to find out which photo translator from English into Russian, French (and other languages) best copes with its duties. It is important for us that this is an application that is easy to install and use comfortably on your phone.

Review participants:

Google Translate - the most functional photo translator for Android

The photo translator built into Google Translate is available as a mobile application (iOS, Android) and online service.

To translate from a picture, you need to indicate the source and translation languages. Of course, there is an instant translation feature from your mobile phone camera. For this function to work, you need to download a language pack for the selected translation language.

In other cases, the photo translator works like this:

1. First, you need to get an image through your phone camera,
2. Then use text to select the area with the text that you want to translate,
3. Wait a while for the image to be processed online.

Video instructions on how to translate text from a photo:

By the way, it is not necessary to receive images from your phone camera. Instead, you can load a previously saved photo into Google Translator (i.e., import). The translator will again need to specify the text zone, after which the translation will be available in the adjacent application window.

Photo translation is not available for all languages ​​(of which there are more than 100 in Google Translator). However, it is possible to translate into English even from Japanese, Korean (not to mention French, German) and other languages ​​into Russian.

For correct text recognition and, consequently, automatic translation, an active Internet connection is required. Unfortunately, this is not possible in photo mode.

Yandex Translator - online application for Android

Photo translation from Yandex works in the same way as Google. The main difference is in the number of supported languages. But, it should be noted that for the most popular, and not some exotic ones, there is support for photo translation. There is no Korean or Swedish, but Japanese is available. To avoid any confusion, check in advance that the required direction is available.

In the web version of the translator, you can drag a picture into the translation window; in the Android application, you can take a photo directly on the camera and transfer it for translation, which is very convenient.

At the same time, there are features that are missing in Google Translator. For example, text recognition mode: Words/Lines/Blocks. In cases where auto-recognition fails (which is quite understandable), Yandex can be helped in this way. Block translation allows you to translate not by words, but by sentences.

Other advantages of Yandex Translator include the fact that it is convenient to save the translated text in the form of cards for further study and memorization.

For photo translation in Yandex, the picture must be clearly readable. Sometimes difficulties arise even with good readable text, for example, from the cover of a book in large letters. Here you also need to make allowances for the quality of the phone’s camera; sometimes it’s useful to wipe the lens.

Transfer through this application is only possible with an online connection. At the same time, there are offline dictionaries for standard text translation; you can easily download them through the Yandex Translator settings (they won’t take up much space on your phone).

Microsoft Translator - a simple and fast photo translator for Android

Although Microsoft Translator does not have any settings for photo translation (except for selecting language directions), the application is quite convenient to use and copes with its functions - of course, if the source text is legibly displayed through the phone camera. To improve the readability of the source, you can activate the camera; This is easy to do in photo transfer mode by clicking on the flash icon and then taking a photo by clicking on the region with the text.

Microsoft Translator translates an image over the original

The translation is carried out on top of the main layer. This may not be the most optimal method, but nevertheless, the translated text can be read without any problems. In any case, the translation can be copied with one click and pasted, for example, into a text editor or other application.

There are quite a few directions in the Microsoft Translator. These are dozens of languages, some of them, by the way, are not available in Yandex Translator, so you can consider Microsoft Translator as an excellent addition or replacement for it.

The application works only in online mode. You can download it to your smartphone/tablet using the link:

ABBYY TextGrabber - an application for recognizing and translating text from photos

ABBYY has released Lingvo translator and text digitizer FineReader. Meanwhile, there is another small, but useful product, which is a hybrid of these packages.

TextGrabber can digitize any text fragments. ABBYY TextGrabber is best suited for

• translation of texts from the screen of mobile devices and TV;
• photographs taken on camera;
• inscriptions, signs, road signs;
• documents and books, instructions.

In addition, you can convert the resulting text into links, search on the map and, of course, translate into Russian (and not only) from more than a hundred languages, including English, French, German, even Japanese and Chinese.

However, it should be noted that the translation capabilities of ABBYY TextGrabber are much more modest than those of Lingvo. The fact is that photo translation is carried out through third-party services, and not through the server ABBYY Lingvo, as one might assume.

To translate, it is enough to specify the recognition language and final result. You can save only in “raw” text form.

There is a big plus that sets TextGrabber apart from other translators. Namely: the recognition functions in TextGrabber work in offline mode (more than 50 languages ​​are supported). Thus, the text can be digitized, copied and transferred to another translator with offline support, for example, from Yandex or Google. It’s inconvenient, but it’s a way out of a situation where you don’t have the Internet at hand, but you urgently need to translate from a photo.

Key features of the TextGrabber translator:

• You don't need to take a screenshot to recognize text;
• Support OCR for Russian, English, Korean, German and other languages ​​offline;
• Automatic conversion of text into the required format - link, phone number, postal address or coordinates on the map;
• Online translation in more than 100 directions;
• Automatic copying of digitized text to the clipboard and conversion to voice;
• Saving and editing received text on your phone.

Users are faced with the need to translate text from photos online. Situations can be different: there is text in a photograph that needs to be extracted from the image and translated into another language, there is an image of a document in a foreign language, text from the picture needs to be translated, etc.

You can use text recognition programs that use OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology to extract text from images. Then, the text extracted from the photo can be translated using a translator. If the original image good quality, then in most cases free online services for text recognition are suitable.

In this case, the entire operation takes place in two stages: first, text recognition occurs in a program or online service, and then the text is translated using an online translator or an application installed on the computer. You can, of course, copy text from a photo manually, but this is not always justified.

Is there a way to combine two technologies in one place: immediately recognize and transfer a test from a photo online? Unlike mobile applications(we'll talk about them later in the article), there is practically no choice for desktop users. But, nevertheless, I found two options for how to translate text from an image online in one place, without the help of programs and other services.

An online photo translator will recognize the text in the image and then translate it into desired language.

When translating from images online, pay attention to some points:

• the quality of text recognition depends on the quality of the original image;
• In order for the service to open the picture without problems, the image must be saved in a common format (JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP, etc.);
• if possible, check the extracted text to eliminate recognition errors;
• The text is translated using machine translation, so the translation may not be perfect.

We will use Yandex Translator and the Free Online OCR online service, which includes functionality to translate text extracted from a photograph. You can use these services to translate from English into Russian, or use other language pairs of supported languages.

Available to users on mobile devices different ways for translation from photographs. In this article we will analyze the applications Google Translator, Yandex Translator, Microsoft Translator.

To use photo translation applications on mobile phones, you must comply with two mandatory conditions: the presence of a camera on the device, which is used to capture images for translation, and an Internet connection for text recognition on a remote translator server.

Yandex Translator for translation from pictures

Yandex.Translator integrates OCR optical character recognition technology, with which text is extracted from photographs. Then, using Yandex Translator technologies, the extracted text is translated into the selected language.

Go through the following steps sequentially:

1. Sign in Yandex translate to the “Pictures” tab.
2. Select the source language. To do this, click on the name of the language (displayed by default English language). If you don't know what language is in the image, the translator will start auto-detection of the language.
3. Select the language to translate. By default, the Russian language is selected. To change the language, click on the language name and select another supported language.
4. Select a file on your computer or drag a picture into the online translator window.

1. After Yandex Translator recognizes the text from the photo, click “Open in Translator”.

1. Two fields will open in the translator window: one with text in a foreign language (in in this case in English), another with translation into Russian (or another supported language).

If the photo was of poor quality, it makes sense to check the recognition quality. Compare the translated text with the original in the picture, correct any errors found.

You can change the translation in Yandex Translator. To do this, turn on the “New translation technology” switch. The translation is carried out simultaneously by a neural network and a statistical model. The algorithm automatically selects the best translation option.

Copy the translated text into a text editor. If necessary, edit the machine translation and correct errors.

Translation from photos online to Free Online OCR

The free online service Free Online OCR is designed to recognize characters from files of supported formats. The service is suitable for translation, since it optionally has capabilities for translating recognized text.

Unlike Yandex Translator, Free Online OCR achieves acceptable recognition quality only on fairly simple images, without the presence of foreign elements in the picture.

Follow these steps:

1. Login to .
2. In the “Select your file” option, click on the “Browse” button, select a file on your computer.
3. In the “Recognition language(s) (you can select multiple)” option, select required language, from which you want to translate (you can select several languages). Click on the field and add the desired language from the list.
4. Click on the “Upload + OCR” button.

1. After recognition, the text from the image will be displayed in a special field. Check the recognized text for errors.

1. To translate text, click on the “Google Translator” or “Bing Translator” link to use one of the online translation services. Both translations can be compared and the best option can be selected.

Copy the text into a text editor. If necessary, edit and correct errors.

Google Translate: translating photos on mobile phones

The Google Translate application is used on mobile phones running the Android and iOS operating systems. Install the program on your smartphone from the appropriate application stores.

The Google Translator application has extensive functionality:

• translation of text into 103 languages ​​and back;
• quick translation function;
• offline text translation (you will first need to download the necessary data);
• translation in camera mode with support for 37 languages;
• quick camera translation of inscriptions in 38 languages;
• handwriting translation support;
• Conversational translation in 28 languages.

Google Translate translates text in photographs, pictures, signs, magazines, books, etc. In Google app The translator uses two ways to translate text from photos:

• Real-time mode - instant translation of text when you point your phone camera.
• Translation in camera mode - take a photo of the text and then receive the translation.

First, let's look at the translation function in camera mode, which is most suitable in most cases.

1. Launch the Google Translate app on your phone.
2. In the translator window, select the translation direction, and then click on the “Camera” icon.

1. Point your phone camera at the text you want to translate. Level the camera, turn on additional lighting if necessary. Take a photo.

1. After performing recognition, in the next window you need to select a section of text, or click on the “Select all” button.

1. Two small fields will appear at the top of the window with the original and translated text. Click on the arrow in the translation field to open full translation text in the next window.

To perform quick translation in camera mode, turn on instant translation mode (the button will turn green), if necessary, turn on additional lighting, and level the camera.

A quick translation into the selected language will appear on the phone screen.

The instant translation function is inferior in quality to translation using the camera mode.

Yandex Translator: translating photos on mobile devices

Yandex Translator application for mobile phones, like the online service of the same name, can translate text in photographs.

Key Features Yandex Translator:

• online translation into 90 languages;
• Offline translation support for 6 languages;
• photo translation;
• translation of sites in the application;
• translation of spoken individual words or phrases;
• automatic selection of translation direction;
• dictionary;
• Translation of text in applications from the context menu, starting from version Android0.

Launch the Yandex Translator application, click on the camera icon.

Capture the desired text on camera. In this case, I took a photo of Instagram text from my computer screen.

After performing recognition, click on the icon in the upper right corner of the screen.

Yandex Translator offers unique functions that increase recognition accuracy. If the quality of recognition is poor, select recognition by words, lines, blocks (button in the lower left corner).

In the translator window, the original text will be displayed at the top, and the main part of the screen is occupied by the translation of the text from the photo.

In the application window, you can listen to the original and translation of the test, voiced using a voice engine, dictate something, synchronize (there are size restrictions) the translation, send the translation to its destination, save the translation on a card.

Microsoft Translator: translating text from photos and screenshots

Microsoft Translator has built-in functionality for translating text in images: photographs and screenshots.

Key Features Microsoft Translator:

• support for online and offline translation in more than 60 languages;
• voice translation;
• simultaneous speech translation for conversation in two languages;
• translation of text into photographs or screenshots;
• listening to translated phrases;
• Translating text in other applications via the context menu.

An example of using Microsoft Translator:

In the application window, click on the camera.

Point your phone camera at the desired text. Select the translation direction. Microsoft Translator has an option to enable additional lighting.

Capture the text on camera.

A translation of the photo will appear in the application window, displayed on top of the main layer of the image.

The translation text can be copied to the clipboard. To do this, click on the corresponding icon in the translator window.

Conclusions of the article

Using Yandex Translator and online service Free Online OCR can translate text into the desired language from photographs or pictures online. The text from the image will be extracted and translated into Russian or another supported language.

In mobile phone applications Google Translate, Yandex Translator, Microsoft Translator, the user first takes a photo with the camera, and then the applications automatically translate the text from the photo.

Greetings, dear reader, Alexander Gavrin is in touch.

Today we’ll talk about what are online photo translators , what functionality they have and how they work.

For many people, translators in smartphones have long been familiar, which can be used at any time. Now there are services that not only translate the entered text, but can also do it directly from a photo.

How it works?

Let's say the user needs to translate the text that is on a photo or snapshot.

To do this, you need to extract the text and then translate it. To separate words from photos, you need to use OCR technology, which allows you to recognize text.

After this, the text is sent to a simple translator. If the image quality is good, any online text recognition services will do.

The scheme is built in two stages. The first is text extraction. The second is text translation using an online service or application on a PC or mobile device.

You can enter the text yourself, but you don’t always have time for this and it is a rather labor-intensive process.

To facilitate this operation, you need to combine two actions in one program. It is necessary for the application or service to recognize the text in the photo and at the same time translate it into Russian.

When using such photo translator applications, it is important to remember a few points:

Photo translators - applications

Let's look at some applications for mobile devices to get acquainted with their functionality.

Google photo translator

This application is one of the most popular in the store Google Play. Works Google translator Not only from photo, but also by manually entering text, that is, it can be used as a regular translator.

INSTALL APP

The program can easily work without Internet access. To do this, you will need to download language packs in advance. However, Google translator, translates from photo, which allows you to save space on your device.

No need to download unnecessary files. Additionally, the application has the function of speech recognition, translation of SMS messages and handwritten text.

In addition to translating foreign text, the program also displays its transcription. The application has some shortcomings regarding its actual operation, but they will probably be eliminated soon.

This app works in 30 languages ​​and also supports photo translation. There are also exercises to help you remember words.

This is convenient when learning languages. All the words you need to translate are voiced by professional native speakers. You can add your own word forms to dictionaries.

INSTALL APP

When translating from a photo, the application works well. It is only necessary that the photo is taken in good lighting and not from a side angle.

If the photo was taken in poor conditions, the text will not be recognized even partially. The program will simply display a message about the impossibility of translation.

The application is constantly updated and improved, bugs that led to crashes and incorrect operation are corrected.

This application specializes in text recognition from photos. Its special feature is that it works with 60 languages, the packages of which are already built into the program.

This means that you won’t have to download them additionally. The text you work with can be saved on your phone.

INSTALL APP

It is also saved in the program's internal files and is easily accessible for basic functions.

The huge number of built-in languages ​​slows down the scanning process somewhat, since it is necessary to initially recognize the language. To reduce work time, it is better to select the original language in advance.

A minor drawback of the application may be that it only supports standard image formats.

In addition, the translation text is not formatted; it is issued in bulk. Paragraphs and other emphasis are ignored, leaving only spaces between words.

Photo Translate

This translator from photos into Russian works online. Without the Internet, he can only recognize text. The application does not have its own database, which means it cannot be used offline.

INSTALL APP

Applications for translating text from pictures are also available on Windows Phone . The program has a simple name and sufficient functionality.

It is developed search engine Bing. It has an additional function of learning new words.

INSTALL APP

This is implemented through the “word of the day” displayed on the phone screen. An interesting feature is the ability to display translated text directly on top of the original.

It can be disabled. It may not be very convenient if the picture has small font and a lot of words.

iSignTranslate

Using the application, you can translate text into Russian in real time. This is convenient for translating text on the street, for example, signs, announcements and other things. The program was created by Russian developers.

When downloading, only two languages ​​are available - English and Russian. You can add 8 more languages ​​to them, but they are only available for a fee.

The application uses third-party online translators from Bing, Yandex And Google. This means that you will need an Internet connection to work.

INSTALL APP

The application has some glitches. For example, users are faced with the following problem: the camera produces an error that can only be corrected when pointing at another object.

The program recognizes only standard fonts ranging in size from 0.5 to 3 cm. Translating a small fragment of text takes up to 20 seconds of holding the camera still.

Conclusion

When using this type of application, you should remember that machine translation will not be perfect. It will be approximate and some phrases, and sometimes sentences, will have to be translated independently.

This is a problem for any automatic translator. You can download photo translators for different mobile devices.

For each system there are several options that have their own advantages. Your choice will depend on your preferences and needs.

FIND OUT MORE

Sincerely, Alexander Gavrin.

To translate from English into Russian from a picture or photo there are special services online. They recognize text from photos, books, documents. Most of these services work with large volumes (conversion to electronic view books) and are not free. But often we need to translate small amounts of text, in which case there are many accessible and free sites that provide such services. We'll talk about them today.

ABBYY FineReader Online – translator from picture to text

This online text to image translator is very popular and has already established itself in the software market with the best side. FineReader first released its first program in 1993 and has maintained a leading position in its niche until today. The program has more than ten tools for high-quality scanning of a document and improving the quality as a result of its recognition. The translator has his own methods of working with various types images.

IN latest version New mathematical symbols, as well as transcription, were added to the program. Today, a translator can already work with more than 190 languages ​​of the world and even with several pictures. First, you need to register on the site to continue working with the service.

Working with the online converter is very simple

Another thing worth mentioning about FineReader Online is that it is shareware. A new, just registered user is offered 5 files for testing, then 1 page will cost you about 15 cents, but in most cases this is quite enough for private one-time use.

Free-OCR.com - free service for image translation

This translator works based on OCR technology. It translates as “optical character recognition.” This technology allows you to edit text, search for specific word combinations and phrases, save it in a compact form without compromising quality, and even convert it into speech. Previously, the first programs based on OCR technology could only work simultaneously by scanning one font. Today this problem has been solved, and programs can easily recognize not only many fonts in one document, but also several languages.

In the Free-OCR service you can recognize text absolutely free. But it is subject to certain restrictions that apply to the processed images.

• So the uploaded file for recognition should not be more than 2 MB.
• The width of the image must be no more than 5,000 pixels.
• And also in one hour you will not be able to process more than 10 files.

But the service supports the main languages, more than 20 of them, including Russian. When you receive the finished text, it will be stripped of all formatting that is on the scanned file. The output is pure text.

You can upload pictures in png, jpg, pdf, bmp, tiff, tif, gif, jpeg formats. Download only the text txt. There are only 4 interface languages ​​available on the site – English, French, Spanish, German. But in order to understand it, you do not need knowledge of any additional languages; everything is accessible and understandable.

New OCR - high-quality online photo translator

The New OCR service is free, but its functionality and capabilities are an order of magnitude higher than the previous one. The user is offered a choice of two different algorithms for processing and recognizing images and translation, an unlimited number of file downloads, translation into 58 languages, as well as support for most test formats. It is even possible to download archived files.

To process scanned images, there are a huge number of tools that can be used to improve the quality of translation, such as:

• selection of recognition area;
• improve contrast;
• define text in columns;
• export to popular services and much more.

The output material is of fairly good quality, with minimal formatting errors. If the result is not satisfactory, you can try the second recognition algorithm. If the source text in the picture or snapshot is of poor quality, the service may not be able to cope with this, because... Text normalization functions work weakly in it. Despite this, New OCR is in great demand.

Main advantages of the service:

• More than 100 supported languages ​​for text translation (mainly from English to Russian).
• The service does not store your data after you use it.
• Supports multilingual recognition, as well as support for mathematical symbols.
• Edit the page before scanning for improved results.

How to use the New OCR service