Show HN: I built an old photo restoration tool using the Flux Kontext

#1

Post by cyberplaid » Thu, Jun 05, 2025, 5:51 AM UTC

Hi HN,

I created a photo restoration tool using the Flux Kontext model, and the results have been surprisingly good.

It can restore old photos, fix scratches and damage, and even colorize black-and-white images — all in just a few seconds.

It's currently completely free to use.

Would love to hear your feedback!

Show HN: I built an old photo restoration tool using the Flux Kontext
restoreoldphotos.io

Re: Show HN: I built an old photo restoration tool using the Flux Kontext

#2

Post by psychip » Thu, Jun 05, 2025, 6:47 AM UTC

sarah mitchell's feedback more than enough

Re: Show HN: I built an old photo restoration tool using the Flux Kontext

#3

Post by pogue » Thu, Jun 05, 2025, 11:20 AM UTC

Does it include any kind of prompt you can modify? I've used palette.fm in the past (a photo colonization tool) and it gives you different options to modify how the color looks for the end result as well as manually editing the prompt it creates based on image recognition so you can adjust the final output.

Re: Show HN: I built an old photo restoration tool using the Flux Kontext

#4

Post by karpour » Thu, Jun 05, 2025, 12:00 PM UTC

To be honest: not a fan. It creates a completely new image based on a photo, rather than fix it. The Einstein photo shows particularity well how pretty obvious facial features just get removed. The results look nice, but they are definitely not a restoration, but a generated image.

Re: Show HN: I built an old photo restoration tool using the Flux Kontext

#5

Post by ralphdas » Thu, Jun 05, 2025, 1:29 PM UTC

I would like to have some control over the process. I uploaded a picture of my father taken around 1958- 1960. It's blurry and he is wearing a shirt and tie and must have been around 7-9 years old . The restored image shows him as a middle aged man, wrinkles included. Would be nice to specify a couple of aspects

Re: Show HN: I built an old photo restoration tool using the Flux Kontext

#6

Post by camtarn » Thu, Jun 05, 2025, 2:23 PM UTC

In both of your example images with young men, it's added stubble where there was none. It's also removed moles from Einstein's face.

This doesn't seem to be very accurate!

Re: Show HN: I built an old photo restoration tool using the Flux Kontext

#7

Post by banner520 » Thu, Jun 05, 2025, 2:34 PM UTC

I tried uploading an old photo, but during the repair process, I lost some things, resulting in a result that was not what I wanted. This algorithm still needs to be updated

Re: Show HN: I built an old photo restoration tool using the Flux Kontext

#8

Post by pimlottc » Thu, Jun 05, 2025, 2:39 PM UTC

camtarn wrote: post #6

In both of your example images with young men, it's added stubble where there was none. It's also removed moles from Einstein's face. This doesn't seem to be very accurate!

I noticed the same thing. “Restoration” is not the right word for this.

Re: Show HN: I built an old photo restoration tool using the Flux Kontext

#9

Post by mortsnort » Thu, Jun 05, 2025, 2:57 PM UTC

ralphdas wrote: post #5

I would like to have some control over the process. I uploaded a picture of my father taken around 1958- 1960. It's blurry and he is wearing a shirt and tie and must have been around 7-9 years old . The restored image shows him as a middle aged man, wrinkles included. Would be nice to specify a couple of aspects

It's just a reskin of Flux Kontext. You can pay $.04 per image on Flux website and have full control over the prompt.