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Archive 2022 · 'Scanning' film with Olympus - hi res or not?

  
 
johnvanr
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · 'Scanning' film with Olympus - hi res or not?


I'm planning to start 'scanning' my old slides and negatives by taking pictures of them with a macro lens. I have a Canon and Sony FF camera, but no macro lens for either. I do have the Olympus 60mm macro lens and I'm thinking of using that.

What I'm not sure about is whether it's worthwhile shooting in hi-res mode or not. Yes, the overall resolution will be higher, but at some point you're just capturing more film grain. I've shot a few test shots in normal and hi-res mode and I'm leaning toward shooting in normal mode, esp. since I read that a film negative is only about 20mp worth of resolution anyway.

I'm not an expert, though, and was wondering whether anybody here has experience with this. Also, whether it makes a difference if ones 'scans' medium format film instead of 35mm.

Thanks.



Feb 28, 2022 at 07:38 PM
AlanD
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · 'Scanning' film with Olympus - hi res or not?


I think the noise reduction will be beneficial.

For all that is said about scanning with a macro lens, I still think you are better off scanning with a device that has Digital ICE for dust removal. A used Nikon Coolscan is still a great tool as is the Epson V850 when you just want social media grade scans (resolution isn’t as good) but do want benefits of dust removal.



Feb 28, 2022 at 08:35 PM
johnvanr
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · 'Scanning' film with Olympus - hi res or not?


AlanD wrote:
I think the noise reduction will be beneficial.

For all that is said about scanning with a macro lens, I still think you are better off scanning with a device that has Digital ICE for dust removal. A used Nikon Coolscan is still a great tool as is the Epson V850 when you just want social media grade scans (resolution isn’t as good) but do want benefits of dust removal.


I used to have a few good scanners, but the process was so tedious I never used it for more than a few slides. In this case, perfect would be the enemy of good.



Feb 28, 2022 at 08:53 PM
say_doyster
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · 'Scanning' film with Olympus - hi res or not?


You may have a bit of dust, but my experience - once the "jig" is set up properly - you will get exceptional results, probably better than expected. ( I have copied a variety of prints and transparencies using the G9 hi rez mode and have been more than satisfied. )

Keep us updated.

B



Feb 28, 2022 at 11:25 PM
leolab
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · 'Scanning' film with Olympus - hi res or not?


FWIW I have compared scans from my Mamiya 7 negs with both regular res and high res modes from my Pen F, the scans from the high res mode look better, allow more latitude in post and have better color fidelity to my eyes.


Mar 01, 2022 at 08:23 AM
guyharrison
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · 'Scanning' film with Olympus - hi res or not?


this is great info! I plan to get the Sigma 105 macro for my S1R and use high res mode to "scan" about 15,000 high quality slides that I need to get into my digital database..


Mar 02, 2022 at 04:00 PM
fjablo
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · 'Scanning' film with Olympus - hi res or not?


Hi-res mode is interesting for scanning not just for the resolution but also for capturing true RGB data instead of Bayer interpolation. You have to push colors quite a bit esp with color negatives so I think it’s beneficial to capture more data to start with.

Regarding resolution: it’s always better to capture „too much“ data and downsample than the other way round



Mar 03, 2022 at 05:20 AM
Taperwing
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · 'Scanning' film with Olympus - hi res or not?


Camera scanning film, can work quite well. Yeah, I once had access to Nikon film scanners, but that was never a painless, nor quick process either. ICE helped, particularly on older stock that may not have been all that well protected from dust and debris over the years. However, not required.

If you have Photoshop, check out the following link for a relatively painless workflow for dust and scratch removal. Also scroll down to the comments section for a more reversible workflow from 'Marc.' To be clear, this is not my content, just something I found useful and worthy of sharing.

Dust removal in Photoshop link.

Going forward, the two things that I've found most helpful are a copy stand and negative/slide carriers, the very thing used to hold your film in the optical path of an enlarger. Speaking of, if you have any mechanical aptitude, an enlarger can be readily hacked into a copy stand setup.

Happy scanning.



Mar 03, 2022 at 08:03 AM
fjablo
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · 'Scanning' film with Olympus - hi res or not?


Taperwing wrote:
Camera scanning film, can work quite well. Yeah, I once had access to Nikon film scanners, but that was never a painless, nor quick process either. ICE helped, particularly on older stock that may not have been all that well protected from dust and debris over the years. However, not required.

If you have Photoshop, check out the following link for a relatively painless workflow for dust and scratch removal. Also scroll down to the comments section for a more reversible workflow from 'Marc.' To be clear, this is not my content, just something I found useful and worthy of
...Show more

Here's another link to tipps for dust / scratch removal from Nick Carver:
https://youtu.be/wh4g_RPn2EU?t=1051

Edit: haha just noticed that he's basically recommending the same method



Mar 03, 2022 at 08:47 AM
johnvanr
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · 'Scanning' film with Olympus - hi res or not?


Taperwing wrote:
Camera scanning film, can work quite well. Yeah, I once had access to Nikon film scanners, but that was never a painless, nor quick process either. ICE helped, particularly on older stock that may not have been all that well protected from dust and debris over the years. However, not required.

If you have Photoshop, check out the following link for a relatively painless workflow for dust and scratch removal. Also scroll down to the comments section for a more reversible workflow from 'Marc.' To be clear, this is not my content, just something I found useful and worthy of
...Show more

Got the copy stand, waiting for the negative carrier. Got the light box a while back. Still wondering what the easiest way is to batch convert the negatives to positives. So far, I've tried only slides and one negative (that I inverted in Photoshop, but I rather avoid Photoshop).

Also still trying to figure out how I can assure that my camera stays at a 90 degree angle to the negative/slide. I use a level and notice the camera easily moves enough to not be level with the negative.



Mar 03, 2022 at 03:53 PM
Taperwing
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · 'Scanning' film with Olympus - hi res or not?


Don't know if you have ever used it, but there is a very capable, third-party scanning app call Vuescan, from Ed Hamrick. Works with almost any scanner that you care to throw at it, new or old, flatbed or film. In addition, it has the ability to load an image from a TIFF or JPG file. The color negative conversion is rather good too.

To be honest, I have not tried loading camera copied, color negative images into Vuescan for conversion. But, you have me curious. I will try to test this weekend and report back.

Also, curious why the trouble holding the camera orthogonal to the film/carrier, if you have a copy stand. Suppose there could be some issues if using the 1/4-20 captive screw on the copy stand to attach the camera. If that is the case, get a fitted dovetail L-bracket for your camera, and a suitable quick release mounting plate for the stand. You can really torque down on the mounting plate, without fear of damaging the camera. You can also add bit of high bond double stick tape between the mounting plate and the stand.

Also, use either remote release or the self time feature on your camera.



Mar 04, 2022 at 12:13 PM





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