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Digitizing Film

AMC6131
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Digitizing Film

Hello -

First post here ... so please go easy on me!!!

Don't know if this would be the proper place to post this ... so if not, please advise and I will re-post to proper forum.

For those of you digitizing film (negatives and slides), what are you recommendations equipment wise in this venture?!

I'm going to get in to this, as I have a few "shoe boxes" full of this stuff (negatives/slides), and would like to obtain some advice from those of you that have experiences at this. It would be greatly and kindly appreciated.

Thanks!!!

Oct 01, 2023 at 07:47 PM

e6filmuser
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Digitizing Film

Oct 02, 2023 at 01:11 AM

AMC6131
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Digitizing Film

e6filmuser wrote:
As a macro lens is ideal you are in the right place.

This is what I did many years ago:

https://www.photomacrography.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=16977

http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=113545#113545

Some things you must do:

Have a diffuser between the light and the transparency.

Allow for film bulging by using a small enough aperture.

Remove dust from the film.

Use manual flash exposure to get consistent light levels unless you want to correct for the original being too bright /dark.

Not having done this for years, I have some to do soon.

Enjoy!

Harold

Thank you for taking time to reply Harold!!!

The first link you provided is not valid anymore. The second link is still live ... and that is quite the setup you have there.

I definitely have my work cut out for me in researching this further. And you've provided an awesome start for me!!!

Thanks again!!!

Andrew

Oct 02, 2023 at 08:16 PM

e6filmuser
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Digitizing Film

AMC6131 wrote:
Thank you for taking time to reply Harold!!!

The first link you provided is not valid anymore. The second link is still live ... and that is quite the setup you have there.

I definitely have my work cut out for me in researching this further. And you've provided an awesome start for me!!!

Thanks again!!!

Andrew

Andrew, I don't know why the first link failed, as I copied it from the page. Here it is again:

http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16977

Harold

Oct 02, 2023 at 10:40 PM

kaplah
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Digitizing Film

AMC6131 wrote:
For those of you digitizing film (negatives and slides), what are you recommendations equipment wise in this venture?!

If you are in the Nikon world, ES-2 with a suitable lens. Full-frame body would take a 60mm f/2.8G Micro, or 60mm f/2.8D Micro. DX body would take the AF-S DX Micro NIKKOR 40mm f/2.8G.

ES-2 manual: https://download.nikonimglib.com/archive3/f4xu600SPneZ03H5lxq47P4c4n80/ES-2_JP(DD_DL)02.pdf

Fast and efficient, no messing around, it just works.

If not Nikon, I'm out of my wheelhouse.

In any event you then need a light source. Flash or continuous. If you're on a D850 and using the negative inversion setup, must be continuous.

If you need to invert negatives, the simplest way is a Lightroom plugin called Negative Lab Pro.

Buying stuff designed for this is fast and easy. Making a DIY setup is slow and painful. But the second may cost less, so it's up to you and your cost/benefit decision.

Oct 04, 2023 at 09:41 AM

e6filmuser
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Digitizing Film

kaplah wrote:
ES-2 manual: https://download.nikonimglib.com/archive3/f4xu600SPneZ03H5lxq47P4c4n80/ES-2_JP(DD_DL)02.pdf

The link doesn't work because the last few symbols are not underlined. Copy and paste.

Maybe some people get sharp results with continuous light but flash is reliable and overcomes any vibration from camera or operator.

Harold

Oct 04, 2023 at 10:07 AM

kaplah
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Digitizing Film

e6filmuser wrote:
The link doesn't work because the last few symbols are not underlined. Copy and paste.
[...]
Maybe some people get sharp results with continuous light but flash is reliable and overcomes any vibration from camera or operator.
1) Not really important, anyone can figure it out.
2) a) with the ES-2 setup, any camera movement is carried to the negative / slide, not really an issue in real life as determined by many other posters and by me and b) as noted, you can't use flash with the D850 negative reversing feature.

Oct 04, 2023 at 01:57 PM

e6filmuser
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Digitizing Film

kaplah wrote:
1) Not really important, anyone can figure it out.
2) a) with the ES-2 setup, any camera movement is carried to the negative / slide, not really an issue in real life as determined by many other posters and by me and b) as noted, you can't use flash with the D850 negative reversing feature.

That transmitting of the movement to the subject is something the BBC Natural History Unit developed decades ago by experimenting.

Harold

Oct 04, 2023 at 10:14 PM

kaplah
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Digitizing Film

e6filmuser wrote:
That transmitting of the movement to the subject is something the BBC Natural History Unit developed decades ago by experimenting.

Since they did not have an ES-2, I find that remarkable.

The ES-2 is attached to the lens and so moves with it. But on this, I will say no more.

Oct 05, 2023 at 06:14 AM

ericrepo
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Digitizing Film

Hey there!

I found really good success with the Essential film Holder and a CRI light of atleast 95. I personally have the Negative Supply light, but that was before Cinestill made an affordable light that has generally good reviews.

I bought an old Pentax 1:1 50mm Macro lens since I already had a Pentax Film camera and adapter for my Sony camera. I think the most important part is getting a 1:1 macro and making sure your camera is parallel to the film using the mirror method. Essentially just put a piece of mirror on top of your film holder and make sure the center of the lens is looking at itself.

For a stand you can just use a tripod no need to get fancy with a copy stand or anything.

Oct 09, 2023 at 09:28 AM

AMC6131
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Digitizing Film

e6filmuser wrote:
Andrew, I don't know why the first link failed, as I copied it from the page. Here it is again:

http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16977

Harold

Got it!!! Now working.

Thanks Harold!!!

Oct 09, 2023 at 12:11 PM

AMC6131
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Digitizing Film

ericrepo wrote:
Hey there!

I found really good success with the Essential film Holder and a CRI light of atleast 95. I personally have the Negative Supply light, but that was before Cinestill made an affordable light that has generally good reviews.

I bought an old Pentax 1:1 50mm Macro lens since I already had a Pentax Film camera and adapter for my Sony camera. I think the most important part is getting a 1:1 macro and making sure your camera is parallel to the film using the mirror method. Essentially just put a piece of mirror on top of your film holder...Show more →

Thank you for your reply!!!

I'll check those out ... (the EFH and CS Light).

As for a Copy Stand ... those can get quite pricey!!! I'll have to do a bit of research to see what will suit my needs. A tripod will work too ... but I think it might take up a bit too much real estate for my needs plus the fact of having three legs to accidentally bump into instead of just a stand setup.

Thanks again!!!

Andrew

Oct 09, 2023 at 12:17 PM

mikeengles
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Digitizing Film

Have you considered a slide scanner. The Plustek are cheap and pretty good.
I use an Epson V800 flatbed. Good for making 3000x2000 pixel scans and can be done in batches.
Automatic negative inversion.
Scan at 48 bit and process in Lightroom
Having looked at the OM bellows setup, that really does make the whole much easier as I use the same stuff with Canon.
I have my original OM macro lenses. I still prefer to use the Flatbed. You can scan 18 images at a time.
Decide on what you need the scans for. I have been scanning my family archive of 35mm slides and negatives, so 3000x2000 pixels is fine.

Oct 21, 2023 at 04:50 AM

kirbic
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Digitizing Film

I've done thousands of slide-to-digital conversions, though none for the past few years. When I was actively doing them, I was using an *old* (late '60s or early '70s) "slide duplicator" attachment that I adapted to mount to the front of my EF 100mm Macro lens via the filter thread. Camera (Canon 5D Mk IV) was mounted on tripod and I used a diffused high-CRI LED lamp for illumination. Dust blower and brush to clean each slide immediately prior to sliding into the mount.
I found that the above method worked famously, and was leaps and bounds faster than a film scanner. FWIW, I did own a film scanner, A Nikon Coolscan unit, which I ran using VueScan. I greatly preferred both the results and the speed of the DSLR setup.

Oct 24, 2023 at 02:15 PM

mikeengles
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Digitizing Film

Interesting,
I went the other way. Inverting negatives correctly was a real pain and I found slides had much too much contrast, especially Kodachromes.

Oct 25, 2023 at 07:15 AM

OregonSun
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Digitizing Film

If you use Lightroom, check out the Negative Lab Pro plug-in for reversing negatives. I'm also using the Essential Film Holder and an old copy stand that I found on Craigslist for $25. Light is some cheap diffused LED panel, look for one that is 95 CRI or higher.

Oct 27, 2023 at 04:37 PM

Danpbphoto
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Digitizing Film

Nov 03, 2023 at 12:41 PM

Peter Figen
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Digitizing Film

AMC6131 wrote:
Hello -

First post here ... so please go easy on me!!!

Don't know if this would be the proper place to post this ... so if not, please advise and I will re-post to proper forum.

For those of you digitizing film (negatives and slides), what are you recommendations equipment wise in this venture?!

I'm going to get in to this, as I have a few "shoe boxes" full of this stuff (negatives/slides), and would like to obtain some advice from those of you that have experiences at this. It would be greatly and kindly appreciated.

Thanks!!!

If you're posting here, you're probably interested in copying film with your digital camera. If you're copying 35mm film then you'll be needing a 1:1 macro lens that does 1:1 without additional extension tubes and some sort of a copy stand and light source.

I converted my old Beseler 45 enlarger by taking the enlarger part off and bolting (turns out the main bolt holding the enlarging section on is 3/8th x 16) a Manfrotto 410 geared tripod head with a RRS A/S compatible mount on it, all sitting over a 98-99 CRI Just Normlicht light box. I use the Clinometer phone app to level the rig out and tape the film to a piece of approx. 8-1/2 x 11 window glass to keep it super flat.

I"m using either a Contax 645 120mm f/4 Macro adapted to a Fuji GFX or a Rodenstock 105mm f/5.6 Macro on a focusing rail, but really, if you're shooting either full frame or cropped frame 35mm digital, most of the available macro lenses are quite good, and if you want to buy new, you can't go wrong with the Sigma 70mm f/2.8 ART Macro which is under $500.

The biggest problem you will have is getting all the surfaces to be perfectly parallel to each other and do not stop the lens down past an indicated f/5.6, which at 1:1 becomes an effective f/11, the point where diffraction starts to be noticeable on many cameras.

Nov 09, 2023 at 11:55 PM

madNbad
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · Digitizing Film

This seems to be a good place to ask about shielding the negative from stray light when camera scanning and if members are doing it. In an earlier setup, I was using a Sony A5100 with an adapted 55 Micro Nikkor and a Skier Copybox. I had been turning off the lights in the room but noticed there was still a fair amount of glare. I had a Ambico Universal Compendium Shade that was a Craigslist find and after installing it noticed the scan had better tones overall. Shortly after moving to Negative Supply, they began introducing light shields that would fit into the carrier.
I believe the term is “light piping”. I was just curious if members were aware of the benefits of using a hood.

Nov 10, 2023 at 12:22 PM

Peter Figen
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · Digitizing Film

madNbad wrote:
This seems to be a good place to ask about shielding the negative from stray light when camera scanning and if members are doing it. In an earlier setup, I was using a Sony A5100 with an adapted 55 Micro Nikkor and a Skier Copybox. I had been turning off the lights in the room but noticed there was still a fair amount of glare. I had a Ambico Universal Compendium Shade that was a Craigslist find and after installing it noticed the scan had better tones overall. Shortly after moving to Negative Supply, they began introducing light shields that...Show more →

It's always a good idea to shield the area surrounding your film with black. That will help to eliminate flare coming in from the edges. I actually do that on my drum scanner as well but I use black electrical tape on top of the overlay material.

Nov 10, 2023 at 01:09 PM

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