Camera scanning with Leica M10M

[Rayt]

I have years of b/w 120 negatives yet to be edited or scanned and will do that coming up. And hopefully I will use my Hasselblads and Rolleiflex more. Since I already own the M10M then why not use it to camera scan the negatives? It should have a higher dynamic range. Anyone tried it? I’ll get the light source from Negative Lab. Photoshop can do the inversion or should I get a dedicated Lr plug in?

 

[Godfrey]

I have been scanning with the M10-M since I acquired one. It does an excellent job with a good film carrier (I use "The Essential Film Holder") and light source, netting a fine ~25 mpixel scan of b&w 6x6cm negs. I use my own developed presets in LR Classic to invert and render the raw files, output to 16bit TIFF and do the finish editing with them. It works very nicely as the M10-M has superb resolution and dynamic range.

G

 

[Rayt]

I have been scanning with the M10-M since I acquired one. It does an excellent job with a good film carrier (I use "The Essential Film Holder") and light source, netting a fine ~25 mpixel scan of b&w 6x6cm negs. I use my own developed presets in LR Classic to invert and render the raw files, output to 16bit TIFF and do the finish editing with them. It works very nicely as the M10-M has superb resolution and dynamic range.

G

That’s great! I am putting together the pieces for this project so hopefully will start scanning by the end of January. I’ll get the Essential Film Holder and a horizontal extension arm for my Gitzo to mount the camera.

 

[Godfrey]

Took this one with my Voigtländer Perkeo II earlier this year... scanned with the M10-M fitted with Macro-Elmarit-R 60mm f/2.8:


Dodge - Santa Clara 2023

For b&w work, the Negative Lab light source is a bit of overkill. Any decent flat panel light box will do fine... mine is an ancient one from Hakub i bought maybe 18 years ago. 🙂

G

 

[Rayt]

I have a high quality light box for viewing slides and negatives. That should work. The EFH has a diffuser base. Good to know an LED light source isn‘t necessary.

 

[Freakscene]

All my recent scanning is done with an M10M, BEOON and Apo-Rodagon 50mm. It works perfectly. Better light sources are more even, but you often don’t notice if you use an inexpensive one.

 

[Rayt]

I don’t have a macro lens yet so I should look for a 60mm Elmarit-R since I already have the M adapter. BEOON has gotten very expensive. I need to also scan 4x5 and 5x7 so will do a tripod set up with a horizontal extender.

 

[vitaly66]

These look great. I recently picked up the Pentax K-3iii Monochrome and was thinking of setting it up for doing the exact same thing.

 

[Freakscene]

These look great. I recently picked up the Pentax K-3iii Monochrome and was thinking of setting it up for doing the exact same thing.

I also have a Kimono and have digitized some negatives with the Pentax HD 35mm Macro and a Nikon copy attachment. It’s fantastic. I prefer to use enlarging lenses because the field is flatter, but good macros work really well too.

 

[Godfrey]

I don’t have a macro lens yet so I should look for a 60mm Elmarit-R since I already have the M adapter. BEOON has gotten very expensive. I need to also scan 4x5 and 5x7 so will do a tripod set up with a horizontal extender.

The ME-R 60mm is a lovely lens and a good choice. It won't work well with a BEOON anyway... the BEOON is best with a 50mm M lens. A compact 50mm like the Color-Skopar 50mm f/2.5 works great with it.

To achieve 1:1 with the ME-R 60mm for 35mm negs, you'll also need the Macro-Adapter-R (14256). The lens' focus mount alone achieves 1:2 magnification.

G

 

[Coldkennels]

A BOOWU works surprisingly well, and they're still incredibly cheap; I've been using one with my X-Pro 2 and a 50mm Elmar. You're limited to 50mm LTM lenses but the performance of a late collapsible Elmar in good shape is more than enough to digitise a 6x6 neg.

 

[Godfrey]

I have one of the BOOWU-M units. It works well with the Color-Skopar 50mm f/2.5 but is more useful for copying prints and other flat art rather than negatives. Of course, with a little creativity, you can make some changes and copy anything… 🙂

G

 

[Rayt]

These look great. I recently picked up the Pentax K-3iii Monochrome and was thinking of setting it up for doing the exact same thing.

Very rare! Hope to see some images.

 

[Rayt]

KEH has a 20% off sale so I bought a Leica 60mm Elmarit-R Macro. Looks like I’ll be scanning pretty soon.

 

[justins7]

I actually tried doing it with my M9 and Visoflex, since I can focus up close. But I found it too cumbersome and went back to my Micro 4/3 setup.

 

[Deleted member 65559]

Took this one with my Voigtländer Perkeo II earlier this year... scanned with the M10-M fitted with Macro-Elmarit-R 60mm f/2.8:


Dodge - Santa Clara 2023

For b&w work, the Negative Lab light source is a bit of overkill. Any decent flat panel light box will do fine... mine is an ancient one from Hakub i bought maybe 18 years ago. 🙂

G

Love my Perkeo II ! <3

 

[trix4ever]

Why has it become normal to call this scanning?
It is copying...

 

[Rayt]

Why has it become normal to call this scanning?
It is copying...

How about digitizing? Is that ok? In the old days when you copy a negative you are making a duplicate so camera scanning conveys the intention clearly.

 

[Godfrey]

Why has it become normal to call this scanning?
It is copying...

Mostly because what we used to do with scanners is now being done more and more using a copy camera approach. As Rayt suggested, digitizing is likely the most precise word for it now, but i bet it will be hard to un-learn the notion of scanning.

G

 

[trix4ever]

Yes, that's cool, I'm just always curious how the english language is in a constant state of flux.