Camera scanning with Leica M10M

[Freakscene]

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

It is not copying, because you are not making an identical copy negative. You digitise it and then invert and apply edits that change the tones to something like what you get if you print the negative on silver paper. Traditional B&W photography is a density curve on film imposed on a density curve on paper. I know it’s not scanning because you don’t use a scanner, but it is not copying either. The lack of understanding about what happened tonally when negatives were printed is why a lot of digitised film captures you see online look bad.

 

[sojournerphoto]

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

What I find really interesting, and given my age and sex am convinced is the case, is that language development is primarily driven by young female groups within the population.

 

[JohnWolf]

Here are the steps for inverting a negative in LR and creating a preset to make it a one-click function: How do I invert a negative scan in Lightroom? | The Lightroom Queen.

I don’t camera scan, but I invert digital contact sheets this way and it works well.

John

 

[Ricoh]

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.

I have a couple of Micro 4/3 cameras. Would you mind me asking about your setup, ie can you describe and possibly a pic as well.

 

[justins7]

I have a couple of Micro 4/3 cameras. Would you mind me asking about your setup, ie can you describe and possibly a pic as well.

I have a real roundabout setup, but it works. It took a lot of trial and error.

Tripod with horizontal tripod bar attachment.
Panasonic gx7 + adapters:
For 6x9 negs I've been using a Nikon 105mm 2.5 LTM —> M adapter —> Panasonic adapter —> Meke 12mm macro adapter
I set the camera to self timer in lieu of a remote trigger, to avoid camera shake
I put the neg under glass on top of a USB light box.

For 35mm negs I switch to a 50mm lens.

 

[Ricoh]

I have a real roundabout setup, but it works. It took a lot of trial and error.

Tripod with horizontal tripod bar attachment.
Panasonic gx7 + adapters:
For 6x9 negs I've been using a Nikon 105mm 2.5 LTM —> M adapter —> Panasonic adapter —> Meke 12mm macro adapter
I set the camera to self timer in lieu of a remote trigger, to avoid camera shake
I put the neg under glass on top of a USB light box.

For 35mm negs I switch to a 50mm lens.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[Rayt]

I have a 50mm Summicron v5 and wonder if it can be used for digitizing? I know a macro lens is ideal but I already have this lens but would need to spend around $500 on the macro adapter the current one with helicoil. I can focus closer and crop out the edges. I know there are cheaper options but am just wondering.

 

[justins7]

I have a 50mm Summicron v5 and wonder if it can be used for digitizing? I know a macro lens is ideal but I already have this lens but would need to spend around $500 on the macro adapter the current one with helicoil. I can focus closer and crop out the edges. I know there are cheaper options but am just wondering.

What camera would you use it with?
I can use any Leica-mount lenses on my Panasonic micro 4/3 camera, and combine it with adapters to use. The adapters are probably not much more than $100 total.

 

[Rayt]

What camera would you use it with?
I can use any Leica-mount lenses on my Panasonic micro 4/3 camera, and combine it with adapters to use. The adapters are probably not much more than $100 total.

I have a M10 monochrom.

 

[Glenn2]

Just a quick thought. Do you have a high quality enlarger lens? I’ve used my 50mm Companon on a Visoflex for macro photography, it worked very well.

I see that’s already been mentioned. Count this as another vote for an enlarging lens, the flat field that they have probably helps.

 

[Miles.]

Just a quick thought. Do you have a high quality enlarger lens? I’ve used my 50mm Companon on a Visoflex for macro photography, it worked very well.

I see that’s already been mentioned. Count this as another vote for an enlarging lens, the flat field that they have probably helps.

Agreed. A $30 enlarging lens will surpass a $1,xxx macro lens for scanning use.

 

[Rayt]

No I don’t have any enlarger lenses. I have used them in a public darkroom. Do all enlarging lenses have the same standard mount and how to mount it on an M body?

 

[Freakscene]

No I don’t have any enlarger lenses. I have used them in a public darkroom. Do all enlarging lenses have the same standard mount and how to mount it on an M body?

Standard mount but not optically standardized. One problem is that because most enlarging lenses are in a bellows mount, for many the back focus and exact focal length are not controlled. If you go to the BEOON thread we discussed it. The Leica enlarging lenses made for AF enlargers do have a standard focal length because they were made to be interchangeable between enlargers.

Marty

 

[Godfrey]

I have a 50mm Summicron v5 and wonder if it can be used for digitizing? I know a macro lens is ideal but I already have this lens but would need to spend around $500 on the macro adapter the current one with helicoil. I can focus closer and crop out the edges. I know there are cheaper options but am just wondering.

Actually, the Summicron-M 50mm lens will do a lovely job of digitizing negatives, presuming you have the right extension tubes, etc, to enable focusing at near 1:1 macro distances. As example, I grabbed a couple of random negs off a roll of ACROS 100 shot with my Minox 35GT-E around holiday time in 2023 and scanned them with the M10-M/Summicron-M 50mm lens using the BEOON copy device.


Sample Scan #1


Sample Scan #2

I rendered them quickly, about five minutes work in LR, so I wouldn't call them the best practices work, but I don't see any problems using the raw files I made with the M10-M and Summicron 50mm. 🙂

G

 

[Freakscene]

Actually, the Summicron-M 50mm lens will do a lovely job of digitizing negatives, presuming you have the right extension tubes, etc, to enable focusing at near 1:1 macro distances. As example, I grabbed a couple of random negs off a roll of ACROS 100 shot with my Minox 35GT-E around holiday time in 2023 and scanned them with the M10-M/Summicron-M 50mm lens using the BEOON copy device.


Sample Scan #1


Sample Scan #2

I rendered them quickly, about five minutes work in LR, so I wouldn't call them the best practices work, but I don't see any problems using the raw files I made with the M10-M and Summicron 50mm. 🙂

G

They are noticeably soft at the edges Godfrey. Don’t get me wrong, they are lovely photos, but is the softness from a lack of field flatness? I tried a Summicron and found it lacking. I like the Focotar-2 and large front element Focotar best for the BEOON.

 

[Godfrey]

They are noticeably soft at the edges Godfrey. Don’t get me wrong, they are lovely photos, but is the softness from a lack of field flatness? I tried a Summicron and found it lacking. I like the Focotar-2 and large front element Focotar best for the BEOON.

I agree that they are soft at the edges ... My ancient Elmar 5.0cm f/3.5 is sharper at the edges, as is the Voigtländer Color-Skopar 50mm f/2.5. You are likely correct: a lack of field flatness. The Summicron and Summilux M-lenses were never designed to excel at 1:1 for flat field work ... BUT they can be used and can return nice results, depending upon the kinds of photographs you are trying to digitize. Not every photo needs super resolution at corners and edges, like portraits for instance. 😀

Also, I pulled these negatives pretty much at random from a strip of Minox 35 negs. I have no idea what lens opening was used on the Minox for them, and some of the corner-edge degradation might simply be the Minox lens used wide open. They were not a precise test...

Of course, these examples were simply a test to see what can be achieved. I'm not unhappy with the results, but I would normally use the Macro-Elmarit-R 60mm, Macro-Elmar-R 100mm, or the Summicron-R 50mm (for high magnications near 3:1). My experiments with a couple of enlarging lenses didn't return results as pleasing to me as those three, but I've never had a Focotar to experiment with. 🙂

G