BEOON the Leitz Copy Stand

[coelacanth]

I just got this in the mail.

BEOON full kit including the box and original user manual. It looks pretty much mint/never used.

The idea was to use this with my Monochrom v1. Since the kit comes with a magnifier with focusing screen, you can grain check with non-live-view digital M. Of course if you have a camera with live view, you could do the grain check on LCD/EVF.

I also received a USB powered super thin light box for a little over $40 from Amazon.

I just followed the instruction, popped MM on, clicked, moved the neg, and clicked again. Once grain check is done, you can just tighten everything down and just click away.

Here is the quick result with a quick adjustments in LR. I used Summilux 50 ASPH as the copying lens because that's the only 50mm M-mount lens I currently have. I see mentions and pictures of people using 50/3.5 Elmar.


On the Platform by Suguru Nishioka, on Flickr

I'm sure I can do better job with PP as I get a hang of it and I didn't optimize any room lighting situation (probably didn't do a good job as sun was just setting), but I'm quite happy with this $300 Leitz kit. A lot cleaner setup than cardboard mount and iPad lightbox I was running, and I just don't like conventional film scanning process with flatbed or dedicated film scanners. And I can keep the whole process monochrome with the Monochrom. 😉

Anyone regularly using BEOON? Any tips you can share?

 

[coelacanth]

Here is the basic setup.

 

[Emile de Leon]

I got a BEOON about 9 mos ago for the same purpose..to make digital copies of my negs from 35mm to 6x9..
But all I had was a GH1 and it only did 35mm on the BEOON..being micro 4/3..
So last week..I noticed Sony A7 prices came down to under 1K brand spankin new...so I bought one..to hook up with the BEOON w/adapter..
I haven't tried it yet..but I have a Leica 60mm R macro lens that should work just fine..
I'm pretty enthused about all of this..
Good luck with yours!

 

[coelacanth]

Nice. Yeah, I'd probably get the A7 if I didn't have the MM.

Here is another snap from the same test batch.

 

[Godfrey]

It's a lovely piece, so nicely designed and refined. I tested mine on an old 645 color neg that I found fallen out of a box, using the Sony A7.

​

Don't remember who's dog it was, definitely someone related to the folks who owned the house I was living in back then.

I have plans for doing a lot more with it. 🙂

G

 

[coelacanth]

Godfrey,

Lovely photo. Your comment prompted me to scan some old negatives in the stash.

Here is one from France some years ago. The negative was developed with exhausted developer and very thin, but the combination of durable Tri-X (pushed to 1600 if I remember correctly) and MM at base ISO can rescue bad negatives quite well.

 

[gbealnz]

Me too, got one a while back. Wonderful olde worlde feel.
I use mine for scanning too, with an Apo Rodenstock 50mm enlarging lens.
Camera in my case is an old but dependable X-E1. Works well.
Gary.

 

[coelacanth]

Me too, got one a while back. Wonderful olde worlde feel.
I use mine for scanning too, with an Apo Rodenstock 50mm enlarging lens.
Camera in my case is an old but dependable X-E1. Works well.
Gary.

I agree. Really great quality and feel. It still works smooth as silk after over 50 years. I do want to eventually mate it with a good taking lens. Probably better to have a modern, not so fast ones like Elmar-M 50 as modern digital camera sensors are quite demanding, but I kinda like the idea of something period correct lens like the screw mount Elmar 50/3.5.

My wife drawing a character from her book on the door.

 

[Emile de Leon]

Just did some tests w/BEOON..
Most/all regular Leica taking lenses didn't cut it..
Macro R 60/DR f2 Summicron/Focotar-1...were not too good..sloppy in the corners..
Only the Focotar-2 was sharp and detailed corner to corner...even wide open...
Other enlarging lenses should work well here as they are flat field designs..
I think I heard that the Focotar-2 was a process lens...and is totally sharp even wide open..this bears out to be true..

 

[gbealnz]

And that is the reason I used the Apo Rodenstock, it is designed specifically for this style of use.
Gary

 

[coelacanth]

Nice. I wasn't even aware of Focotar line. I now gotta look into it. Would be nice to have this copying station ready with a dedicated lens attached. 🙂

 

[coelacanth]

Apo Rodenstock, noted as well.

I guess I should look into all available enlarger lens that can be used with LTM/M mount.

 

[philipus]

I also received a USB powered super thin light box for a little over $40 from Amazon.

Nice BEOON 🙂

Btw, which lightbox is that? Looks really nice.

Br
Philip

 

[coelacanth]

Nice BEOON 🙂

Btw, which lightbox is that? Looks really nice.

Br
Philip

This is the one I got.
http://www.amazon.com/Huion-Ultra-t...=UTF8&qid=1431703728&sr=8-5&keywords=lightbox

Super thin, working fine so far. Very combpenient as it just powers from Micro USB cable. Wish there were smaller one (this one is 17" diagonal), but I guess I can use this for other work.

 

[philipus]

Looks fantastic, Sug. Thank you for posting back.

The larger model isn't shipped to where I live (Netherlands) but there are a few A4 models it seems. Very cool design.

Best
Philip

This is the one I got.
http://www.amazon.com/Huion-Ultra-t...=UTF8&qid=1431703728&sr=8-5&keywords=lightbox

Super thin, working fine so far. Very combpenient as it just powers from Micro USB cable. Wish there were smaller one (this one is 17" diagonal), but I guess I can use this for other work.

 

[coelacanth]

A few examples with X-E1 as the scanner, 50 Lux ASPH as the taking lens (only M mount 50mm I have right now).

It is tempting to get a heavily discounted A7 and Focotar-2 to be used with BEOON as I've gone back to all film Ms.


Road Trip x Coffee by Suguru Nishioka, on Flickr


B-Day Girl Approaching by Suguru Nishioka, on Flickr


Joe is about to fly. by Suguru Nishioka, on Flickr


A little bird told him... by Suguru Nishioka, on Flickr


Desert Boots in Mt. Sutro by Suguru Nishioka, on Flickr


Little Wonder by Suguru Nishioka, on Flickr


One Sunday Morning by Suguru Nishioka, on Flickr

 

[splaaash]

An LED flat panel
http://stores.ebay.fr/Byek-Shop/Pan...72899010&_sid=110021980&_trksid=p4634.c0.m322

23€ is quite expensive..i bought mine from easybay.de for 16€🙂Only bad bit is the postage😱 I bought my LED flat panels when i bought my solar panels where i paid 20€ to France for 4 130w solar panels two controller and a flat panel

Two years ago the 24€ panels were 18€ and sold by a Swiss address shipped from Germany

I always thought the light temperature was wrong

Nice images they would look even better on photo paper...unless its just my printer thats old😕 Ill have to look again at printers

 

[coelacanth]

For "serious" prints I'd wet print, but for casual 4"x6" to give away, X-E1/BEOON combination is working pretty darn good. I just printed a bunch from a camping trip using my R3000 and I'm very happy with the result.

 

[lrochfort]

May I ask how true to the negative people feel the image is when using a digital camera as the capture device?

Does it look like an image from a negative with the wide dynamic range and good shadow detail you'd expect, or does it look like a digitally captured image?

Does it capture and represent medium format well?

How does it compare to a high end flatbed like the v700?

Would using a full frame digital make a difference?

thanks!

 

[philipus]

May I ask how true to the negative people feel the image is when using a digital camera as the capture device?

Does it look like an image from a negative with the wide dynamic range and good shadow detail you'd expect, or does it look like a digitally captured image?

Does it capture and represent medium format well?

How does it compare to a high end flatbed like the v700?

Would using a full frame digital make a difference?

thanks!

I tried digitizing 135 film with a EOS 5D2 and the 100L macro. I found that the resulting files were similar to what my Coolscans give, but not the same. There are just more things one can do with a dedicated film scanner and its software. That being said, it all depends on one's needs and preferences. But it won't look "digital" in that (imo) awful, "plastic" and unreal sense that digital does (to me, I hasten to add).

I wouldn't think using a small-sensor (even "full frame") would be recommendable for medium format film unless it's only for web use or small prints. One would have to accept considerable loss in quality and would not get near what medium format film delivers.

As soon as a negative/transparency is captured digitally, whether by a scanner or a camera, it will be subject to the limitations of that capture device. I am certainly no expert, but I imagine that most digital cameras today, except possibly at the highest end, are not able to capture the amount of information that is held in a wet-printed image. There were recently some fairly heated discussions in the Scan Hi-End Yahoo group concerning a new high-end digitizing scanner - http://dtdch.com/page/film-scanning-kit (message thread). I saw some RFF members in the discussion plus some from over at Large Format Forum, all very competent photographers and scanner operators. Many questioned the statements on the DT site. But, again, it comes down to one's needs and preferences.

Btw, an Epson V700 (if that's the one you refer to) is far, far from a high-end flatbed, like the iQSmarts or such.

Philip