How do you scan your 35mm B&W film?

[sara]

Fuji Frontier sp-3000 because I work in a photo lab.

 

[Doug A]

Ok i'll try this then, when shooting negs do you just do a reversal in photoshop or is there a better way to convert negative to positive to keep the correct tones, i'm talking bxw negs here

I have done the inversion with Affinity Photo, Photoshop and Lightroom. All work equally well for that purpose. Recently I have been shooting my B&W negatives in RAW with an X-E2, batch converting to DNG, pre-sharpening and renaming the files with Iridient X-Transformer, batch inverting and doing an auto-levels in Affinity and exporting as JPG to Apple Photos which I use to make a proof print. Once I have the proof print in hand I discard all of the other files and save only the DNG's for making display prints of the keepers.

All of this can also be done with Photoshop or Lightroom, and I've tried them, but I like my results at every stage better with this oddball lineup of software. YMMV.

 

[Huss]

Ok i'll try this then, when shooting negs do you just do a reversal in photoshop or is there a better way to convert negative to positive to keep the correct tones, i'm talking bxw negs here

Yup, I just reverse (I use LR) then play with the tone curves the way I would would with any image. As it is a reversed image, they go the opposite direction!
You can do one for the first image on that film, then save it as a preset so your next ones will just need a tiny tweek.

If you do colour negs it is the same thing BUT the most important bit is to use the eye dropper to set the white balance before you reverse. C41 films have a serious orange base and this removes it in an instant. I've seen online tutorials that say to set the WB manually to as cold (blue) as possible to counteract this but they are so wrong, as then your shot will be blue. Just use the dropper when u process.

Your Sony's resolution is something like 7400x4400, which is far higher than a lab scan. Plus the Sony's sensor has incredible DR. Use it.

 

[welshzorki]

Ok thanks for the help guys, here's my first old neg scanned with my Sony A7RII, converted in lightroom.

 

[Huss]

Ok thanks for the help guys, here's my first old neg scanned with my Sony A7RII, converted in lightroom.

Looks good to me. How do u feel about it?

 

[Darthfeeble]

I voted dedicated film scanner when this thread first opened but have changed to a V600 with my renewed interest in film.

 

[Huss]

I don't know why anyone would buy a scanner if they have a decent digi cam. I'm getting better results using my D750 + macro lens than from a pro lab using Noritsu or Frontier machines.

It also takes me about 15 secs per image.

For mf film, I just take a couple of shots and use the merge function in LR :

Plus there is none of that 'scanning is an art' required. Take shot of the film, done. Then process in LR etc. The way you would with any image.

 

[Darthfeeble]

Does it require any special attachments? I know it can be done but hadn't a clue how and I know how to make the scanner work. As an aside, I got rid of my macro lens for my DSLR. Other than the time involved I'm pleased with the results and wasn't with what I got from a Lab.

 

[Huss]

Nikon D750 DSLR + macro lens , then..

1/ If scanning 35mm film, I use the Nikon ES-1 slide duplicator with a film holder.
Illuminated with a slave flash, camera pointing directly at it.

2/ If scanning 120/220 film, same camera and lens, but I use a copy stand and light pad. With that I got this:

If you have any decent digital camera you can do this. Using the 35mm slide copier it takes me about 10-15 secs to take a shot . So I can do a roll of film in about 10 minutes. Using the copy stand, as there are 8-15 shots per roll (depending on whether it is 6x9, 6x6, 6x4.5) I can do a roll in 3-5 minutes.

Yup, I just reverse (I use LR) then play with the tone curves the way I would would with any image. As it is a reversed image, they go the opposite direction!
You can do one for the first image on that film, then save it as a preset so your next ones will just need a tiny tweek.

If you do colour negs it is the same thing BUT the most important bit is to use the eye dropper to set the white balance before you reverse. C41 films have a serious orange base and this removes it in an instant. I've seen online tutorials that say to set the WB manually to as cold (blue) as possible to counteract this but they are so wrong, as then your shot will be blue. Just use the dropper when u process.

Your Sony's resolution is something like 7400x4400, which is far higher than a lab scan. Plus the Sony's sensor has incredible DR. Use it.

Does it require any special attachments? I know it can be done but hadn't a clue how and I know how to make the scanner work. As an aside, I got rid of my macro lens for my DSLR. Other than the time involved I'm pleased with the results and wasn't with what I got from a Lab.

See above.

Film holder available here. Scroll down until you see Nikon ES-1

http://www.negative-solutions.com/assets/inventory.pdf

 

[welshzorki]

Looks good to me. How do u feel about it?

I'm happy with the results.
Here are a couple more.

 

[hap]

Arghhh.....Nikon ES-1 not compatible with my 105 Macro D FX according to Nikon website.

 

[Huss]

Arghhh.....Nikon ES-1 not compatible with my 105 Macro D FX according to Nikon website.

The ES-1 uses a 52mm filter thread, same as your lens. Not sure why the ES-1 wouldn't work. Hmm.

 

[Malcolm M]

Cheap (£50) scanner from Maplin- quite adequate for websites or emails. The wall of shame I print properly.

 

[cz23]

See above.

Film holder available here. Scroll down until you see Nikon ES-1

http://www.negative-solutions.com/assets/inventory.pdf

It appears to be this item on Ebay. I think I'll give it a try with an ES-1.

Seems like it would be pretty easy to make using a plastic slide holder.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/35-mm-film-holder-adapter-made-for-Nikon-ES-1-Slide-Duplicator-/282536658890

 

[frank-grumman]

V850 works well for me. I'm using SF 8.8.0r9. Still learning how to use it, but so far with one roll of Acros 100, I like it.

 

[jeffrypittman]

I use an old Minolta Dimage 5400 and when I want a higher quality scan I send to a professional lab (Icon) in LA.

 

[FalseDigital]

I have a Pakon F135 and a Fujifilm Frontier SP-500

Higher Dynamic Range on the Pakon but only 6 MP
Stronger Contrast on the Frontier but 19MP

Pakon can scan RAW, Fuji can't.
So I use either or depending on the project/film/etc.

 

[BernardL]

Nikon LS-2000 with vuescan.

 

[ptpdprinter]

Pakon can scan RAW, Fuji can't.

What RAW format (extension) does the Pakon save as, and what RAW converter do you use to open the resulting image? How is that different from, say, a 16-bit TIF?

 

[FalseDigital]

What RAW format (extension) does the Pakon save as, and what RAW converter do you use to open the resulting image? How is that different from, say, a 16-bit TIF?

The Pakon can export as .TIFF as well as .RAW but it's .RAW file is proprietary and programs like Photoshop cannot read it. So I use this program: https://alibosworth.github.io/pakon-planar-raw-converter/comparison/
to convert them to .TIFF

Follow the link at the top of the page to download PPRC (The Raw Converter) I'm currently running Mac OS X El Captain and run it from a terminal command. Although, there is a Windows option available as well.

For images with heavy contrast (especially skies) this method seems to work better than simple .TIFF export.