Medium format "scanner" attachment for DSLR use

A couple years ago I used this technique to shoot long exposures of darkened alleyways in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I used a 4x5 Speed Graphic on a tripod for the project called Overlooked. I wanted to study the different color temperatures that exist around us at night but we usually pay little attention to.

After I got the negs back, I set them on a light table, took out the bulb and illuminated the translucent glass with an SB-26. I used my M8 and DR Summicron as the "scanner" and the results were outstanding.

It is this project and that fact that I am always traveling and shooting, that has me wanting a portable, lens-mounted film holder for scanning my images using my DSLR.

Once I source the neg carrier, I'll be posting the DIY steps here.

Phil Forrest
 
How do you guys convert the orange mask (color negatives or Kodak BW400CN) into a usable image?

I'm also watching this thread. If this produces decent images for web, it's faster than scanning.
 
shadowfox said:
How do you guys convert the orange mask (color negatives or Kodak BW400CN) into a usable image?

I'm also watching this thread. If this produces decent images for web, it's faster than scanning.
Click to expand...

The accurate way to do it is to shoot a blank shot against a pure white background or 18% gray to give yourself a baseline. Then in post, you invert the orange frame which will be a light blue/cyan. Correct this until you get either white or 18% gray and you have your inversion/correction factor.

As for lighting, I intend to shoot a translucent piece of plexiglass with a flash so my scan will take me 1/250 second.

Phil Forrest
 
Wondering why you are going through all this trouble. If you are converting a 6x 6 image to full frame digital isn't that rwally the same as just shooting with the slr? You will get better results shooting the scene over shooting a slide.
 
Here's what I'm doing: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mdarnton/7183241686/

I had previously tried making a self-contained rig, but it was too much work. The mirror for getting everything parallel was someone else's brilliant idea, and now I used a tripod head with a quickrelease: laying the back of the camera on the table allows me to align the quick release, which is flat on the back edge and sticks out past the camera back a bit, against the table also so they position themselves parallel automatically, meaning I can set up now without hauling out the mirror, so it's all very fast. I picked up my neg carriers on ebay--a little waiting and something cheap always shows up. There's one there right now for twelve bucks, free shipping.

I don't do much color, but I understand that the orange mask isn't a single density filter? Anyway, if you understand the eyedroppers in Photoshop curves and levels, straighting the color out most of the way is pretty fast. Colorperfect is supposed to be good at the problem, but I don't do enough color to have tried it.
 
sjw617 said:
Wondering why you are going through all this trouble. If you are converting a 6x 6 image to full frame digital isn't that rwally the same as just shooting with the slr? You will get better results shooting the scene over shooting a slide.
Click to expand...

Most likely can't reshoot the scenes. I have Med Format film from the 90s and it would be pretty hard to backtrack and reshoot that much.
 
sjw617 said:
Wondering why you are going through all this trouble. If you are converting a 6x 6 image to full frame digital isn't that rwally the same as just shooting with the slr? You will get better results shooting the scene over shooting a slide.
Click to expand...

Because I like shooting black and white 120 with my Mamiya better than I like shooting with my D3. The D3 is a work camera. The Mamiya (or Leica) is a me-time camera.

Shooting 6x6 I will also have the option of doing a high-res drum scan or wet-printing which will beat the pants off what my D3 can do in terms of both resolution and tonality.

I also have a lot of negs from my Rolleiflex, Fuji GW690, Bronicas and folding 120 cameras that I'd like to make into digital images.

I'm not going to get into a film v digital argument and I will have this thread shut down if it becomes such. I like shooting film. I want to scan that film for web use. I have a Nikon D3 and almost all the parts to make this work.

"Because I can" is enough reason for me and should be enough reason for others too.

Phil Forrest
 
sjw617 said:
Wondering why you are going through all this trouble. If you are converting a 6x 6 image to full frame digital isn't that rwally the same as just shooting with the slr? You will get better results shooting the scene over shooting a slide.
Click to expand...

Perhaps higher resolution, etc, but not the same. You can't create the same FoV/DoF relationship with 35mm film that you have with 6x6, same for digital. And then there's the matter of the intimate defects and response curve of the film camera, which differ from the digital camera.

The goal is to capture what a 6x6 film camera sees in a good representation that renders it's essence for sharing in the digital domain.

G
 
shadowfox said:
How do you guys convert the orange mask (color negatives or Kodak BW400CN) into a usable image?
Click to expand...

I've been working on this, and have made some progress, but I'm waiting for software that properly deals with the color data for working with color negatives. The people who do the Color Perfect product say there are problems and the software is not here yet for doing this right.

Here's my approach:
- Besseler dual mode slide duplicator
- Electronic flash illumination (so it starts at 5500K, not 2700K)
- Adjust color to offset the orange mask, so the orange mask looks neutral or so that shooting a blank frame of negative comes out color neutral. This is possible with the filters in the Besseler.
- Take your shot
- Invert in Photoshop. Neutralize all the colors and adjust curves.

This should do a pretty good job for 400CN. For color, I can get acceptable neutral results, as shown below, but looking more closely you can see it's only an amateur effort.

Waiting for a well-engineered solution for color.

121020-D034486-0R-60G-110B-Color-Scr-An.jpg
 
Phil,
I had a 'ebay-moment' last week and bought a set of BOOWU Leitz copy adapters, without the legs for $5. My plan is to fit an enlarging lens, and use a bellows unit I have or cheap macro extenders to establish different enlargements. I would then make custom length legs for each set up. I found some neat brass m5 threaded tube nipples into which I could solder steel rod legs.
This is pretty compact copy stand set up. It would still need a light source and a neg holder. I'll bring the parts to the next meetup.
 
I don't want to get in a film / digital thing either. You said you wanted this for portability and you also mention older images. If you were not happy with flatness on a scanner, I think you will have the same issue especially with a 6 x 9
carrier. For new images I would shoot MF and digital. For older images I would work out the flatness with a better holder and glass and scan for better images.
 
Ah, for now I'm making this with a 6x6 carrier. I don't have film flatness to worry about quite as much since I'm not using a line scanner, I'll be using a lens and will be able to control depth of field better and get the whole image in focus. I don't think there will be an issue with film bulging in this case though.

Sorry to come off abrasive in my previous reply. This forum has been rife with trolling lately.

Phil Forrest
 
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