charjohncarter
Veteran
To ptpdprinter, that is a problem. My slidecopier is really tight, but there is still some curvature (not so much with negatives but slides always has a little.). I would use f 11 or f16 on my macro lens to compensate. I also got lucky my camera let me know when I was in focus, but once I achieved good focus it was set for good until I switched to do slides or vice versa.
Huss
Veteran
For my 645 negs I use a Hasselblad imacon knock off film holder. Holds the film flat, no issues. For other 120 formats i have put a piece of anti newton ring glass on top of the film, which flattens the film completely, then a mask in the appropriate size on top of that. I cut those out using black card stock. That works great but frankly using my enlarger film holders has been great and quicker.
dugrant153
Established
I use a Pentax K01 mirrorless camera, a broken Sigma macro lens and lens hoods mounted downwards onto an old film holder to keep the negs flat.
The dust can get really bad but daaaang when I nail the focus on the negative, I get some crazy 16MP resolution that is way beyond anything my Epson V700 can produce.
The great thing about DSLR scanning is that even though dedicated scanners are getting harder and harder to find... I can always find a DSLR and a macro lens and be done with it. It's future proofing film scanning.
The dust can get really bad but daaaang when I nail the focus on the negative, I get some crazy 16MP resolution that is way beyond anything my Epson V700 can produce.
The great thing about DSLR scanning is that even though dedicated scanners are getting harder and harder to find... I can always find a DSLR and a macro lens and be done with it. It's future proofing film scanning.
Huss
Veteran
I wipe my negatives with an anti static cloth like this and have very few dust issues.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...Soft_Microfiber_Anti_Static_Cloth.html?sts=pi
This is helpful for scanning with a scanner, with a DSLR or straight printing.
Godfrey
somewhat colored
Some lenses do better than others. I remember that Olympus lens from many years ago ... it was a fine performer.
For magnifications down to 1:1, I haven't found a better performer than the Leica Macro-Elmarit-R 60mm f/2.8 ... truly outstanding.
But imagine my surprise when I tested the Leica Summicron-R 50mm f/2 and found it to be the best performer out of all the Macro and Enlarging lenses I have when used at magnifications around 2.7:1!
G
charjohncarter
Veteran
My problem with normal prime lenses was/is the film plane focus is curved so even with f11 or f16 there was still fall off (when shooting macro). Maybe the Leica Summicron-R 50mm f/2 is different; none of my 50mm primes worked well. So bought a macro 50mm.
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
Huss,
Thanks for this thread. Much appreciation for useful, helpful and thoughtful information.
Cal
Thanks for this thread. Much appreciation for useful, helpful and thoughtful information.
Cal
Doug A
Well-known
Agreed. With my BEOON setup I can use any camera and any lens with an LTM/M39 (or Leica M) mount.
dugrant153
Established
Single wipe or multiple times? I actually do use an anti-static cloth but I guess some dirt still gets caught up somewhere... maybe in the film holder?
css9450
Veteran
Any tips to get everything lined up straight and square? This step of the process always seemed like it left the most to luck - sometimes I thought I had everything square then I would scan some slides and find I had something just slightly crooked - and one side or the other was soft.
Huss
Veteran
You're welcome Cal!
I'm getting my 645 negs back tonight and will let you know in the next day or so. I only bought the imacon holder in 645 size, and this is the first few rolls I've shot since I got it. The regular enlarger holders I've been using for the other formats have worked fine.
A couple of wipes making sure I've passed over the entire film surface. I of course try to make sure the rest of my workspace is clean, and wipe it down with a micro fiber cloth before I start. Not that easy in a household with 2 cats and 3 dogs!
Using a proper copy stand really helps but the key is to look at the image in Live View. On my Nikon there is a grid option so you can immediately see if things are not lined up correctly.
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
One tip I heard of, but I have not tried that might be helpful is using that low tack blue masking tap to secure the edges of the negative.
I can see how the tape can pull taunt the negative and remove the transverse curl. Might even help when using negative holders borrowed from out enlargers.
Cal
I can see how the tape can pull taunt the negative and remove the transverse curl. Might even help when using negative holders borrowed from out enlargers.
Cal
css9450
Veteran
This will be my first try using a camera with Live View. I scanned a lot of slides this way using my D80 but it has no Live View to zoom into. Actually, this is my first camera with a tilt up/down screen, so I think a lot of the backbreaking work of leaning over the camera to see into the viewfinder will be gone! I am excited!
Huss
Veteran
That is a great tip Cal for those that need it! I didn't even think of that.
Huss
Veteran
That is funny because I've never used the tilt screen on my D750 (pretty much forgot it could do that) and when I finally noticed it, life became so much simpler! I now have the set up on a regular height table, as I just flip the screen so it is at eye level.
Huss
Veteran
Lubitel 166 Olympic Edition, Kodak 120 TMAX, scanned with my D750 using the copystand
B&W images are by far the easiest to handle, as there is no colour correction required.
35mm Arista 400. Same deal but using the slide copier
B&W images are by far the easiest to handle, as there is no colour correction required.
35mm Arista 400. Same deal but using the slide copier
Huss
Veteran
Same deal, Arista 400, slide copier, D750 (the gear that I showed in the pics earlier) No warping, no banding, edge to edge sharpness as everyone can see.
Godfrey
somewhat colored
Oh, the Macro-Elmarit-R 60mm has a flatter field and works better as a copy setup at 1:1 and lower magnifications. But at 2:1 or 3:1, the Summicron-R 50 just did a bit better. It surprised me too!
G