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Author Topic: Scanning film help  (Read 767 times)

Cornfield

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Scanning film help
« on: June 27, 2020, 08:16:24 am »

I would like to understand pros and cons of using a flatbed with holders for film or using a macro lens on a DSLR and a lightbox.  I have a full set of film inserts from a pro enlarger and using these on a small LED lightbox seems a good option for holding the film flat.

Any suggestions welcome.
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HarveyM43

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Re: Scanning film help
« Reply #1 on: June 29, 2020, 08:16:38 am »

Here's a youtube video that's pretty interesting comparing Drum, Epson flatbed & DSLR scanning. I found him too talky, but the information is there.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=7&v=Q9d8BukUgzI&feature=emb_logo
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kers

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Re: Scanning film help
« Reply #2 on: June 29, 2020, 08:43:40 am »

Informative video;

I just did 10.000 scans of all my 35mm slides with a Nikon DSLR and a macrolens.

It works but with many scans you have to prepare it it a little better than the man in the video, or it takes too long.
Still even with slides it is still some work to get color, lightness and contrast.
One point he makes was kind of funny: with DSLR you have to be there all the time, with the Epson you can take a coffee...
His conclusion is he prefers the Epson. My conclusion i prefer to have scanned 20 slides in the time Epson does one.
His video is more about producing one good scan... so that does not bother..

His example of using a 6 x17 film is a bit odd; if you use 35mm the slide can be much sharper ( depending on the film)
also the idea to stitch mulitple scans with a dslr of the 6x17film is odd; you know it is not going to work.
while his test is about drum vs DSLR vs Epson flatbed; he demonstrates that it is not the machine, but the persons craftmanship that makes the difference in many cases.

One thing i like about DSLR scanning of Slides: i can bracket the exposure to get even the darkest area's. I suggest a -2, 0, +2 stop bracketing and F11-f13  ; maybe F8 will be a bit crisper; sharpness failures are more often; the bracketing makes sure you have every detail without needing to check everytime.

I have found out that scans with a DSLR from a BW negative are sharper than flatbed scans of a 8x10 inch print.
However; the print is a selection of what is on the negative; you have to make that selection again.
I have not much problems with dust using a DSLR; had  a lot more problems with dark area's in scans from print.

« Last Edit: June 29, 2020, 09:08:26 am by kers »
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Pieter Kers
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HarveyM43

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Re: Scanning film help
« Reply #3 on: June 29, 2020, 09:12:55 am »

I thought if he used a true panoramic program for stitching he'd have better results than Photoshop or Lightroom. I use Hugin which has a learning curve but is free, open source. Secondly, if he hates his Canon DSLR's colors- maybe profiling the camera is for him..
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kers

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Re: Scanning film help
« Reply #4 on: June 29, 2020, 09:34:03 am »

I thought if he used a true panoramic program for stitching he'd have better results than Photoshop or Lightroom....

it is almost impossible to do stitching right,  for film is never flat... and the movement of the camera/film will introduces new problems...
If you are looking for the better scan; this is not going to be it. ( he could take one scan with MF 100/150MP)
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Pieter Kers
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Cornfield

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Re: Scanning film help
« Reply #5 on: June 29, 2020, 02:23:52 pm »

Thanks for the feedback guys.  The video was interesting but he could have delivered the message in ten minutes.  I wonder if he masked out the lightbox when shooting with the camera to reduce flare.

I ran my own pro lab for twenty years with nine darkrooms producing C-Types, Cibachrome and monochrome so I learned a bit about handling film for best results.

I have arranged to borrow a good macro lens next week so the digital camera option will be tested properly.
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plugsnpixels

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Re: Scanning film help
« Reply #6 on: June 30, 2020, 01:12:13 pm »

Short of watching the video, I don't think anyone here has mentioned standalone film scanners (or maybe they aren't a thing anymore?). Since the late '90s the COOLSCAN IV ED (LS-40 ED) has been my go-to film scanner for 35mm:

https://imaging.nikon.com/lineup/scanner/coolscan_4/

I've also used a Canon 9000F flatbed for larger format films, but for 35mm I prefer the old Nikon.
« Last Edit: June 30, 2020, 03:28:59 pm by plugsnpixels »
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red2

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Re: Scanning film help
« Reply #7 on: June 30, 2020, 01:49:09 pm »

Peter Krogh (author of The DAM Book) has a good video on film scanning using a DLSR: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxmFjvFLPu4
This is a long video (about an hour and 40 minutes), but very thorough as to the various considerations and methods. It is a video of a B&H event. Worth watching if you want to get into various details. There are lots of other youtube videos on the subject also.
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Bob D.
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