Enlarger lens for digital copy of negative and slide film

[lauge]

Asked this on APUG before I knew of this site Has anybody experience with copying film with an enlarger lens, bellows and DSLR? Any recommendation on enlarger lens for that setup is much appreciated.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Enlarging lenses often make good macro lenses, sometimes reversed, but it's best to test the lenses you actually have in hand. Be aware that the cost of the lens is not necessarily indicative of how well it will perform in a use it's not designed for. For instance, I once tested three Canon FD 50mm lenses reversed for macro--the 1.8, 1.4, and 1.2L, and no question, in that use, the cheap 1.8 outperformed the 1.4, and the 1.4 did better than the 1.2L. Some lenses that are otherwise good might have surprising problems when reversed or used for macro, like excessive flare or vignetting or barrel distortion.

Generally, I've found that my dedicated macro lenses work better than my particular enlarging lenses, and for some reproduction ratios, some of the latest non-macro lenses happen to be very well corrected in the macro range. For instance, I've used both my Zeiss 35/2 ZS and Canon 45/2.8 TS-E for copying negs, transparencies, and contact prints in the medium and large format ranges on my 5DII, and they're both up to the task.

The Tamron SP 90/2.5 Macro, which is outstanding on film and with small-sensor digital cameras, I've found, produces flare on my 5DII, I presume due to reflections between the full-frame sensor and the rear element of the lens.

For 35mm negs and transparencies, I use the Canon FD 35/2.8 Macrophoto, which is an RMS mount lens. To get a full frame copy on the 5DII, I use it on an RMS-M42 adapter with an M42-EOS adapter. The original RMS-FD + FD-EOS macro adapter gives a few mm more extension, and then I have a collection of extension tubes to get higher magnification, if I need. For instance, if I want a 50 megapixel scan or a crop from a 35mm original, I can use extension tubes to shoot 9 overlapping panels and stitch them in Photoshop.

 

[David Brown]

I used to do this all the time with the old Kodak High Contrast Copy film, to make title slides. I would shoot an original on HCC, which gave me a negative, and then re-shoot onto more HCC using the bellows and enlarging lens to give me a positive. I never experienced any reduction in sharpness (at least - "perceived") in the second generation. However, as has been stated here and on apug - there are a lot of variables and not all lenses are created equal. Try it and see is the best advice.

For what it's worth, I've been scanning old slides and negs with both a flatbed and a Minolta film scanner to put images on the web. Since I recently got a DSLR, I was planning on trying exactly what you are asking about. We'll see ...

 

[indigo]

Which bellow and slide copying attachment do you have? Do you already have the way to mount an enlarging lens on the bellow? And is your DSLR full frame or APC-C?
Picking the right focal length for you application you would need to know how far the slide attachment can be position from the lens and the size of the sensor in your camera. But I believe it's somewhere between 50mm and 80mm. You would need to pick a light source to light your slide. Flash is ok and should be used on manual mode.

 

[lauge]

Thanks for all your answers. I will be using it with APS-C sized sensor and already bought a bellows with slide copier in SR mount that is on the way. I decided to buy an EL-Nikkor 50 f/2.8 I can pick up locally and use an m39->m42->MD adapter (I know m39->MD exists ) on the bellows then I will also try with some M42 lenses.

 

[indigo]

with my own bellow, a Nikon PB-6 the Nikkor EL 50mm f/2.8 lens won't work. The minimun lens mount to film/sensor distance with the PB-6 is 96mm (if your own bellow can move the lens closer than this then it may work) and the minimum magnification is slightly larger than 1:1 and definitely won't work for an APS-C sized sensor. APS-C sized camera requires magnification of about 1:1.5. With the Nikkor EL 80mm f/5.6 lens it works but requires the lens mount to the slide distance aprox 200mm. I am not sure your slide attachment would allow that much distance. If that won't work you will have to get the 75mm or 60mm lens.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

If you have "too much" magnification, you can shoot more than one panel and stitch, which is not as simple, but it gives you more resolution than you would get with one shot, presuming the image is sharp and evenly illuminated corner to corner and everything is in good alignment. This is often overkill, particularly if you're just digitizing an image for the web, but sometimes it's handy.

 

[lauge]

Thanks, that's nice to know! I'm not sure that I can get that close to the sensor with the bellow without modifications so the 50mm might not be a good idea. I think APS-C needs a magnification of 1:2 as the area of the film sensor is twice is big on FF, no? Anyway, think I will look for a 75mm instead but will investigate further. I could try with a zoom lens, but not sure if that test is reliable as focal length can change the closer you focus and then what happens if you further use a bellows.