How to scan film negatives with digital camera ?

Rosssiiii

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Hello

i would like to ask how i can scan film negatives with camera ? film are 35mm and 6x4.5mm.

I tried using a vintage 50mm lens with a reversing ring but the focus only allows me to photograph part of the negative. I used a Canon M3 connected to the column of an enlarger.

maybe I should try taking more photos and then merge them, could that be a solution?

I read that I might have to try a 50mm enlarger lens + photographic bellows, could be that a better solution ?

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000739111851.html?spm=a2g0o.cart.0.0.378e18fcqLOp5G&mp=1

As a bellows this should be fine right ?
 

koraks

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Rosssiiii said:
I tried using a vintage 50mm lens with a reversing ring
Click to expand...

That's a setup usually used to make extreme closeups beyond 1:1 magnification. For 'scanning' 35mm frames and larger negatives the magnification of this setup as you have noticed is actually too large.

Rosssiiii said:
maybe I should try taking more photos and then merge them, could that be a solution?
Click to expand...

Yes, that would work. The other obvious alternative is a regular macro lens.

With an APS-C sensor you need a little less than 1:1 magnification to digitize 35mm frames. Any macro lens or bellow setup that will give you 1:1 magnification will do fine.

Rosssiiii said:
As a bellows this should be fine right ?
Click to expand...

It looks usable, but whether or not this particular product is of good quality, I don't know.

There are many threads on 'camera scanning' on Photrio (and elsewhere); you can use Google or the forum search to find them. There's a selection of relevant threads:

Scanning with mirrorless cam and enlarging lens?

I want to use a Fuji X-T3 camera and a Schneider Componon-S 50mm f/2.8 enlarging lens for scanning collodion wet plate tintype and ambrotype plates. How do I calculate the distance needed from lens to camera sensor if I want, for example, a 13x18cm plate to fill the whole field of view? I have...
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Best digital camera for scanning

Does it pay to go into one of the high end medium format cameras for scanning or is something like a nikon d850 more than acceptable?? Which camera or is any high pixel count camera viable?? Thanks in advance! Peter
www.photrio.com

"Scanning" negatives with digital camera on a light table

Honestly, I don't think there is any point in using my V850 for anything other than reflective scanning any longer, and I hate myself for not changing my workflow many years ago. I put my negatives on a well diffused high CRI light table and photograph them with my a7iii. Super dense negative...
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Scanning film with digital camera

Hello everyone! I will start by saying that I am not a digital camera user, although I used to. I am shooting film only these days. I am looking to change the way I scan my negatives; currently I am using a film negative scanner (Plustek 7200), which is way beyond its era. That is why I am...
www.photrio.com

Flat bed vs DSLR scanning

Aside from the cost of the dslr are there any draw backs to scanning with your camera ?
www.photrio.com

DSLR scanning: from beginner to beginner

Hey there, For more then a year now I´ve been in the quest of scanning 35 mm film with my dslr with no previous experience with film scanning (either dedicated scanners, flat bed or dslr), so I just wanted to create a thread to share the process I went through, my mistakes and the shortcomings...
www.photrio.com

Film scanning with APS-C sensor DSLR - worth the bother?

Has anyone had success with a APS-C sensor camera? I have a Canon 60D DSLR I'd like to use for scanning 35mm and 120 film, but before investing in a copying system I'd like to know if the resolution of 18MP is sufficient, as I'm not sure I can obtain 1:1 macro with my existing lenses.
www.photrio.com

DSLR Camera Settings for Scanning of B&W Film

I Realize the process probably holds many way of doing scan conversions. Opinions greatly appreciated. I'm using a Canon R mirrorless camera with 100mm RF macro lens to scan B&W Negatives shooting in RAW. Utilizing Negative Lab Pro to convert negative images to positive. What are the best...
www.photrio.com

Understanding underwhelming DSLR scan results

Hi! I've recently started my journey in analog photography and I'm currently using a DSLR to scan my negatives. I'm using a Canon M50mk2 (APS-C) with a Tamron 90MM F2.5 1:2 Macro Lens. My issue is that my scans are noticeably less sharp than what I got from the lab that uses a Fuji Frontier...
www.photrio.com

Will this work for DSLR scanning?

Hello all, I have recently ‘borrowed’ my sisters Canon EOS 750D with a Tamron 70-300mm 1:4-5.6 Tele-macro 1:2 lens. Will this work for DSLR scanning? (Edit. Would be used for 120mm film at 6cm x 4.5cm) I have never been a digital photographer so I am clueless about all things DSLR.
www.photrio.com

PS: welcome to Photrio!
 

abruzzi

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I'd reccomend looking for a macro bellows that you can adapt your digital to. Most of them had available a negative/slide holder. I have a Pentax camera with a pentax bellows and negative holder. If your camera were full frame, than a 50mm macro lens would be all you'd need. With an APS-C camera you need a slightly longer lens. That setup makes it easy to scan, and once everything is adjusted and in focus (I check for every strip of film), you can just pull the film through to frame each shot and take the picture. I even tried running a full strip of 36 exposures before cutting them into smaller strips for storage. In my case the way the pentax bellows held the film in placeit did not scratch the image area (maybe some scratches around the sprocket holes.)
 

ags2mikon

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I have used a Sigma quattro H with a m-42 adapter and a Super Takumar 50mm f4.0 preset that goes to 1:1.
 

xkaes

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Since you are shooting negatives larger than your sensor, you don't need any gear that goes passes 1:1.
 

Chan Tran

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Slides are easy to do. For negatives taking pictures of the negs are easy it's the conversion to positive I have problem with.
 

wiltw

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xkaes said:
Since you are shooting negatives larger than your sensor, you don't need any gear that goes passes 1:1.
Click to expand...

...and as the 135 format frame is 0.62x the size of the full 135 format image...so OP could used a 30mm extension tube on the 50mm lens to obtain that 'magnification'

xkaes said:
Slides are easy to do. For negatives taking pictures of the negs are easy it's the conversion to positive I have problem with.
Click to expand...

Indeed, this is the problematic part. There is available some specific software to perform the inversion and color and contrast correction to get reasonable results. If you simply use the same postprocessing software that you ordinarily use for processing photos taken with your camera, you are likely to be disappointed, unless you can do a manual, somewhat complex adjustment process.

This is what I got with the automated software that came with my flatbed scanner...
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This is what I got when I first investigated using a camera to shoot a neg, then use Paintshop Pro to color invert the image...


BTW, the camera-shot image is L-R flipped because I shot the neg looking at the emulsion side rather than the substrate side, and neglected to flip it back when I experimented with using PSP software.
 
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MattKing

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Welcome to Photrio.
We have moved your thread to the Scanning and Scanners sub-forum, because that is where it is most at home .
We hope you find your participation here rewarding.
 
OP
OP

Rosssiiii

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Hello everyone
I finally managed to digitize the negatives.
I used as mentioned the enlarger lens and the Chinese bellows, APSC Canon EOS M3 camera to which I connected the EOS M to EF adapter and the bellows.
To avoid having an excessive enlargement I actually had to close the bellows to the maximum!
I took 8 photos for each single photo of the 6x4.5 negative in order to be comfortable.

I have some questions to ask you because I don't know what some results depend on:
Negative: (http://imgur.com/c6320X0) conversion of the negative into a positive without modifications: (http://imgur.com/9DwvvdM) digitally modified positive: (http://imgur.com/sQ9CmQe)
however it is impressive how much detail is present in these negatives, from the scans made with a minimum enlargement I have not even minimally extrapolated all the detail of the negative, if I had taken more photos and more zooms all the detail would have come out and it is very exciting to see because you would not think that it could be so much.

the questions to ask are:
1) why when I convert into a positive the positive comes out with a slightly orange light?
2) to be a B&W photo what temperature must the photo have? is the one I tried to give it in the digital processing that I did in the third photo that I published correct?

As a light to illuminate the negative I used the phone screen set to white light.
 

koraks

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Rosssiiii said:
1) why when I convert into a positive the positive comes out with a slightly orange light?
Click to expand...

This is because you photographed the negative in color, and the combination of the color of the film itself, the light source used and the white balance setting on the camera results in a blue-toned negative image. If you flip this to positive, it becomes the complementary color, which is yellow/orange in this case. Don't worry about it; you can simply convert the image to a greyscale image and disregard any color information in the digital capture.

Rosssiiii said:
2) to be a B&W photo what temperature must the photo have? is the one I tried to give it in the digital processing that I did in the third photo that I published correct?
Click to expand...
Do you mean which white balance you should set the digital camera to? For a B&W negative, it really doesn't matter much. I would set it so that you get an approximately neutral image with the light source you use, and then convert the image to B&W/monochrome in Photoshop etc.
 
OP
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Rosssiiii

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Ok understand.
there i have inverted and selected B&W on PS ... but still to me looks like is still a bit orange
(http://imgur.com/b1WgR3U)
why the stock negative, inverted and colour removed on PS does it have that little contrast?

(http://imgur.com/urDkQXX)
----
While what advices do you give me to scan colour negatives how i have to do there with with balance ?
 

runswithsizzers

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When I compare a screenshot of your camera-scan to one of mine, I do not see any significant coloration. Do these two look neutral on your monitor, or both a bit orange?



As for the inverted negative having low initial contrast, that is normal. You should expect to make some adjustments such as black point, white point, contrast, etc. as a routine part of the process. I think your processed copy still looks a little flat and might possibly benefit from a bit more contrast, including brighter whites?
 
Last edited:

koraks

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Rosssiiii said:
but still to me looks like is still a bit orange
Click to expand...

I see no orange. Maybe it's a monitor setting as @runswithsizzers suggests. It's also possible that you're getting confused while editing due to an opposing color reference nearby; i.e. if you have something rather blue surrounding a greyscale image, the neutral greyscale can end up looking orange. It's a trick of the mind.

Rosssiiii said:
why the stock negative, inverted and colour removed on PS does it have that little contrast?
Click to expand...

Don't worry about it; just add contrast as you desire. Low contrast after scanning is generally a good thing. It means you have room to play with contrast. If you ended up automatically with a very contrasty image, you would probably run into blown-out highlights and open shadows. Your images look like a good starting point for further editing. You could edit it something like this, for instance:
 
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