Seeking advice on selecting device to scan photos and negatives.

[satimis]

If you've got a DSLR or equivalent a decent macro lens, then a copy stand is what you're looking for. Don't know how well it would work for digitizing prints-- for that, I'd normally use my V800. I would guess a light box with diffuse lighting would allow you to take available light photos.

Hi,

Thanks for your advice.

I don't have a DSLR nor a digital camera with macro lens. If I decide going the camera route scanning film negative, I'll purchase it instead of to purchase Epson V850 Pro flatbed scanner. After having scanned all old film negatives I still have a camera to use. For V850 Pro after having scanned all old film negatives, it can retire. That is the point I'm now considering.

I can use a Tablet as light box for diffuse lighting source. Please see my posting on #15 above. It worked for me

Note that if you've got glass pressed up against the film, not only do you have a layer of glass to go through, there's the chance of newton rings, unless your glass is of the anti-newton ring.

Personally, I try to avoid any glass (or other) between my negative and the scanning unit, whether that's a flatbed or a DSLR.

OK, thanks

How to keep the film negative straight, resting on the Tablet in my case?

Regards

 

[satimis]

If you have videotapes that are digitized by the camera, then you can attach the camera to the input of your computer and transmit the data to it. Just place the recorded tape back into the video camera in playback mode. Be careful, do not record over it. The video camera's manual will explain how to do this. You may need an attachment for the computer like a Firewire and cable.

On the other hand, if you have an analog recording on tape, like VHS, the playback unit has to read the tape. So quality depends on the playback unit. I had VHS tapes and used my VHS player to my computer to digitize it. The quality was not very good but that's all I had at the time. I imagine that the recording video also can play it back. But I don't know which methods provide the best playback. Whatever you use, clean the playback heads.

Hi Alan,

Thanks for your advice.

I need a Digital to Analogue Converter to do the job, connected btw the video camera and computer. My problem is I don't have a device playing the video tape. My Sony V8 Video Camera is not working. I'm now searching for a second hand one on PAL system. It is not easy to find here. I have the complete technology converting analogue tape to digital files on computer on both Windows and Linux system.

There are outside services that you can pay do these conversions for you as well.

I have tried those professional service ripping a VHS to .mp4 files. The result was terrible.

I need to enhance the quality of video running AviSynth and Shotcut on Linux PC.

Regards

 

[satimis]

You can always sell the V850 when you're done and get more than half the cost back.

Hi Alan,

I won't resell my electronic device just keeping it on shelves.

Regards

 

[mwdake]

Hi,

The scanning speed of my Epson Perfection 3490 flatbed scanner is too slow. It is time for it to retire.

If I decided going the digital camera route to scan my old film negatives, I'll use it to scan those photos without film negatives. The last time using 3490 was about 3 months ago to scan documents. I'll check whether it is still working. It is now resting on shelves.

I run 3490 on Ubuntu 20.04 (Linux), using the open source software SANE.

Regards

If you find the 3490 too slow then you’ll also find the V600 slow.
3490 positive 35 mm 43 secs, negative 35mm 94 secs
V600 positive 35mm 51 secs, negative 35mm 62 secs
According to Epson, I doubt the V850 is that much faster.
What resolution were you using on the 3490.

If you are after speed a camera digitization is the way to go.

 

[satimis]

Depending on the DSLR and accessories, DSLR scanning has the potential to yield better and faster results. I believe one of our own here runs a business using DSLR scanning and his workflow seems optimal.

DSLR scanning of b&w and slides requires the least amount of post work. Since ICE doesn't work on true b&w film, it will require the same amount of post work whether you scan using a scanner or DSLR. ICE does work on slides so that can potentially save you a lot of time in post - depending on the condition of the film and how picky you are. Note that if you have Kodachrome films to scan that the Coolscan's ICE is the most effective.

If you have a lot of color negatives then DSLR scanning imposes additional post work to convert to a positive. Depending on your workflow this can potentially negate any speed advantage of DSLR scanning. Since ICE work with color negatives then that may be additional work you have to do in post.

Hi Les,

Thanks for your advice.

Taking a shot is much faster than scanning. It is now I'm considering. I don't have a DSLR nor a digital camera with micro lens. If I decide going this route I'll purchase one of them instead of a V850 Pro flatbed scanner. So that after finishing scanning all my old film negatives I still have a camera to take photos. I won't purchase a high-end product but a product just suitable for my job.

Regards

 

[satimis]

If you've got a DSLR or equivalent a decent macro lens, then a copy stand is what you're looking for. Don't know how well it would work for digitizing prints-- for that, I'd normally use my V800. I would guess a light box with diffuse lighting would allow you to take available light photos.

Hi,

Thanks for your advice.

If I decide going the digital camera route I will buy a DSLR steady of V850 Pro. Actually mobile phone is a digital camera. Its magnifying function is micro-lens

Note that if you've got glass pressed up against the film, not only do you have a layer of glass to go through, there's the chance of newton rings, unless your glass is of the anti-newton ring.

Personally, I try to avoid any glass (or other) between my negative and the scanning unit, whether that's a flatbed or a DSLR.

My purpose pressing the film strip with a crystal glass is to keep it flat and firmly touching the Tablet surface. I can remove the crystal glass.

Regards

 

[satimis]

If you find the 3490 too slow then you’ll also find the V600 slow.
3490 positive 35 mm 43 secs, negative 35mm 94 secs
V600 positive 35mm 51 secs, negative 35mm 62 secs
According to Epson, I doubt the V850 is that much faster.
What resolution were you using on the 3490.

If you are after speed a camera digitization is the way to go.

Yes, you're correct. Thanks

I'm now investing the camera digitization route.

Regards

 

[satimis]

Note that the V600 film holder holds 12 shots, that's two strips of 6. The V850 holds 18 shots or three strips of 6 pictures each.

Thanks for your advice.

Epson V850 PRO is sold with Silverfast SE Plus 8 as bundle which runs on Windows. Does it have the feature splitting the negatives into separate digital files automatically after scanning? What formats are available?

If purchasing V850 Pro, I'll test its scanning function on Linux. I can make it work on Linux using the Open Source software.

Regards

 

[satimis]

The digital camera & copy stand used for digitizing negatives should be fine for your prints too. Maybe need some lights.

Thank for your advice.

I can use a Tablet as Light Box. It worked for me before without problem.

I'm now trying to figure out how to move the negative film strip on the light box, not with hand?

NOT taking a shot on 6 negatives together and splitting them into 6 digital files afterwards?

Regards

 

[satimis]

Hi all,

I have just made a brief search on Internet in re DSLR film scanning and found following YouTube video and documents;

My Budget DSLR (mirrorless) 35mm film scanning setup


Best way to scan film negatives with a digital camera & Negative Lab Pro


Scanning without a Scanner: Digitizing Your Film with a DSLR

Scanning without a Scanner: Digitizing Your Film with a DSLR

There is no doubt that digital photography is here to stay, and film has certainly seen better days, in terms of availability and affordability. However, what if you’re a digital photographer who simply wants to shoot a roll of film every once in a while, for fun? Film photography has a distinct...

www.bhphotovideo.com

DSLR Filom Scanning + RAW Editing

DSLR Film Scanning: The Secret to Perfect Color Negatives

Get incredible Color & Tone from your Film Negatives with this DSLR Film Scanning guide. FREE In-Depth Video, Equipment Guide & Comparisons.

natephotographic.com

They are quite interesting to me. Its scanning speed is much faster than a flatbed scanner, just taking a shot.

I have no problem on Post Editing, running either Adobe PhotoShop on Windows OR GIMP on Linux OR other relevant photo/video editing software. Neither I have problem converting negative photos to positive photos and vice versa.

Now I'm interested to know what DSLR including lens I need to purchase? I don't expect to invest on high end/too expensive DSLR but a model just suitable for me to do the job.

Pls advise. Thanks in advance

Regards

 

[unwantedfocus]

There is a lot of small details to get good quality out of DSLR scans. Distance to negative, light source, lens, tripod, overall environment is it dark or will there be reflections? Shutterspeed, f-stop, filmholder, post editing etc. etc. For me personally its too much to perfect all those things I prefer a dedicated scanner. Once you perfected those parameters, its defiantly faster and you get good quality. My 2 cents..

 

[MattKing]

The most important and expensive factor is the lens. Unfortunately, so-called macro lenses are often designed to perform both at the close distances required for digitizing, and with more distant subjects. That involves expense and compromise.
Stand alone scanners have lenses designed just for the scanning distance(s).
There is probably a business opportunity out there for the third party lens makers.

 

[Les Sarile]

Hi all,

I have just made a brief search on Internet in re DSLR film scanning and found following YouTube video and documents;

My Budget DSLR (mirrorless) 35mm film scanning setup


Best way to scan film negatives with a digital camera & Negative Lab Pro


Scanning without a Scanner: Digitizing Your Film with a DSLR

Scanning without a Scanner: Digitizing Your Film with a DSLR

There is no doubt that digital photography is here to stay, and film has certainly seen better days, in terms of availability and affordability. However, what if you’re a digital photographer who simply wants to shoot a roll of film every once in a while, for fun? Film photography has a distinct...

www.bhphotovideo.com

DSLR Filom Scanning + RAW Editing

DSLR Film Scanning: The Secret to Perfect Color Negatives

Get incredible Color & Tone from your Film Negatives with this DSLR Film Scanning guide. FREE In-Depth Video, Equipment Guide & Comparisons.

natephotographic.com

They are quite interesting to me. Its scanning speed is much faster than a flatbed scanner, just taking a shot.

I have no problem on Post Editing, running either Adobe PhotoShop on Windows OR GIMP on Linux OR other relevant photo/video editing software. Neither I have problem converting negative photos to positive photos and vice versa.

Now I'm interested to know what DSLR including lens I need to purchase? I don't expect to invest on high end/too expensive DSLR but a model just suitable for me to do the job.

Pls advise. Thanks in advance

Regards

Do you have medium format film to scan?

How many frames of film are you potentially going to scan?

For 35mm, I use the autobellows from Pentax and Nikon but that's ideal only if you have fullframe cameras of those mounts. Bonus is that you can use relatively cheap manual focus macro lenses. This is the fastest and easiest way. The camera and target film are always perfectly aligned. Any movement will not affect it. Setup is super quick and moving frames across is a breeze. SLides you just pop them in one at a time.

K20D_50mm Macro_AutoBellows by Les DMess, on Flickr

Just to be sure, a DSLR scan is fastest for true b&w film. Very minimal post work and dust and scratch removal done in post same as scans.

DSLR scan with slides can be faster because again post is very minimal. However, add dust and scratches and the time can change even drastically.

For instance, this is very old Kodachrome and the dust and scratches did not come off even with many passes through antistatic cloth and even some safe cleaning fluid. It would have taken me many many minutes to clean this in post. The Coolscan only takes about 50 seconds and the Epson V850 is stated to take less than 3 minutes with ICE.

Kodachrome D800-Coolscan by Les DMess, on Flickr

Incidentally, the higher resolution the camera the more you will see dust and scratches that you may not have noticed before.

DSLR scan of color negatives now imposes color conversion on top of dust and scratch removal. Unless you have the Nikon D850 which apparently has a built-in color conversion - which I haven't tried yet. In this example I tried to manually do it and even with the scanned image as a reference - and many minutes of post work, I still could not match the colors from the scan. Then of course the dust and scratch removal. I can't even imagine how long it would have taken me to get results that clean.

Kodak 160VC-06-36 K20D vs 9K ICE by Les DMess, on Flickr

Granted my color negative post work is greatly stunted by having the Coolscans and I haven't tried the tools that are currently available. However, I've been keeping an eye on these developments - many workflows posted on youtube as you've seen, but clearly those people take far longer times to work on one frame. Even here many have posted their routines that corroborate this. As I said, there is one of ours on this forum that runs a business DSLR scanning and his volume of work seems to indicate he has it down very well. Undoubtably, you too could get that proficient with enough practice.

 

[satimis]

Hi all,

Just performed following test according to;

How to scan film negatives with FilmBox?


(There are many similar YouTube video on Internet)

Scanning software - FilmBox

Wonderful it works quite nicely. Please see the photos (without post-editing) attached, taken by me in Paris long time ago.

I hold my Samsung Galaxy S9+ smart phone by hands to capture and using Samsung Tablet as light box. If I build a simple fixture for scanning the result, the quality of photos, would be even better.

2 years ago I also used this technique but without scanning software (pls see my #15 posting above). It also worked.

For quality photos, post-editing couldn't be avoided because of the quality of the negatives. Technically mass post-editing on photos is possible. But for quality it needs post-editing the photos individually (one by one).

I'll run "Remote Desktop"(the technology) to capture the negatives remotely on a computer, just with a click on mouse. In such arrangement I won't touch the smart phone. creating un-necessary motion during shooting.

If finally I decide selecting this route to digitize my old film negatives, I would use the money purchasing a new Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra smart phone to do the job, instead of Epson V850 Pro flatbed scanner.

Regards


Edit
===
Remote Desktop
Mirror Android Screen to Ubuntu With Scrcpy | Control Android Devices From Linux PC (Complete Guide)


For Mirror IPhone Screen to Windows PC
Sorry I don't know. Please ask the Windows folks.

Most likely I'll go this route scanning color film negatives

 

[satimis]

Do you have medium format film to scan?

How many frames of film are you potentially going to scan?

For 35mm, I use the autobellows from Pentax and Nikon but that's ideal only if you have fullframe cameras of those mounts. Bonus is that you can use relatively cheap manual focus macro lenses. This is the fastest and easiest way. The camera and target film are always perfectly aligned. Any movement will not affect it. Setup is super quick and moving frames across is a breeze.

Hi Les,

Thanks for your detailed advice.

I have about one thousand film negatives to digitize to photo/image files, not for printing. Most negatives are 35mm film and >95% are color negatives.

I have been doing scanning documents/photos/film negatives on flatbed scanner for >10 years. I wonder whether there are new technologies developed in the scanning process. Science and technology are being developed daily and won't stay permanently on the same technology for hundred years.

Besides I'm considering what shall I use the new Epson V850 Pro scanner, if purchased, after finishing scanning all old film negatives. I don't have habit reselling my devices.

If going DSLR route, after having finished the job, I still have a camera to use. Furthermore the time to capture a negative on camera is much faster than scanning nagatives on flatbed scanner. That is my target starting this post.

Is DSLR only a camera box, not coming with lens? I have to purchase lens separately? Is there any additional use for micro-lens after having finished scanning all my old film negatives?

Thanks

Regards

 

[Les Sarile]

I have about one thousand film negatives to digitize to photo/image files, not for printing. Most negatives are 35mm film and >95% are color negatives.


Furthermore the time to capture a negative on camera is much faster than scanning nagatives on flatbed scanner. That is my target starting this post.

Is DSLR only a camera box, not coming with lens? I have to purchase lens separately? Is there any additional use for micro-lens after having finished scanning all my old film negatives?

I did the calculations. Would it make a difference if you knew that with the published scan times of the V850 you could scan all 1000 color negative frames in about a day and a half? With the Coolscan 5000 in about half a day? Of course these are dedicated scan times/film handling only without taking any breaks in betweeen . . .

You can use a macro lens for extreme close ups or as a normal shooting lens. For instance I took this photo using a Pentax M Macro f4 50mm lens on Fuji Velvia - very sharp. I bought this lens used from local listing for a very few bucks.

Fuji RVP - Original Velvia by Les DMess, on Flickr

 

[Les Sarile]

Hi all,

Just performed following test according to;


Scanning software - FilmBox

Wonderful it works quite nicely. Please see the photos (without post-editing) attached, taken by me in Paris long time ago.

If finally I decide selecting this route to digitize my old film negatives, I would use the money purchasing a new Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra smart phone to do the job, instead of Epson V850 Pro flatbed scanner.


Most likely I'll go this route scanning color film negatives

If those are the results you are happy with then you are good to go! It does have that vintage . . . nostalgic look about it.

Just for fun, I will give this ap a try . . .

 

[satimis]

- snip -

You can use a macro lens for extreme close ups or as a normal shooting lens. For instance I took this photo using a Pentax M Macro f4 50mm lens on Fuji Velvia - very sharp. I bought this lens used from local listing for a very few bucks.

Fuji RVP - Original Velvia by Les DMess, on Flickr

Hi,

Thanks for your advice.

DSLR
I prefer brand-new DSLR including lens.

I found following model;

Canon EOS 850D and EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Lens

Canon EOS 850D Camera + EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Lens in Discontinued at Canon

Visit Canon for Canon EOS 850D Camera + EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Lens and share with all your friends.

store.canon.co.uk

I suppose following micro lens being included in their price
EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM

Canon Camera Lenses: DSLR, Mirrorless & More | Canon U.S.A, Inc.

Shop our selection of camera Lenses. Explore specs, colors, and more from Shop Canon Business U.S.A., Inc. to find the right product for you.

www.usa.canon.com

Can I use Macro USM lens for daily life shooting without purchasing an additional lens?

Regards

 

[satimis]

If those are the results you are happy with then you are good to go! It does have that vintage . . . nostalgic look about it.

Just for fun, I will give this ap a try . . .

I'm still checking all possibilities without a final decision concluded yet.

I still have old photos taken in Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo. To my recollection strawberry was very cheap in San Luis Obispo at the night market.

I have almost traveled the whole California before from Crescent city down to San-Diego, on Highway 1 and Highway 101. I don't like to drive on Highway 5, nothing to see there !

Regards

 

[Les Sarile]

Hi,

Thanks for your advice.

DSLR
I prefer brand-new DSLR including lens.

I found following model;

Canon EOS 850D and EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Lens

Canon EOS 850D Camera + EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Lens in Discontinued at Canon

Visit Canon for Canon EOS 850D Camera + EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Lens and share with all your friends.

store.canon.co.uk

I suppose following micro lens being included in their price
EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM

Canon Camera Lenses: DSLR, Mirrorless & More | Canon U.S.A, Inc.

Shop our selection of camera Lenses. Explore specs, colors, and more from Shop Canon Business U.S.A., Inc. to find the right product for you.

www.usa.canon.com

Can I use Macro USM lens for daily life shooting without purchasing an additional lens?

Regards

I used to have that Canon 100mm macro lens and it was super sharp. On that camera, it would have the equivalent focal lenght of 150mm. That you can live with only that lens is only something you will know.

 

[Les Sarile]

I'm still checking all possibilities without a final decision concluded yet.

I still have old photos taken in Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo. To my recollection strawberry was very cheap in San Luis Obispo at the night market.

I have almost traveled the whole California before from Crescent city down to San-Diego, on Highway 1 and Highway 101. I don't like to drive on Highway 5, nothing to see there !

Regards

I've only lived in Santa Cruz a little while and it's beautiful. How old are the photos? Be curious to see them if you do post any.

 

[markjwyatt]

If your pictures are all 35mm positives, then find an old Durst or other slide copier and use a digital camera to digitize. Fast, easy and pretty cheap (I found a Durst for $65 + $85 to ship). I digitize slides and B&W negatives with it. I do not have a good system for color negatives yet. I use enlarging lenses and adapters to the Durst (the Durst is M42, and that works for some enlarging lenses. I also have an M42 to M39 thread adapter).

With the Durst and positive images, once the picture is taken, you are done (unless you want to tweak contrast, color correct a little). For some old slides with color cast, the built-in dichroic filters can help correct.

 

[satimis]

I've only lived in Santa Cruz a little while and it's beautiful. How old are the photos? Be curious to see them if you do post any.

I have visited California in multiple times in the past. Santa Cruz is a nice city on Monterey Bay with beautiful beaches. I like the width of Highway 1 there. The scene which we see in Mystery Spot, Santa Cruz, is ONLY an ILLUSION.

I have posted my photos captured in Santa Cruz on following website;
Canada and USA, including Hawaii

USA and Canada | Trips to USA Hawaii and Canada

phgallery1.reynoldstocks.com

Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz | USA and Canada

phgallery1.reynoldstocks.com

The photos which I need to rescue are family photos, captured at the time when my daughter was a small girl and my son a little boy.

Regards

 

[satimis]

I used to have that Canon 100mm macro lens and it was super sharp. On that camera, it would have the equivalent focal lenght of 150mm. That you can live with only that lens is only something you will know.

If I understand your reply correctly, I can use the Macro Lens for daily shooting, NOT necessary buying additional lens? The Macro Lens is NOT solely for taking/digitizing film negatives?

I have interest to buy a digital camera. Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T2 is my only digital camera, purchased long time ago.

Sony DSC-T2 Review

Sony DSC-T2 review, find out how the DSC-T2 stacks up against the competition in our real-world review with in-depth image quality comparisons.

www.imaging-resource.com

All my film cameras are now curios for memory.

I'm now using Smart Phone to take daily photos.

Regards

 

[satimis]

If your pictures are all 35mm positives, then find an old Durst or other slide copier and use a digital camera to digitize. Fast, easy and pretty cheap (I found a Durst for $65 + $85 to ship). I digitize slides and B&W negatives with it. I do not have a good system for color negatives yet. I use enlarging lenses and adapters to the Durst (the Durst is M42, and that works for some enlarging lenses. I also have an M42 to M39 thread adapter).

With the Durst and positive images, once the picture is taken, you are done (unless you want to tweak contrast, color correct a little). For some old slides with color cast, the built-in dichroic filters can help correct.


View attachment 305490

Hi,

Thanks for your advice.

All my film are color negatives. I don't have slides.

Regards