Will this work for DSLR scanning?

[Kalos]

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.

 

[MattKing]

Welcome to Potrio.
The camera would be functional for the purpose. I don't know how suitable the lens would be.

 

[koraks]

Welcome aboard @Kalos!

I don't know how suitable the lens would be.

It might work, but for 'scanning' 35mm negatives or slides, a set of extension tubes would be a useful addition. Make sure to get a set that has coupled contacts; the 3rd party ones in the $50-$100 range generally work well.

 

[madNbad]

If you are going to continue with using a digital camera to scan your negatives, in vest in a good, bright, stable light source, a secure way to hold your negatives flat and a sturdy copy stand with enough height to handle a variety of formats. Have fun and welcome to the forum.

 

[Kalos]

Welcome aboard @Kalos!



It might work, but for 'scanning' 35mm negatives or slides, a set of extension tubes would be a useful addition. Make sure to get a set that has coupled contacts; the 3rd party ones in the $50-$100 range generally work well.

Sorry, I should have stated earlier, it would be for 120mm. I have a dedicated 35mm that works well for me already. Would this lens work as standard for that?

 

[wiltw]

You are trying to use a crop frame camera to photograph a 24x36mm film, so you need to be able to achieve 1:1.6 reproduction ratio or 0.62x,
Your lens can get up to 1:2 or 0.5X, so it would not fill the frame of your camera as is...so you need to use suitable length of extension tube (dependent upon what FL setting is on your zoom)

• 50mm extension tube on 50mm FL focused at Infinity gets 1:1
• 50mm extension tube on 100mm FL focused at Infinity gets 1:2
• 50mm extension tube on 200mm FL focused at Infinity gets 1:4

I am not familiar with optical behavior of 100-400mm lens at macro distance, but a 'true macro' lens is

A) optically corrected for flat-field reproduction with​

B) little pincushion/barrel distortion,​

and a lot of so-called 'macro' lenses simply 'focus close' with little correction for the other characteristics of 'true macro'

you need a way to position your film to be duplicated, with careful control of camera-to-film distance and with an even source of transmittel color balanced light thru the film. There used to be such devices for duplication of 135 frame onto 135 format camera, but doing FF-to-crop has not generally resulted in suitable quality products.

 

[Kalos]

You are trying to use a crop frame camera to photograph a 24x36mm film, so you need to be able to achieve 1:1.6 reproduction ratio or 0.62x,
Your lens can get up to 1:2 or 0.5X, so it would not fill the frame of your camera as is...so you need to use suitable length of extension tube (dependent upon what FL setting is on your zoom)

• 50mm extension tube on 50mm FL focused at Infinity gets 1:1
• 50mm extension tube on 100mm FL focused at Infinity gets 1:2
• 50mm extension tube on 200mm FL focused at Infinity gets 1:4

I am not familiar with optical behavour of 100-400mm lens at macro distance, but a 'true macro' lens is

A) optically corrected for flat-field reproduction with​

B) little pincushion/barrel distortion,​

and a lot of so-called 'macro' lenses simply 'focus close' with little correction for the other characteristics of 'true macro'

you need a way to position your film to be duplicated, with careful control of camera-to-film distance and with an even source of transmittel color alanced light thru the film.

Hi, thanks for your reply.

Sorry I will make an edit to my post. I’m going to be using this to ‘scan’ 120mm film at 6cm x 4.5cm.

Are extension tubes still necessary?

Please forgive my utter lack of both macro and digital photography.

 

[madNbad]

Set it at 70mm, engage the macro setting and it should be fine. Even easier if it’s an autofocus lens.

 

[koraks]

Are extension tubes still necessary?

Not when digitizing 6x4.5 no, I think. Just give it a try. You may end up deciding a 13mm extension ring makes the work of setting exact focus a little easier. But see how it goes as is first, I'd say.

Heed @madNbad 's advice on the stand and light source, as well.

 

[MattKing]

Good luck - enjoy the experimentation.
Warning - pedantry follows:
One niggling point: it isn't 120mm film, it is 120 film.
120mm film would be more than 4 inches wide.
Pedantry warning over

 

[wiltw]

Hi, thanks for your reply.

Sorry I will make an edit to my post. I’m going to be using this to ‘scan’ 120mm film at 6cm x 4.5cm.

Are extension tubes still necessary?

Please forgive my utter lack of both macro and digital photography.

You stated Canon 750D and Canon 100-400mm lens in your opening post.
You clarify that you would be trying the 'dSLR scan' 645 format shot in 120 film.

That is taking a 43mm x 56mm frame area and shoot it onto a 14.9mm x 22.3mm sensor...the reproduction is 14.9:43 or 1:2.88 reproduction ratio. Since 1:2.88 is smaller than 1:2, the 1:2 reproduction ratio capability of the 100-400mm should work. Of course, about 2.9mm of the 22.3mm sensor horizontal would not be filled by any image due to aspect ratio difference between 645 and the crop frame. The consistent capture distance between the 750D and the film being duplicated, and the even illumination with a color balanced light source both remain something for you to cope with.

 

[koraks]

You stated Canon 750D and Canon 100-400mm lens in your opening post.

One small detail, but no, he didn't:

Tamron 70-300mm 1:4-5.6 Tele-macro 1:2

Still 1:2 macro, though, so it'll work regardless. It's just a black lens instead of a white one

 

[SilverShutter]

It will work, but I think a dedicated macro lens would work much better. If I remember right, that lens only allows macro at the longer focal lengths, so the distance between the negative and camera would be quite big, and optically isn't very good. You will also need a tripod or a copy stand, a good light source and film holder.

 

[wiltw]

One small detail, but no, he didn't:

Tamron 70-300mm 1:4-5.6 Tele-macro 1:2

Details-schmeetails!