Nice one. I got the same light a few weeks back but the copy stand is a great idea. A lot of photographers are now using this method as its so quick, even if they have all the fancy scanners.
very interesting. will play with this. I found your small copy stand on ebay - and it's from your side of the pond. don't find anything comparable on this side. need to find a light panel with reasonable color temp (kelvin). most panels don't specify. found one between 10k & 12k - seems very high. will have to research this. thanks for your ideas. ps - years ago, I bought an X-T1 w/lenses kit - that included the micro nikkor 55/2.8 w/m2 ext. tube. will (maybe someday) see if the m2 vs pk-13 works. I later added the zhongyi turbo II. may consider a fuji cable release. thanks again.
Great video! I had the Epson v370 two times, and both times i had to return it, because a green line showed up in every scan after short use. And it was really slow. Then i read about photographing the negatives and read about different setups with bellows and whatnot. So i was a bit confused what exactly i need, i'm fairly new to self developing and analog in general. Was thinking about getting a Novoflex Bellow with Noflexar Macro lense and a light table but i guess just copy your method ;)
Definitely worth (if you have a camera with a close focus lens) trying my method as it's so much faster than a regular flat bed scanner and you don't need to spend much. I'm no electrician... So it was really satisfying to make the light table from cheap parts.
This idea for scanning film is only inexpensive if you already own the camera and a proper lens. If you do not, then it's a lot cheaper to dive into ebay and find a 20 year old dedicated film scanner. As a detour re Nikkor lenses, I own and used for years the 55mm 2.8 he shows here. Other options would be the prior 55mm 3.5, which at macro focusing distances used here is a significantly better lens. The 60mm 2.8 which followed it is also a better macro lens. Note that to match the resolution of my 30 year old Acer 2750S scanner, you would have to have a lens resolving a real 110 lines per mm across the image at 1:1 macro distance. That would be a very rare lens. If you shop for an older scanner, be careful about the data transfer cable required. The older ones tend to use a SCSI connector cable, which may not be supported on your computer. Software is not a problem, as Vuescan will connect any of these older scanners to the latest Window.
I had a similar reation to the expense and difficulty. I have an Epson V300 flatbed scanner from around 2010 that cost about $70 new at the time. It connects with usb and has a film holder included. The results, at least to me, are excellent. I've never known a camera lens to have that kind of sharpness from corner to corner. I haven't priced scanners lately though. Have prices gone up that badly?
Scanning using a flatbed is slow. As was stated at the start of the video, he can have a roll of 36 exposures scanned in a few minutes. A few minutes with a scanner would get you a couple pictures scanned. So quality VS time VS cost is what you need to look at.
@@karch88 The old scanners commonly take 6 frame strips in a holder, which you insert and push a button. That 's about as fast as a flat bed, has higher sharpness, better resolution and contrast. The disadvantage of using an older film scanner is the computer connection problems mentioned plus just finding a good one. I assume you mistakenly thought I was referring to a flatbed scanner.
I will try the camera /macro lens method shown here, since a 24 MP .raw ( or .dng ) file would suit me for optimization in Lightroom more than relying on 20 or 30 year old scanners that may be impossible to repair. Many photographers already have macro lenses; for this purpose with fixed light even readily available cheaper old macro lenses or extension tubes are a better option.
That is right. I use the app a little ...but find it quicker to use the button on the camera. Often using my phone for other things etc.. I may give it another go.👍🏻
Very Informative and complete video. I do have a question about using your Epson film strip holders. There are some film stocks out there that have a very nasty curl to them and I have found that the Epson holders do not hold the film strips flat enough so that the plane is even enough to get a good scan. Have you found this to be the case and have you come up with a solution. I appreciate your feedback and keep up the great work that you do.
I know there is a lomo fillm holder that works really well, as friends have told me to get one. But it costs a bit more. shop.lomography.com/en/digitaliza-35mm-scanning-mask
@@dangerpowers123 Thanks for getting back to me and yes, I have contemplated getting that, but am trying out a cheaper idea, at least for 35mm film and that is getting an old 35mm negative film carrier for enlargers. Yes, it can only show one image at a time and I would have to move each image into the space in the holder, but it is less expensive than the Lomo way and I do have the time to do that. Just a thought.
@@andrewweis3028 the Epson ones I have don't have the thing plastic diverse between the frames..so I'm finding they work ok with old film once I've wrestled it in the thing... Agreed the lomo one is expensive for what it is... After your first comment I thought I'd buy one as it's been on my wish list for a while...but with postage it's £35 ...so I won't bother
I got the exactly the same light panel from Taobao and it worked fine. After later I found the sharpness of the scanning was not as good as those with back light from my iPhone 7, so I now no longer this panel.
No. I guess the light source was too diffused. Indeed, I tried to add a polariser on it, but it seems not help a lot. Have you done a A-B test to compare the result?
Come on. You have to know that the brightness or color of your light source has absolutely nothing to do with the sharpness or contrast of your scanned images? Right???
i am confused?? Do i take my just shot roll of film to be processed at a lab first and they give me the strips?? and then use this method to digitize them? Or is it the roll from the film? But wouldnt that ruin the film? This is what confuses me the most? it costs 12 pounds a film to scan at my local shop. so this method will be a life saver just need to know how once i have shot the film roll what to do next? either take to get processed then do this or do this with the film rol stright from camera? Thanks
Ahh I see ... Ok so this is just a way to scan film,that I have already had developed. Either by a lab...of I have developed with chemicals at home, in one of my other videos I explain how I develop my own film ...before I use the method in this video to scan it.
As someone who also trys to do their best on the cheap these are some really good pointers, especially the link to the copy stand...those things can be crazy priced for what they are really so thanks very much! Do you have a cheaper means of converting your negs to positive then using negative lab pro or Adobe lightroom? Or is that what you use? It's tricky for me because I don't have a laptop..
@@dangerpowers123 no way! I have that app! How well does that work? I've been using the filmlab to convert the negs and was hoping to get the updated version soon but they don't look like they are going to release it on Android. Plus it really compresses the quality of the image
Great question. It does get warm after being on for 30 minutes. But never hot. I've used it for over an hour and it never gets more than warm to the touch. Perfectly safe for negatives as far as I can tell, after scanning endless rolls of film with it (50+ rolls) It was listed as led energy saver light panel I think... So I'm not sure about other panels that are not energy efficient. They may get hot. Try and buy the exact same one if you can
G'day buddy, found your RUclips page from watching shoot like a boss (big up to roger) I don't shoot digital because I am allergic :-)......I use a darkroom and film, anyhow if one was to buy a Fuji like yours, what to look for when purchasing one so you don't get mugged off?...I have great quality Nikon film kit which is manual of course( I am a dinosaur)and I note that you reckon that is the way to go especially as I recently bought a printer scanner and would not want to go down that road again thanks for any info that may be useful. Regards AJ
My golden rule is to only buy digital gear second hand from MPB or Wex. eBay is fine for most things. But for digital cameras you want a guarantee it's ok and be able to send it back with no quibble. Which mpb and wex provide. I picked up my Fuji XT-1 last year and it's still an excellent camera. I've done some videos on it and use it's almost entirely with manual Nikon lenses. www.mpb.com/en-uk/used-equipment/used-photo-and-video/used-compact-system-cameras/used-fuji-x-series-cameras/fuji-x-t1/sku-890989/?gclsrc=aw.ds&&gclid=CjwKCAjwo9rtBRAdEiwA_WXcFo8XB4YkFzIQPkUIXOSFI40swEStOkwSwkyT2mWYskVfpTbelPM62RoCKfoQAvD_BwE
What aperture do you use? Can you change that on your lens?Just wondering how to know what apeture you are using with the adapter on, cause it doesn’t show on the lcd screen.
I use usually F11 to F16 manually set on the lens. with the camera in aperture priority mode...so the shutter speed is worked out for me by the camera.
I used to work for Nikon and, having met Japanese Nikon colleagues, I can honestly say that you are not pronouncing “Nikon” correctly. It’s more like “Neekon”.
Force of habit. Not sure it really matters...but I'm at a big camera fair in the UK (Wolverhampton) tomorrow so with ask some freinds who love Nikon gear how they pronounce it .. I suspect it's going to be a mix of says. Neekon is probably right....but now sounds wrong in my head after saying Nikon for so many years
![Scanning without a Scanner: Digitizing Your Film [with a DSLR]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/N4f7d0-psIc/mqdefault.jpg)
I have seen many videos on this method. I think yours is the neatest, most cost effective and convenient. Thank you very much.
Thank you very much 👍🏻
@@dangerpowers123 I have just wired up this panel but no light! What fuse did you use please?
Many thanks,
@@dangerpowers123 Scrub my last email - it is now working!
@@tuisitala9068 brilliant news!!!
Nice one. I got the same light a few weeks back but the copy stand is a great idea. A lot of photographers are now using this method as its so quick, even if they have all the fancy scanners.
Exaclty. I spent way more on my flat bed scanner....but who has the the free time to spend hours scanning with a PC.
Congrattulations.I was fascinated with this video.. Very nice moment following you.
Congrat...from Panam[a
Thank you.
I took your light panel idea. Thanks! 😁
Congratz for wasting everyone's time. Don't bother showing a single film to scan. Amazing.
clever video, nice work and thought process
Thanks
This is all you need! :)
very interesting. will play with this. I found your small copy stand on ebay - and it's from your side of the pond. don't find anything comparable on this side. need to find a light panel with reasonable color temp (kelvin). most panels don't specify. found one between 10k & 12k - seems very high. will have to research this. thanks for your ideas. ps - years ago, I bought an X-T1 w/lenses kit - that included the micro nikkor 55/2.8 w/m2 ext. tube. will (maybe someday) see if the m2 vs pk-13 works. I later added the zhongyi turbo II. may consider a fuji cable release. thanks again.
Great stuff. I love my zhongyi lens turbo ii... It's never off my XT1.
What aperture do you usually use? Thx
Great video! I had the Epson v370 two times, and both times i had to return it, because a green line showed up in every scan after short use. And it was really slow. Then i read about photographing the negatives and read about different setups with bellows and whatnot. So i was a bit confused what exactly i need, i'm fairly new to self developing and analog in general. Was thinking about getting a Novoflex Bellow with Noflexar Macro lense and a light table but i guess just copy your method ;)
Definitely worth (if you have a camera with a close focus lens) trying my method as it's so much faster than a regular flat bed scanner and you don't need to spend much. I'm no electrician... So it was really satisfying to make the light table from cheap parts.
This idea for scanning film is only inexpensive if you already own the camera and a proper lens. If you do not, then it's a lot cheaper to dive into ebay and find a 20 year old dedicated film scanner. As a detour re Nikkor lenses, I own and used for years the 55mm 2.8 he shows here. Other options would be the prior 55mm 3.5, which at macro focusing distances used here is a significantly better lens. The 60mm 2.8 which followed it is also a better macro lens. Note that to match the resolution of my 30 year old Acer 2750S scanner, you would have to have a lens resolving a real 110 lines per mm across the image at 1:1 macro distance. That would be a very rare lens. If you shop for an older scanner, be careful about the data transfer cable required. The older ones tend to use a SCSI connector cable, which may not be supported on your computer. Software is not a problem, as Vuescan will connect any of these older scanners to the latest Window.
Great information, thank you for sharing
I had a similar reation to the expense and difficulty. I have an Epson V300 flatbed scanner from around 2010 that cost about $70 new at the time. It connects with usb and has a film holder included. The results, at least to me, are excellent. I've never known a camera lens to have that kind of sharpness from corner to corner. I haven't priced scanners lately though. Have prices gone up that badly?
Scanning using a flatbed is slow. As was stated at the start of the video, he can have a roll of 36 exposures scanned in a few minutes. A few minutes with a scanner would get you a couple pictures scanned. So quality VS time VS cost is what you need to look at.
@@karch88 The old scanners commonly take 6 frame strips in a holder, which you insert and push a button. That 's about as fast as a flat bed, has higher sharpness, better resolution and contrast. The disadvantage of using an older film scanner is the computer connection problems mentioned plus just finding a good one. I assume you mistakenly thought I was referring to a flatbed scanner.
I will try the camera /macro lens method shown here, since a 24 MP .raw ( or .dng ) file would suit me for optimization in Lightroom more than relying on 20 or 30 year old scanners that may be impossible to repair. Many photographers already have macro lenses; for this purpose with fixed light even readily available cheaper old macro lenses or extension tubes are a better option.
Correct me if I’m wrong but there’s an app that will allow you to shoot the XT1 using your phone i.e. you don’t really need a cable shutter
That is right. I use the app a little ...but find it quicker to use the button on the camera. Often using my phone for other things etc.. I may give it another go.👍🏻
Very Informative and complete video. I do have a question about using your Epson film strip holders. There are some film stocks out there that have a very nasty curl to them and I have found that the Epson holders do not hold the film strips flat enough so that the plane is even enough to get a good scan. Have you found this to be the case and have you come up with a solution. I appreciate your feedback and keep up the great work that you do.
I know there is a lomo fillm holder that works really well, as friends have told me to get one. But it costs a bit more.
shop.lomography.com/en/digitaliza-35mm-scanning-mask
@@dangerpowers123 Thanks for getting back to me and yes, I have contemplated getting that, but am trying out a cheaper idea, at least for 35mm film and that is getting an old 35mm negative film carrier for enlargers. Yes, it can only show one image at a time and I would have to move each image into the space in the holder, but it is less expensive than the Lomo way and I do have the time to do that. Just a thought.
@@andrewweis3028 the Epson ones I have don't have the thing plastic diverse between the frames..so I'm finding they work ok with old film once I've wrestled it in the thing... Agreed the lomo one is expensive for what it is... After your first comment I thought I'd buy one as it's been on my wish list for a while...but with postage it's £35 ...so I won't bother
Andrew Weis n
I got the exactly the same light panel from Taobao and it worked fine. After later I found the sharpness of the scanning was not as good as those with back light from my iPhone 7, so I now no longer this panel.
Was it not bright enough ?
No. I guess the light source was too diffused. Indeed, I tried to add a polariser on it, but it seems not help a lot. Have you done a A-B test to compare the result?
@@vincentwong3218 interesting... I'll have to try some tests
Come on. You have to know that the brightness or color of your light source has absolutely nothing to do with the sharpness or contrast of your scanned images? Right???
i am confused??
Do i take my just shot roll of film to be processed at a lab first and they give me the strips?? and then use this method to digitize them?
Or is it the roll from the film? But wouldnt that ruin the film?
This is what confuses me the most? it costs 12 pounds a film to scan at my local shop. so this method will be a life saver just need to know how once i have shot the film roll what to do next? either take to get processed then do this or do this with the film rol stright from camera?
Thanks
Ahh I see ... Ok so this is just a way to scan film,that I have already had developed. Either by a lab...of I have developed with chemicals at home, in one of my other videos I explain how I develop my own film ...before I use the method in this video to scan it.
As someone who also trys to do their best on the cheap these are some really good pointers, especially the link to the copy stand...those things can be crazy priced for what they are really so thanks very much!
Do you have a cheaper means of converting your negs to positive then using negative lab pro or Adobe lightroom? Or is that what you use? It's tricky for me because I don't have a laptop..
I use Snapseed an app for Android to invert my negatives
@@dangerpowers123 no way! I have that app! How well does that work? I've been using the filmlab to convert the negs and was hoping to get the updated version soon but they don't look like they are going to release it on Android. Plus it really compresses the quality of the image
Hi! Was just wondering if the light panel you purchase heats up after using it for a bit? Have you had any problems with this? :)
Great question. It does get warm after being on for 30 minutes. But never hot.
I've used it for over an hour and it never gets more than warm to the touch. Perfectly safe for negatives as far as I can tell, after scanning endless rolls of film with it (50+ rolls)
It was listed as led energy saver light panel I think... So I'm not sure about other panels that are not energy efficient. They may get hot.
Try and buy the exact same one if you can
Interesting video. Just unsure how sturdy that copy stand is keeping the camera level without a bit of sag? No movement?
Nope works really well. Honestly.
@@dangerpowers123 nice one. Subscribed!
G'day buddy, found your RUclips page from watching shoot like a boss (big up to roger) I don't shoot digital because I am allergic :-)......I use a darkroom and film, anyhow if one was to buy a Fuji like yours, what to look for when purchasing one so you don't get mugged off?...I have great quality Nikon film kit which is manual of course( I am a dinosaur)and I note that you reckon that is the way to go especially as I recently bought a printer scanner and would not want to go down that road again thanks for any info that may be useful.
Regards AJ
My golden rule is to only buy digital gear second hand from MPB or Wex. eBay is fine for most things. But for digital cameras you want a guarantee it's ok and be able to send it back with no quibble. Which mpb and wex provide.
I picked up my Fuji XT-1 last year and it's still an excellent camera. I've done some videos on it and use it's almost entirely with manual Nikon lenses.
www.mpb.com/en-uk/used-equipment/used-photo-and-video/used-compact-system-cameras/used-fuji-x-series-cameras/fuji-x-t1/sku-890989/?gclsrc=aw.ds&&gclid=CjwKCAjwo9rtBRAdEiwA_WXcFo8XB4YkFzIQPkUIXOSFI40swEStOkwSwkyT2mWYskVfpTbelPM62RoCKfoQAvD_BwE
Appreciate the swift response buddy
Nice tutorial! Could you tell me the dimensions of the LED Panel? Is it 30cm by 30cm? Trying to find the right one :-) Cheers
That's right I just measured it is 30cm
What aperture do you use? Can you change that on your lens?Just wondering how to know what apeture you are using with the adapter on, cause it doesn’t show on the lcd screen.
I use usually F11 to F16 manually set on the lens. with the camera in aperture priority mode...so the shutter speed is worked out for me by the camera.
I'm curious about the resulting quality. Do you have an example posted of what you were able to produce with this setup?
My Instagram is @SteveNamyah most any black and white photo (not of a camera ) will be using this setup.
And the resulting shots were where?
I don't tend to share them if it's family and my children. I'm on Instagram as SteveNamyah though.
Could have compressed this to 5 minutes I think, but otherwise helpful info.
I do like to waffle. Glad it was helpful though 😀
@@dangerpowers123 I like waffle
Worth every minute...explained process very well. Thank you!
@@webingerphoto49 thank you 👍🏻
I used to work for Nikon and, having met Japanese Nikon colleagues, I can honestly say that you are not pronouncing “Nikon” correctly. It’s more like “Neekon”.
Force of habit. Not sure it really matters...but I'm at a big camera fair in the UK (Wolverhampton) tomorrow so with ask some freinds who love Nikon gear how they pronounce it .. I suspect it's going to be a mix of says. Neekon is probably right....but now sounds wrong in my head after saying Nikon for so many years
Film Camera Reviews I’m just not a fan of American English, I suppose.
@@ianhand5006 me too. I'm not sure where I picked up my way of saying it... I think it's now hard wired in though 😬
they don't call it Japan either
@@dangerpowers123 Yes, LoL. Here in the states it has alway been Nye Kon. We know it's incorrect but after 50+ years,, change is hard.