Is anyone using a Nikon D850 as dedicated film scanner? I have lots of old negatives (as well as slides) and recently purchased a few film cameras and would like to set up a dedicated film scanning station.
I see the Nikon D850 has a built in Negative Digitizer mode and I already have the ES-2 as well as the 60mm macro.
I think the 45.7 megapixels would be a decent resolution for scanning.
Anyone have this set up and are happy with it or anything else similar?
Using a program like Negative Lab Pro is far more flexible than the internal digitizer, it really depends on what you value...speed or accuracy/flexibility.
I used the D850 a while back to scan film and it was great. Just make sure to use Live View to AF as it is way more accurate than the regular SLR AF.
The negative digitzer mode was very disappointing - extremely contrasty (little highlight or shadow detail) with (if I remember correctly) no way to adjust. it was a jpg capture. But it was fantastic to preview images before you 'scan' them to see if they were worthwhile capturing and converting later.
I wonder why Nikon never provided that functionality in the Z bodies - I would love to have that ability to preview images before scanning them. Especially seeing Nikon introduced a Z macro lens that was compatible with their ES-2 film copier.
I tried the D850's negative mode and it was just okay. The sensor is great for scanning, as are the 60's and the ES-2, but the negative mode didn't do much for me. It did work, I just want a little more control.
Desmolicious wrote:
I used the D850 a while back to scan film and it was great. Just make sure to use Live View to AF as it is way more accurate than the regular SLR AF.
The negative digitzer mode was very disappointing - extremely contrasty (little highlight or shadow detail) with (if I remember correctly) no way to adjust. it was a jpg capture. But it was fantastic to preview images before you 'scan' them to see if they were worthwhile capturing and converting later.
I wonder why Nikon never provided that functionality in the Z bodies - I would love to have that ability to preview images before scanning them. Especially seeing Nikon introduced a Z macro lens that was compatible with their ES-2 film copier....Show more →
I made a black and white inverted profile for my film scanning bank on the Z8, so I can at least see positives during scanning. Something like that might be of some use to you.
I don't currently use a D850, but it will certainly have sufficient resolution and dynamic range to get the job done. It is still a great camera with a very capable sensor. The Nikon PB-6 bellows, with an f-mount to M39 adapter, will let you try alternate optics, such as APO enlarging lenses. In Live View, Focus Magnification and Focus Peaking are helpful.
From my experience, lens selection and technique are the most important factors. I'm using a mirrorless camera (aps sensor) on a copy stand, and even then, self timer mode and electronic shutter are required to achieve best quality. I have been using a Venus Laowa 65 macro, at f/8-11, to good effect for copying both 35mm and 120 slides. The well damped, manual helicoid, makes it easy to perform the fine focus required. Early on, I was chasing an alignment issue, but some careful work with a machinist level took care of that issue. Still need to experiment with a couple of my better enlarging lenses (50/1.9 Computar anyone)
Considering the difficulty of nailing setup, having a deticated rig is the way to go.
I started using a camera to digitize negatives in 2019 and the one thing that improved my workflow more than anything else was the ability to tether the camera to the computer. For a number of years I used a Sony A7II. The 24mp was plenty for what I needed but it was getting the images from the camera into the conversion software that was a pain.
Two years ago, I bought a Sony A7CII, a Tether Tools cable, signed up for a Lightroom subscription and added Negative Lab Pro. The image is imported directly to Lightroom and conversion is easy.
treacle wrote:
Is anyone using a Nikon D850 as dedicated film scanner? I have lots of old negatives (as well as slides) and recently purchased a few film cameras and would like to set up a dedicated film scanning station.
I see the Nikon D850 has a built in Negative Digitizer mode and I already have the ES-2 as well as the 60mm macro.
I think the 45.7 megapixels would be a decent resolution for scanning.
Anyone have this set up and are happy with it or anything else similar?
45.7 megapixels is definitely good resolution for scanning! I get by with 24 currently and am very happy with the results.
Taperwing wrote:
I don't currently use a D850, but it will certainly have sufficient resolution and dynamic range to get the job done. It is still a great camera with a very capable sensor. The Nikon PB-6 bellows, with an f-mount to M39 adapter, will let you try alternate optics, such as APO enlarging lenses. In Live View, Focus Magnification and Focus Peaking are helpful.
From my experience, lens selection and technique are the most important factors. I'm using a mirrorless camera (aps sensor) on a copy stand, and even then, self timer mode and electronic shutter are required to achieve best quality. I have been using a Venus Laowa 65 macro, at f/8-11, to good effect for copying both 35mm and 120 slides. The well damped, manual helicoid, makes it easy to perform the fine focus required. Early on, I was chasing an alignment issue, but some careful work with a machinist level took care of that issue. Still need to experiment with a couple of my better enlarging lenses (50/1.9 Computar anyone)
Considering the difficulty of nailing setup, having a deticated rig is the way to go. ...Show more →
Any recommendation on APO enlarging lenses for scanning? I run a similar rig with a bellows set and a 55mm f/3.5 AI-S, but I've thought about switching the lens out to something different. Do you find it makes a good difference in quality?
tile_86 wrote:
Any recommendation on APO enlarging lenses for scanning? I run a similar rig with a bellows set and a 55mm f/3.5 AI-S, but I've thought about switching the lens out to something different. Do you find it makes a good difference in quality?
How far down the rabbit hole would you like to go? I'm still towards the beginning of my journey, although I have some quality optics left over from my darkroom days that I plan on testing.
Taperwing wrote:
How far down the rabbit hole would you like to go? I'm still towards the beginning of my journey, although I have some quality optics left over from my darkroom days that I plan on testing.
Finally, a test target is helpful for confirm alignment, focus, and lens flat field correction: https://www.film4ever.info/vtt
As far down as it'll go! This has been something occupying a lot of my hobby time recently, I've enjoyed building and rebuilding my scanning rig and was actually thinking recently about possibly upgrading to an enlarger lens. Thank you for all the links, a lot for me to sink my teeth into. Do you think you'll make a thread for the lens testing? I'd be really curious to see the different results.
There are a number of videos discussing the negative lab pro and LR integration, CaptureOne has added a negative film conversion as a feature to the app.
I'm just starting to scratch the surface of this rabbit hole, Valoi which is an EU based company is distributed by Cinestill, they have a product which attachs directly to your macro lens, with a lightsource. Their package can be as a simple as 35mm film scanner or the 120/35 setup. The 35 kit is called easy35.
The kit I'm looking at is the Negative supply "starter" kit which comes with a lightsource, 35 and 120 film holder
Both kits are similar in the way they work. The Negative Supply kit makes it easier to move up to more robust (and expensive) negative carriers, The Valoli is a one piece that contains a light source. Since it attaches to the lens, easier to keep aligned and less chance of outside light entering the light path.
I've been using Negative Supply since the Kickstarter days and love their 135 carriers. I did own the Pro Carrier 120 but found the 120 Basic was easier to use and fits my needs for the small amount of 120 I use.
The choice of conversion software is a big choice. When I first started there was a lot of dragging histogram lines around. Negative Lab Pro took the guess work out of converting color negatives but is designed as a Lightroom plug in. Capture One offers a lot of features and can be used as a stand alone.
As I mentioned above, Tethering your camera to the computer makes conversions easier.
I use the D850 and Nikon 105 Macro and it does perfectly fine. How you flip the negative is probably going to be the biggest difference maker. But I built my own camera stand and attached a macro rail so I can more easily fine tune the focus as I figured I could use the macro rail for other things other then just buying a premade camera stand just for scanning.
