How best to copy transparencies

[Derrel]

The Albinar Tirediron linked to is only $69....but the Nikon ES1 looks very sexy and is designed to be used with the 60mm Micro Nikkor on FX, or the 40mm Micro when using a DX sensor camera .

 

[Designer]

The Albinar Tirediron linked to is only $69....but the Nikon ES1 looks very sexy and is designed to be used with the 60mm Micro Nikkor on FX, or the 40mm Micro when using a DX sensor camera .

I checked it out. B&H is on back order. Available on Amazon, but ebay has it cheaper. There is some confusion as to what adapter I need. The one B&H lists with it is about $40, and on ebay I see some way cheaper ones, but I'm not sure about the part number.

Nikon ES-1 Slide Copying Adapter

B&H lists the BR-5 adapter ring for BR-2A reversing. When I search ebay, I get all kinds of adapters, and the ones called BR-5 are still $40. Don't know if a cheaper one will work.

 

[Derrel]

Check Fotodiox for good yet inexpensive rings. What lens length and filter dianeter would you be using? Do you have the right macro lens and tube needed? Camera format Fx or Dx?

 

[Designer]

Check Fotodiox for good yet inexpensive rings. What lens length and filter diameter would you be using? Do you have the right macro lens and tube needed? Camera format Fx or Dx?

I am hoping I can use my Nikkor 60mm micro that has a 62mm front thread. Using my Nikon D7100.

What type of light source do people use with that ES-1?

 

[Designer]

I have another macro; Tokina 100mm ATX Pro. The front thread is 55mm.

 

[Derrel]

The ES-1 is designed for 40mm on DX and 60mm on FX...not sure about how it would work with longer focal lengths...my suspicion is that a longer lens will not allow you to frame up the whole slide, especially with a 100mm on Dx...since it was designed to be used with the relatively new 40mm DX "macro"...

Is a fairly trivial matter to purchase a $10 step ring from Fotodiox.... but I really think using this system you should have a macro lens of the correct focal length in order to make it fast and easy to use. If you want to use your 100 macro I would suggest rigging up something with some type of tube and a home-built slide holder, a piece of opal glass or transparent paper, and a light source.

 

[Designer]

The ES-1 is designed for 40mm on DX and 60mm on FX...

Very important information, thanks! Since I already own the 60mm, could I use my D700, and purchase a step-down ring?

I see that I'm going to be into it for about $60 to give it a try.

Do you have a suggestion about what light to use? I've heard about using a computer screen, but it sounds kind of awkward to me.

 

[Derrel]

You could use the D700 and a 60mm macro. You need the right ring to attach the ES1 to the lens. A higher-density sensor would probably give somewhat better resolution than the 12 MP of the D700, but it is better to have the slides digitized than to fuss over a slightly higher resolution from a 24MP dx sensor.

 

[Derrel]

Light source? Many different light sources could be used. Electronic flash, skylight, computer screen,tablet, light box, LED,etc., Etc. Just make sure to get a decent white balance.

 

[Gardyloo]

I bought a dedicated slide/film scanner since I have over 10 thousand slides. I got the predecessor to the Wolverine scanner shown in the video below but there are quite a few like it, all fairly reasonably priced.



In most cases you will need to do some further processing if the aim is to make an image suitable for posting online or for enlarging as prints, but it's not terribly hard, and any basic photo editing program will do the trick. You'll need to figure out how to fix faded images or ones where color correction is needed, clean up dust or crud on the slide, etc., but the results can be quite satisfying, e.g. a couple of images I've scanned off slides up to 50 years old...

IMO it's well worth the investment and effort.

 

[Derrel]

According to what was written about 5 years ago on the luminous landscape and also on other serious enthusiastic photo sites, a good quality macro lens and a high-density digital sensor gives excellent results, and is better in terms of dust and scratches compared against traditional film scanners. Once we hit 24 million pixels on aps-c come up we had high-density sensors that gave incredible results--- fast!

My dedicated Minolta film scanner is from the mid-to-late 1990s and it takes about 5 minutes in total to scan one single slide. You have to clean the slide, insert it in the holder, do a pre-scan, make any needed exposure adjustments or curve adjustments , and then it takes about 1 minute to make the final scan.

Using a high-density digital camera sensor is much quicker, and according to what I have seen produces results which are far better in terms of dust and scratches than a traditional film scanner.

 

[webestang64]

Then there is this way..... SlideSnap | Fast Slide and Negative Scanners

 

[Derrel]

That SlideSnap looks expensive!

 

[smoke665]

Or if you've got an old Kodak Carousel projector laying around its an easy hack to convert it. Google it, and you'll find a bunch of DYI hacks, from simple to really elaborate. Here's one, that you can take from simple to more automated or anywhere in between.

 

[webestang64]

That SlideSnap looks expensive!

$3500 and you supply the camera/lens. We use one at the lab I work at for massive scan orders.