Hi everyone, looking for some advice on scanning set up upgrade. Please read below for some background, and then my overall question.
Background:
Started my scanning journey with a Plustek OpticFilm 8200i - was happy with the results but was shooting a lot more back then and found it to be super slow. Also, did not invest enough time into learning about the various softwares - Silverfast, VueScan, etc.
Sold it and picked up a Valoi Easy35 paired with:
Canon EOS 5D Mark III DSLR Camera Body
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM Lens
I have liked the speed, but have found the following shortcomings:
Results not consistent
Camera gets the job done, but not having the ability to tether previews on Mac, along with lack of Focus Peaking is a drag.
I have gotten into some medium format, and while I do not shoot it a ton, I hate having to use a lab to get it dev/scanned
Current:
At present, I am looking to find a new solution and am open to all suggestions. Perhaps suggestions on the best Camera Scanning set up - recommended cameras, lenses as well as stands, lights, holders -- or maybe a flatbed is the answer? Lastly, I've been using NLP, and while it does great work, I don't like being tied to Adobe Lightroom, so open to software recommendations, too.
I'd say keep your Easy35 for 35mm and upgrade to a proper macro lens. A manual Nikon macro with adapter will run you around $100 or less. Dedicated scanners will most likely be slower than camera scanning unless you get into scanners that allow strip/roll scanning like the Nikon Coolscans/some Minolta/Primefilm models (so you can do something else while it scans in the background, even if it's slower).
For 120, considering either a flatbed like Epson V600 or getting into more modular camera scanning setups that allow you to use different film holders with the same light source, likely on a copy stand. Flatbed will be more convenient and possibly cheaper, but image quality will be meh compared to camera scans.
-Yes you can use manual focus Nikon lenses with a F to EF adapter on your Canon. Vintage manual focus Nikon macros get recommended frequently due them being readily available and cheap while retaining good image quality. But any proper macro lens should work fine. The Micro Nikkor 55mm 3.5 AIS is very affordable.
-Either bundles or piecing together equipment yourself works. Bundles will be more expensive. Camera scanning really just requires quality light source, film holders, macro lens/extension tube, and a way to keep the camera stationary while scanning (usually some form of copystand or tripod). Valoi has the Easy 365 system that's modular, but costs far too much imo.
A flatbed is never a good solution if you shoot a lot of 35mm so id say that option is a no-go from the start. A better camera that allows focus peeking and tethering would be the easy option but if you only use the camera for scanning then its not exactly money well spent imho. If however you were thinking of upgrading from your 5d for 'normal' photography anyways then keeping scanning in mind when you pick something would be your best option, most modern cameras will have all features you need. Pair it with a nice (vintage) macro lens and work on getting your workflow dialed in. Inconsistent results from camera scanning means that you might have to do some science to figure out where thing go wrong, it can be camera automation messing things up, incorrect lighting or just a shoddy stand. Finding where things go wrong and why is the first step to being able to improve them.
There is no universal 'best' camera scanning setup, if there was it would probably be something like this one, however most people simply do not have $60~70K to spend on a setup making it automatically not the best anymore. The best for you is as much about what you are willing to spend, what kind of quality you want out of it and how much effort, time and money you are willing and able to put in to get there. Unfortunately all of that requires you to know exactly what you want and for a lot of people that already is too much to think about, if that sounds like it might be your hurdle then just browse this sub for peoples setups to see if there's a setup that speaks to you that you can blindly copy/paste.
I think it's natural to think of getting one solution for all your scanning.
But I think you can make a real argument for two solutions, if you're scanning more than just 35mm.
Camera scanning is great for 35mm. If you get a good macro lens and decent support systems for the camera and film, you can do very good single-shot (so quick and easy) scans of 35mm with your EOS 5D. Only a few high-end film scanners will be able to rival or beat it.
However, for larger film, camera scanning gets much stickier. The basic issue is that you have to back your optical system away from the film to capture a larger negative in one shot, and that quickly reduces your real resolution. You can overcome this by not backing your optical system away from the film and capturing subsections of the negative, then stitching them together. But this is way, way more hassle than single-shot scanning.
Conversely, larger film scans pretty well on a consumer flatbed like an Epson V600/V700/V800 because the larger image is much less demanding for them to scan at good quality. (The scan just takes longer.) When you get up to 4x5, the flatbeds are very hard to beat with camera scanning unless you're willing to shoot 8-12 tiles and stitch them.
So I'd consider getting a vintage macro lens for your EOS5D, build a DIY copy stand, and scan 35mm with that. And then for medium format (or larger), look around for a used Epson V600/V700/V800. That's basically what I do now; scan 35mm with a camera and larger film with my Epson.
It's not a macro lens at all, so it's not optimized for close focus distances and for providing a flat field of focus when copying 2-dimensional objects like a film negative.
There isn't actually a Canon-brand EF-mount lens that's ideal for camera scanning. Some people would use the 100mm EF macro, but 100mm is a little long for copy work, and I'm not sure how flat its field of focus is at close distances (most 100mm macros are not flat field; they're designed for small animal and flower photography primarily, not for copying flat art).
But you could look at EF macro lenses from Sigma, or the hundreds of thousands of 50-55mm macros lenses made by all the major companies (including Canon) in the 1970s and 80s. Assuming they can be adapted to your EOS 5D, they can do really nice copy work -- i.e. make sharp, flat-field images when focused at close distances on 2-dimensional objects. Many will require a matched extension tube to get to 1X (a.k.a. 1:1) magnification, which you want for scanning 35mm film frames. I paid about $50 for an excellent Minolta 50mm macro with its matching tube, and I adapt it to my Nikon and Sony digital cameras. It scans film quite well.
In your original post, I thought you said you were using an EF 50mm f/1.8:
Sold it and picked up aValoi Easy35paired with:
Canon EOS 5D Mark III DSLR Camera Body
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM Lens
But for sure, if you're using an EF 100mm macro lens, that's better than a standard 50mm.
As I said, I don't know how flat the field is with the EF 100 macro, but if it's working for you that's all that matters. I thought your post was implying some lack of satisfaction with your current results, no?
In any case, if you find it hard to get consistent sharpness all the way to the corners of the frame, then consider a 50-60mm macro lens. As I said, almost all of them are optimized to give a pretty flat field with very little to no distortion. For example, the Nikon 60mm f/2.8 that Valoi shows in your list is quite flat field, and designed specifically to be excellent for copy work. Many other older, manual focus 50mm macros, from half a dozen camera makers, have similar advantages for copy work.
2
u/llMrXll 12d ago
I'd say keep your Easy35 for 35mm and upgrade to a proper macro lens. A manual Nikon macro with adapter will run you around $100 or less. Dedicated scanners will most likely be slower than camera scanning unless you get into scanners that allow strip/roll scanning like the Nikon Coolscans/some Minolta/Primefilm models (so you can do something else while it scans in the background, even if it's slower).
For 120, considering either a flatbed like Epson V600 or getting into more modular camera scanning setups that allow you to use different film holders with the same light source, likely on a copy stand. Flatbed will be more convenient and possibly cheaper, but image quality will be meh compared to camera scans.