Nikon D800 as a "Scanner"

[sanmich]

Hi Michel

It's good to know that this solution exists too.
could you tell us which coolscan you are comparing the D800 to?
Maybe a comparison (same neg) would be nice too...

[Michel154]

guess the D800e would be better but i don't know if you would see the difference
with something that grainy as ISO400

[jonasv]

D800E would be better for this purpose.

I have been doing this with a 55/3.5 micro nikkor stopped down with wonderful results.

NOTE: for slides and b&w it has been perfect, for colour negatives I often have trouble removing the color cast. This may be solved by a good preset. I don't have many colour negatives so I did not look into it.

[Michel154]

the Coolscan 8000

[ColSebastianMoran]

Originally Posted by jtm6

Image > Adjustments > Invert.
Done.

Perhaps, in Black & White.

In Color, you'll have some color tuning yet to do.

[Michel154]

colour slides are actually very simple, the colour negatives are more work ,
i think that with the D800 the results are IMHO way better that my V700 "not wet mounted"
and a bit better than the Coolscan ,for B&W and Slide
compared to the V700 i see greys that i did not see before

[jtm6]

Originally Posted by Michel154

hi the workflow is simple , set white balance before inserting the negative

Depending on which software you are using for RAW conversion, be aware that Adobe software (lightroom, ACR, etc) hasn't read the actual white balance in NEFs since the D2X (unless something has changed in the last year or two).

[Roger Hicks]

Bowens Illumitran. Quick, easy, contrast controllable.

But I'd still back a good scanner if you want anything more than web images or modest-sized prints.

Cheers,

R.

[sepiareverb]

Anyone doing this with color negatives?

[Godfrey]

I've been using flat-art macro copying techniques to capture Minox to medium format negatives into digital for a long time. My current setup for this is with the Ricoh GXR fitted with a Micro-Nikkor 55mm f/3.5 lens, a copy stand, and a flat panel light box.

In general, it works well. I do continue to use flatbed and film scanners, however, as there is a difference in quality to my eye. The advantage of the copy setup is speed: I can snatch a whole roll of 6x6 in a couple of minutes where the same roll with the scanner will take me 2-3 hours to capture.

[johannielscom]

Originally Posted by jonasv

D800E would be better for this purpose.

I have been doing this with a 55/3.5 micro nikkor stopped down with wonderful results.

NOTE: for slides and b&w it has been perfect, for colour negatives I often have trouble removing the color cast. This may be solved by a good preset. I don't have many colour negatives so I did not look into it.

I've been exploring the route the OP took myself recently, since funding the Plustek would simply eat all my gear and I've thought up a solution to this.

Simply shoot one frame 'blank' in a color roll, of a totally and evenly white wall or a bright light. That negative will only show the base color and if you set the white balance of the D800 to that, you're done with one simple action.

[ColSebastianMoran]

Originally Posted by jtm6

Image > Adjustments > Invert.
Done.

This got me thinking about how to do color negatives. I have a Besseler Dual Mode (holds 6x6 or 6x7 directly, or use its 4x5 illuminator for bigger negatives). With the Besseler, I can dial in quite a bit of color filtration. The dichroic head from a color enlarger could do the same thing.

In particular, I want to scan 6x9 Ektar color negatives. I'll be using a D300 and 55mm Micro Nikkor at roughly 1:3, right in the sweet spot for this lens.

The big question is the orange mask in color negatives.

First about resolution: With this camera/lens at this magnification, the resolution is close to what I get from my V500. Should be fine for prints up to, say, 12x18. For more resolution, I can use a different body or just shoot in pieces and assemble as a panorama.

How about dynamic range and color correction?

Shooting with white light, the histogram looks awful and the results are poor. Shoot in RAW, convert, invert to a positive, and start adjusting. Here's where the histogram is awful: red is way to the right, green OK, and there is hardly any blue. With the curves tool in photoshop, I can restore neutral grays, but this is not good color.

Second try: dial up the color filtration to push more blue through the orange mask. I found a setting of 0 Y, 60 M, and 110 Cyan on the Besseler filtration gave a fairly neutral set of color histograms on my D300. This RAW file was easier to process, I could restore neutral grays, highlights, and shadows, and the color seems about right. Here's a sample, from a 35mm frame of Fuji 200:



Colors look about right to me in the film boxes, the wall, and the marble counter top. Magenta in the bottle is probably not right.

Anyone else doing this:
- DSLR as scanner
- Color filter on light source to put more blue into the RAW file
- Invert and color correct in Photoshop.

[ColSebastianMoran]

And, from this file, I like the conversion using Photoshop's Black & White filter.

[brbo]

For C-41 - shoot RAW, convert to 48bit tiff, invert with Vuescan/ColorPerfect/NegFix...

Never tried it (not even scanning with DSLR), but don't see why it wouldn't work.

[j j]

Originally Posted by buzzardkid

Simply shoot one frame 'blank' in a color roll, of a totally and evenly white wall or a bright light. That negative will only show the base color and if you set the white balance of the D800 to that, you're done with one simple action.

Why shoot the frame? You can take a white balance reading from blank film.

[d__b]

I've tried a similar scanning method with a sony nex 5 and their 30mm macro lens. For B&W it works really well, but for color negatives a simple white balance to get rid of the orange mask is not emough, because the mask is too strong. At least in the Sony RAWs I would put the white balance slider all the way to the edge and it would still not be neutral... There is simply not enough information in the other channels...

Here's an example of a B&W "scan" that I'm quite happy with:


... by TheManWhoWasn'tThere, on Flickr

[Godfrey]

Originally Posted by j j

Why shoot the frame? You can take a white balance reading from blank film.

You would be best shooting a frame of a gray card, properly exposed, and basing the whit balance adjustment for base tone on that. It's a better representation of the dye mix for neutral-white than film base color.

[Godfrey]

Originally Posted by d__b

I've tried a similar scanning method with a sony nex 5 and their 30mm macro lens. For B&W it works really well, but for color negatives a simple white balance to get rid of the orange mask is not emough, because the mask is too strong. At least in the Sony RAWs I would put the white balance slider all the way to the edge and it would still not be neutral... There is simply not enough information in the other channels...

As someone else suggested, filtering the illumination source to push more cyan-blue into the digital capture improves the ability to correct within the software tools' adjustment range. A custom camera calibration based on a negative of an Xrite Color Checker would also give you a lot more adjustment range.

[L David Tomei]

I've had my D70 on the PB-6 for several years now to digitize old film. The two problems that I have yet to overcome are the unavoidable cropping of the film frame, and the terrible results with color negs.
How have you dealt with the cropping issue and the white balance in the color negs?

One of my old Tri-x frames from 40 years ago (http://www.rangefinderforum.com/phot...p?photo=157174).

[ColSebastianMoran]

Originally Posted by d__b

... but for color negatives a simple white balance to get rid of the orange mask is not emough, because the mask is too strong.

That's why I am experimenting with a very blue light for shooting the negative with the digital camera. Exposing the C41 negative with white light, there just isn't enough blue coming through the mask.

You were using a color balance to adjust. I used curves where I can make even more extreme changes. Still no go from a 16bit RAW file.

And, I like your B&W image.

[SakamakuAme]

I'm interested in this method, too. I scan 35mm and 6x7 color negative with V700 and silverfast. While the result with 6x7 is fine, I hate the speed and the IQ of 35mm. After reading this thread so far, while i love to try this method, I am not still sure if this method works well for my negatives, since the inversion process seems not to be easy. The color that I can get from Silverfast is better than Epson software, and I always think that there must be some secrets in the Silverfast process...

[L David Tomei]

One problem that I have not solved well is that of uniform frame illumination. The milk glass diffuser on the PB-6 slide copier still requires a uniform cold light source and still some frames produce various artifacts. So far the best light is a flat monitor. Larger formats could make the problem of uniform illumination a bit more difficult.

I've given up trying to compensate for the base color and just use this setup for my old B&W film and color slides... Maybe it's my old D70 that needs to be replaced?

...and thanks for the kind comment Colonel. Moni's 43 years old now.

[ColSebastianMoran]

Originally Posted by Tony Pio

One problem that I have not solved well is that of uniform frame illumination. The milk glass diffuser on the PB-6 slide copier still requires a uniform cold light source and still some frames produce various artifacts. So far the best light is a flat monitor. Larger formats could make the problem of uniform illumination a bit more difficult.

I've given up trying to compensate for the base color and just use this setup for my old B&W film and color slides... Maybe it's my old D70 that needs to be replaced?

I have used the PB-6 and Nikon slide copier quite a bit with good results by pointing an electronic flash at the milk glass and with a lamp and reflector.

I'm encouraged by my experiment in working with color negatives. By using a light source with enough blue to counteract the orange mask, and using the "curves" tool rather than white balance, I'm getting reasonable color easily. How about a dichroic head from a color enlarger? These should be cheap.

With this, I don't see why a D70 wouldn't work, up to it's sensor limits.

[L David Tomei]

A dichroic head would work fine. Something capable of matching the t/a spectrum of the mask.

[Nokton48]

OK,
Putting a slide copying system together for my SRT's, the Minolta Bellows I system. Next step is to add one of my Nex 3 bodies; that is what I have around.

I also have a "DURST CHROMA PRO" gathering dust in my darkroom, which would be -perfect- for color negatives. Hmmmmmmm.........


http://www.rangefinderforum.com/foru...9&d=1350664893