Cheap slide scanner

[Alex Ramsay]

Any advice on a fairly cheap - say £200 - scanner for 35mm mounted slides? Ease of use and particularly speed are rather more important than quality here, as this involves large numbers of old family photos (not mine). I was wondering about a Canoscan 9000F, but any advice welcome.

 

Alex

[spacecadet]

An Illumitran used as a copy stand.

The ones on ebay atm are a bit dear- I got mine for £30 but had to make my own holders. It's easy to get into an efficient routine and copy maybe a hundred or two an hour. I tether to a computer now. Actual scanning time, of course, is quite short.

[ReeRay]

Why not use your digital camera as a scanner? A lot faster, cleaner, etc

[ReeRay]

@Spacecadet pipped me to it - same idea though

 

Here's what I use - Leica Beoon and digital camera. Rip through a 36 roll in minutes

 

There's one on the auction site right now - https://www.ebay.com/itm/Leica-BEOON-16511-Copy-Stand-405/401615727741?hash=item5d8229ac7d:g:0wkAAOSwvl9bv68r

 

[ReeRay]

Accepted on Alamy from a Beoon scan

 

[Bill Brooks]

Initially I used a Nikonscan 8000 but when I purchased a Canon 5d and a Canon 100mm macro lens, I used Re Ray's and Spacecadet's method for 35mm to 4X5. The Nikonscan only did up to medium format.

 

Better dynamic range, sharper, much faster, regardless of original size.

 

Here is a digital copy from a 4X5 transparency using Re Ray's method .

 

[Betty LaRue]

3 hours ago, ReeRay said:

@Spacecadet pipped me to it - same idea though

 

Here's what I use - Leica Beoon and digital camera. Rip through a 36 roll in minutes

 

There's one on the auction site right now - https://www.ebay.com/itm/Leica-BEOON-16511-Copy-Stand-405/401615727741?hash=item5d8229ac7d:g:0wkAAOSwvl9bv68r

 

Will this work on slides?

[ReeRay]

@Betty LaRue    -  Yes it will work on slides. I have a number of slide images on Alamy using this method

[spacecadet]

17 hours ago, ReeRay said:

Accepted on Alamy from a Beoon scan

 

 

Did that go through as archive? Mine are pretty fair and sell well but I don't think they would pass QC.

[ReeRay]

Not archive 6x6 negative

 

Further Example 35mm Fuji Velvia tranny

 

 

[spacecadet]

10 minutes ago, ReeRay said:

Not archive 6x6 negative

 

Further Example 35mm Fuji Velvia tranny

 

 

 

 

I'm impressed, but then I'm using cheap enlarger lenses on the Illumitran bellows so anyone going that route would need to be aware of the limitation.

I think my 6x6 and 645 probably would pass, taken with a kit zoom, but I don't really have the material.

[Alex Ramsay]

Thanks all for your advice - the Beoon is new to me - looks interesting, but would it work with e.g. a Nikon full-frame and a Micro-Nikkor?

Alex

[spacecadet]

It's essentially just a stand, so I'm sure it would.

Not wishing to queer Leica's pitch, though, it IS just a stand. If the job is a one-off I might be thinking about setting up a tripod over a light box, or an enlarger if you still have one. You can knock up a slide holderout of cardboard.

The big advantage of the Illumitran is the built-in flash, but getting a DSLR to fire it can be challenging. You may need a wireless trigger if the resistances are wrong.

[MDM]

15 minutes ago, Alex Ramsay said:

Thanks all for your advice - the Beoon is new to me - looks interesting, but would it work with e.g. a Nikon full-frame and a Micro-Nikkor?

Alex

 

 Nikon do the ES1 and more recently the ES2 slide copiers which fit on to various micro-Nikkors. Extension rings may be needed depending on the lens. I think they are 35mm only though.

[ReeRay]

2 hours ago, Alex Ramsay said:

Thanks all for your advice - the Beoon is new to me - looks interesting, but would it work with e.g. a Nikon full-frame and a Micro-Nikkor?

Alex

 

The Nikon FF would be ideal but  a conventional lens, even a Micro, will not produce the best results. As for kit zoom lenses you can forget that. What you need is a quality enlarged lens with its flat field attribute. I use a Schneider Componon S 50mm for 35mm stuff and a Rodenstock 40mm for medium format. I've compared scans with the above lenses against my Leica and Zeiss prime lenses and they significantly out perform same. An enlarger lens is the way to go for the best results. 

The Beoon is most definitely not a mere copy stand. It's built in alignment correction, slide holders that keep the film flat, adjustable height for frame filling enlargement and precision tubes to ensure correct maginification take it to another level. I also possess a dedicated Minolta MultiPro 35mm > medium format scanner and the Beoon scans match it in performance which few film scanners do. That in itself is an endorsement and when you marry in the speed difference (minutes against hours) it's a clear winner.

 

And it all packs away in a neat little box afterwards. You would not be dissapointed

 

p.s. Forget to say, no moving parts, bulbs to blow, etc. They last forever. 

[Nick Hatton]

7 hours ago, ReeRay said:

 

The Nikon FF would be ideal but  a conventional lens, even a Micro, will not produce the best results. As for kit zoom lenses you can forget that. What you need is a quality enlarged lens with its flat field attribute. I use a Schneider Componon S 50mm for 35mm stuff and a Rodenstock 40mm for medium format. I've compared scans with the above lenses against my Leica and Zeiss prime lenses and they significantly out perform same. An enlarger lens is the way to go for the best results. 

The Beoon is most definitely not a mere copy stand. It's built in alignment correction, slide holders that keep the film flat, adjustable height for frame filling enlargement and precision tubes to ensure correct maginification take it to another level. I also possess a dedicated Minolta MultiPro 35mm > medium format scanner and the Beoon scans match it in performance which few film scanners do. That in itself is an endorsement and when you marry in the speed difference (minutes against hours) it's a clear winner.

 

And it all packs away in a neat little box afterwards. You would not be dissapointed

 

p.s. Forget to say, no moving parts, bulbs to blow, etc. They last forever. 

How do I attach enlarger lens to my D5 ii is their some sort of adapter? 

[ReeRay]

4 hours ago, Nick Hatton said:

How do I attach enlarger lens to my D5 ii is their some sort of adapter? 

The camera attaches to the TOP of the stand via an adapter and the lens attaches underneath. Enlarger lenses are screw thread as per the unit.

 

 

[Harry Harrison]

I don't know about the protocol regarding links to a well known auction site but I imagine if you search for "Macro Leica M39 LTM mount lens to Nikon F mount adapter D4 Df D810 D3300 D7200"  then the adapter would look something like that. Of course all camera settings would be manual but that's fine.             

 

I've never seen the BEOON before and it is a beautifully elegant solution so thank you for introducing me to it. Haven't obviously seen one but would it really be happy with a camera as large as the Nikon D5, it was designed for a screw Leica after all? I don't recognise the camera in the photo but that seems just right and the flip screen would make it very easy to use, an excellent setup.

 

I can also recommend enlarger lenses for this type of work, in my case Rodenstock Rodagon on a Novoflex bellows. I also tried an AIS 55mm Micro-Nikkor with the extension tube and this is very good also, but not better. A potential problem with it is that when suspended vertically you can get focus 'creep' just from gravity, I think later models had a lock to prevent this.

[Alex Ramsay]

20 hours ago, ReeRay said:

 

 What you need is a quality enlarged lens with its flat field attribute. I use a Schneider Componon S 50mm for 35mm stuff and a Rodenstock 40mm for medium format.

 

I already have both these lenses, so that's helpful

Alex

[MDM]

1 hour ago, Harry Harrison said:

I don't know about the protocol regarding links to a well known auction site but I imagine if you search for "Macro Leica M39 LTM mount lens to Nikon F mount adapter D4 Df D810 D3300 D7200"  then the adapter would look something like that. Of course all camera settings would be manual but that's fine.             

 

I've never seen the BEOON before and it is a beautifully elegant solution so thank you for introducing me to it. Haven't obviously seen one but would it really be happy with a camera as large as the Nikon D5, it was designed for a screw Leica after all? I don't recognise the camera in the photo but that seems just right and the flip screen would make it very easy to use, an excellent setup.

 

I can also recommend enlarger lenses for this type of work, in my case Rodenstock Rodagon on a Novoflex bellows. I also tried an AIS 55mm Micro-Nikkor with the extension tube and this is very good also, but not better. A potential problem with it is that when suspended vertically you can get focus 'creep' just from gravity, I think later models had a lock to prevent this.

 

If one has a 55mm AIS (amazing lens) and extension tubes, then Nikon's ES1 slide copier is probably the better solution if copying 35mm as the camera can be hand held or mounted on a tripod with daylight, LED or flash as the light source. 

[Harry Harrison]

Yes, I would agree with that, particularly since the original question was about a £200 slide scanner. DSLR scanning has got quite popular so bellows, copystands etc. have got harder to find and pricier. Unless you have the bits and pieces already then it can get expensive quite quickly. 

 

 

[ReeRay]

2 hours ago, Harry Harrison said:

I don't know about the protocol regarding links to a well known auction site but I imagine if you search for "Macro Leica M39 LTM mount lens to Nikon F mount adapter D4 Df D810 D3300 D7200"  then the adapter would look something like that. Of course all camera settings would be manual but that's fine.             

 

I've never seen the BEOON before and it is a beautifully elegant solution so thank you for introducing me to it. Haven't obviously seen one but would it really be happy with a camera as large as the Nikon D5, it was designed for a screw Leica after all? I don't recognise the camera in the photo but that seems just right and the flip screen would make it very easy to use, an excellent setup.

 

I can also recommend enlarger lenses for this type of work, in my case Rodenstock Rodagon on a Novoflex bellows. I also tried an AIS 55mm Micro-Nikkor with the extension tube and this is very good also, but not better. A potential problem with it is that when suspended vertically you can get focus 'creep' just from gravity, I think later models had a lock to prevent this.

Good point ref camera "type". I use mine with effectively mirrorless cameras i.e. Fuji APS-C as in my photograph, Sony A7r and Leica M240. A large DSLR may prove too heavy but I seem to recollect reading that the biggest problem is any DSLR with a mirror presents problems as the register distance is too large on a Beoon I'm a bit vague on these points but it might be prudent to check. 

[Harry Harrison]

Ah, it's a Fuji! Without checking I expect the register distance is quite similar to a Leica M and any DSLR with a mirror is going increase the minimum magnification, if you see what I mean. 

 

Thanks for the clarification, I read afterwards that in fact the BEOON was designed for the Leica M3 rather than the LTM Leicas. The D5 is almost 1Kg heavier so it could affect the balance if nothing else I suppose.