DSLR for duplicating slides ?

I have a slide duplicator that fits my film SLRs.

 

I was wondering if anyone has ever tried to duplicate (or should I say scan) a

slide with a similar set-up, using a DSLR and macro lens. I have a 105mm Micro

Nikkor with 1:1 reproduction ratio, which on a DSLR would yield bigger than

lifesize.

 

I need to scan loads of slides for use on the web, I don't expect to make big

enlargments. If I need a big enlargment, I can always get my slide scanned

professionaly.

 

I own an Epson flatbed scanner with a slide adapter, but results are not

brilliant and I get a lot of noise with contrasty or dark images. I have used

a Nikon Coolscan IV, which gives excellent results, but I can't afford to buy

one and scan times typically run into 10 minutes with ICE activated.

 

I have searched this website and haven't found any information. Should a

similar question have been posted before, please refer me to the corresponding

link.

 

thanks

 

Jan

I haven't tried it but if you were using a slide duplicator you'd have to modify it. But with a micro lens and a custom slide holder (you would have to ensure that it was level with the image plane of the DSLR) it wouldn't be a problem. You'd just have the slide further away than you would if you were using a 35mm camera.

 

One idea I had when I thought about this problem (not that I ever actually tried it) was to use a slide projector with the lens removed and the camera pointing towards the slide (which would be illuminated very nicely by the light). Simple!

Yes, I've done exactly that, and posted a photo of the setup here a few weeks ago. The lens solution was an 80mm enlarging lens on the Nikon PB-5 bellows, and their slide holder. Works like a champ. My guess is that with any longer focal length lens, you won't be able to locate the slide holder at the correct distance as you'll run out of rod. Could fabricate something, but it's better to keep the unit compact for low vibration. Since you're reducing the full frame slide to the DX format, don't reverse the lens. I did, since I also use the same setup for higher magnifications. Here's a photo.<div></div>

Karim and Conrad,

Both suggestions make sense to me, I'll give them a try and see how it works out.

 

Conrad,

What did you use to light the slides in your set-up? I suppose you can direct your camera at a window on a clear day, or perhaps I could use my slide light box, which is calibrated for daylight.

 

regards

 

Jan

Hi Jan,

 

There have been quite a few threads on this very subject over the past few years. So you may want to search this site in a variety of ways!

 

Sincerely,

 

Dave

Conrad, wouldn't the 55/2.8 Micro suffice? I have a PB5 + slide adapter, but haven't tried the set up yet. I also have some tubes I can place between the lens and my D200.

Jan, I've been meaning to duplicate Conrad's setup. I tried every lens I own on a PB-6 with slide duplicator, tubes, reversing rings, you name it. I could never get the focus sharp or angle of view wide enough. I finally gave up and bought an Epson that does a pretty good job.

I have been scanning hundreds of slides just using a Coolpix 995, a light box, and the ES-E28 slide-copying adapter. Works like a charm. They are for web use, so the 3.2 mp size is fine.

I usually just direct a handy 60W incandescent desk lamp at the thing, and set the WB to tungsten. Works dandy. More on the lens issue: If the focal length is too short, you'll not be able to compress the bellows far enough and the standards will hit each other. Correct magnification cannot be obtained in this case. If the focal length is too long, you'll have enough bellows extension, but the slide will have to be too far away to attach to the bellows. Unless the slide adapter is physically attached to the bellows unit, you'll have serious vibration problems. If you have any spacers (or a standard Nikon mount) between the lens and the front standard, or between the camera and the rear standard, this will just make things worse (read impossible). It turns out the only practical lens focal length is very close to 80mm. Thus, one asks, "what 80mm lens is designed for short working distances?" The easiest answer is a good quality 6-element 80mm enlarging lens, with a suitable adapter. That adapter is nothing more than a standard t-mount adapter, with the center ring replaced with a 39mm threaded disk. This "receipe" is extremely simple, and it's amazing all the things I tried that come close, but just can't be made to work!

More- the 55mm micro is a great lens. Unfortunately by the time you insert a bellows between it and the camera, the magnification may be too high. You also want to operate the 55mm micro with the focus extended, as it has an internal floating element to compensate it for the close working distances. It's really best used without the bellows. I sold my last PB-5 about 30 years ago, as I considered it completely useless. The 55mm f/2.8 micro did everything I needed, plus a set of Vivitar extension tubes. I only recently picked up another PB-5 because I needed to do some very high magnification work. For that, I use a reversed 35mm Componon in the old 25mm mount. I made a variety of rings with various threads that fit into the t-mount. This allows me to mount just about anything, forward or reversed, to the front of the bellows.

I'm afraid this is only for Japanese language, but Kenko makes a dedicated slide duplicator for DSLR with DX size sensor:

 

http://www.kenko-tokina.co.jp/d/4961607862513.html

 

The summery of its specs are as follows:

 

The price is about $200 with T-mount adaptor. The duplicator has a built-in 52mm/f8 macro lens and can duplicate the full frame 35mm slide films and can even crop them to some extent. With Nikon D70(s) or D50, for example, you have to set the exposure value manually without meter, but the set-up is very compact and you could even hand-hold the combo to do the job at quite slow shutter speeds!

Some additional info:

 

The 52mm lens seems to be identical to Kenko's Vari-Macro lens because the spec is the same: 52mm/f8 (sorry again, all in Japanese) and the lens has three elements in three groups (Triotar type?):

 

http://www.kenko-tokina.co.jp/ecatalog/proaccessory/4961607862056.html

Thank you Akira for posting the link to the Kenro slide copier.

 

I've searched the B&H website and can't find any reference to the Kenko, but I did find a slide copier that, according to B&H, can be used with macro lenses up to 105mm and allows you to reprodude 35mm and medium format slides.

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=394672&is=REG&addedTroughType=search

 

With the camera on a tripod and tripping the shutter with a cable release, camera vibration shouldn't be a problem.

 

Jan

Jan,

 

You are welcome and thank you for the info.

 

The capability to copy slides up to 6x7 is great (I use 6x6 film camera, too), but you need to buy either of three Novoflex's focusing racks to use the slide holder. The problem is that the focusing slides of Novoflex are quite expensive in Japan (the cheapest combo will cost more than twice as much as Kenko dupliator!).

 

We seem to have to continue our search:-(

Maybe you get some ideas from my experiences.

 

* I worked with a filmscanner coolscan 2000 - very good of course, though always difficulties with the contrast (shades).

 

* With the SLR Nikon D70 and a 55m micro nikkor on an older bellows (PB4?) on which a older Nikon slide adapter fits, the enlargement is too high, though I liked the results I got with copying parts of the slides. I think the detail is somewhat less then with the filmscanner, though it's easyer to get satisfying results with overexposed or under-exposed slides. I used a flash, with that typical kind of plastic diffusor on it and flashed through the slide from a distance of a few cm's and the flash at about 1/16 th of its power, WB on the D70 set to flash of course.

 

* For bigger negatives (6x6, 6x9) I cut out a hole of an approximate 10 cm square in the top of a breadtoaster-box. In this box I laid a Sunpack speedlight facing upwards and over the hole a piece of milkwhite perspex. On this perspex I laid the negatives, nothing on it or sometimes a piece of glass in case the negatives curved to much. The box was placed on an old (Opemus) enlarger footplank and instead of the enlarger-head I have a reproduction hook for the camera (genial idea of the Opemus manufacturer - years ago). (Old speedlight -High voltage danger, solution: the speedlight was triggered with a flash-slave by the built on flash of the D70, piece of white paper in front of it to prevent that flash reflecting on the negatives).

The negatives were inverted with PhotoShop Elements. Results were quite satisfying.... :-) This set-up could also be used for mounted slides of course, but up till now I didn't try that.

I used my 55mm micro, small extension tube and a pvc pipe/masking tape tube to hold a slide holder in place. Bolted and tiewrapped to a board made it very steady. I really liked being able to adjust exposure of individual slides. Also like the ability to get closer on some so I did my "cropping" when I took the slide and improved resolution a bit over cropping from the original slide. Much better than the epson photo/slide scanner I have. Get BUSY!

 

Here's a gallery with some samples from those slides:

http://www.pbase.com/arlon/old_slide_copies