Photographing old 120 BW negatives with a digital camera

<p>My father made a series of photograph in 1953 with an Ebner 620 camera. I have no scanner, but <strong>I've read that you could set up the negative and photograph it with a digital camera.</strong> I've search a bit, but I have not found any "off the shelf" tool for mounting and lighting a 120 negative for such purposes (only for 35mm).<br>

What is your suggestion on how to "scan" or "digitize" these negatives? Can I make a homemade setup and photograph the negatives? If so, what would be required?<br>

Obviously, I could buy an Epson V7xx scanner and use that, but as much as I've romanticized about using film, I never got around to love it, so a scanner seems like a potential dust gathering machine.</p>

<p>Any suggestions will be much appreciated.</p>

<p>Best regards,<br>

Richard</p>

 

<p>Richard,</p>

<p>I have a Nikon bellows which allows me to shoot extreme close-ups. I have a slide copying attachment that I have used to make quick and dirty digital copies of mounted slides. Works well. You could try placing the negative on a light table and get a macro lens and photograph it that way (or use a digital camera with a good macro setting). Then in post processing, just hit "inverse" and the image will look correct.</p>

<p>Interesting problem. Like Dave says you could tape them to a light table and photograph them with a macro lens. The problem is if you don't have a good light table or a macro lens you have added expense.</p>

<p>What is your ultimate purpose for these images? Are you trying to archive them? Do you just want to share them with family over the Internet? If you want to make prints, then what size?</p>

<p>I have done a project like this using an Epson 4490 scanner. For same size or slightly enlarged prints you can scan the prints you have. If you want 8x10" prints you need to scan the negatives. If the prints you have are in bad shape then you will want to scan the negatives.</p>

<p>Let us know your ultimate goals. </p>

Simplest would be to tape the negative to a window with a white sheet of paper on the outside a short distance away to avoid picking up paper grain. Then convert to a positive in Photoshop.<P>

 

I did this one of an 8x10 inch negative that way using a Canon A 570 compact camera. <P>

 

<center><img src="http://jdainis.com/snow_bridge_p_n.jpg"></center>

<p>Note that a Canon LiDE 600 scanner can scan 120 film, and costs less than $100. Maybe not as well as a $500 scanner, but a lot better than a digital point and shoot camera will. Used Epson 4490's are even cheaper.</p>

<p>You are better off using a service such as ScanCafe.com in the SF Bay Area. They charge around $5 for a 120 conversion to digital with a file size varying from 12 to 15 Mb. I have blown up small portions of a file to 16 x 20 size and using Genuine Fractals, a PS plug-in, there is no trace or either grain nor pixels, and as sharp as the original.</p>

<p>For a limited-scope / limited time project like this, I sort-of agree with Graham and would send them to ScanCafe. Or if they are <em>very</em> precious / valuable, to either West Coast Imaging (if you're local or willing to FedEx them) or a local pro lab. However, "a service such as ScanCafe.com in the SF Bay Area. They charge around $5 for a 120 conversion to digital with a file size varying from 12 to 15 Mb". ScanCafe is not really in San Francisco--IIRC, the scanning occurs in India. Also, they are much cheaper than that: $2 for each medium-format B&W negative (see <a href="http://www.scancafe.com/pricing/scanning">http://www.scancafe.com/pricing/scanning</a>). (And to be clear, the actual film from a 620 spool is the same size as 120 film.) This gets you a 3000 ppi scan, which would give you a 300 ppi, 22x22 inch print from a "6x6" frame. They will also bump up to a 4000 ppi scan and/or saving the files as TIFF's for very reasonable prices.</p>

<p>Thank you for your responses!</p>

<p><strong>Marc</strong>, the main purpose is to show them to my father. I am not sure he's ever seen them, maybe as contacts. <strong>James </strong>I tried your suggestion but added some flash:</p>

 

<ul>

<li>Taped an A4 sheet on one side of the window</li>

<li>Fixed the negatives on the other side</li>

<li>Mounted a SB-800 with a softbox - backlighting the white paper</li>

<li>Lens was a Nikkor 50G 1.4 with no tube, no nothing, so not very high resolution.</li>

</ul>

<p>I had issues keeping the negative flat, but got some results after all. They are not great shots, but I am sure my father will be pleased to see them.</p>

<p>Results would obviously be a lot better with a glass plate holding the negative down, and a macro for better resolution.</p>

<p>Anyway, I kind of got the feeling that these shots alone would not justify a V750 or the likes :)</p>

<p>A photo from the process is enclosed.</p>

<p>Thank you for your contributions!</p>

<p>Best,<br>

Richard</p>

<p> </p><div></div>

<p>I have used a light box, for viewing negatives and slides, as the illumination source and a 105/2.8D Macro lens and a Nikon D3 as the camera. I used a compendium (bellows) lens shade as a makeshift way to exclude extraneous light. The camera was on a tripod with an inverted column, all on a table top. The resolution is at least as good as that of a flatbed scanner, with greater dynamic range.</p>

<p>If you have a lot of negatives to scan/copy, a more permanent arrangement would be preferable, paying attention to masking, light exclusion and making the camera and film parallel. A dedicated scanner, like a Nikon LS-8000 would be much better, but film scanners have gone extinct.</p>

<p>I have a similar situation, and a problem with the very first BW negative I photographed with my digital camera. I'm hoping y'all can help me.<br>

I looked, searched the photo.net archives and haven't found a situation quite like mine. This was the most recent post I found about photographing old 120, 220, etc., negatives with a digital camera.<br>

I have a large envelope of 6cm x 6cm, 6cm x 9cm, and 6.5cm x 10.5cm (Kodak 616) BW negatives of my mother and her sister as little girls from the 1930s and 1940s. <br>

There are very few actual photos in print form left, so I'd love to use my Nikon D90 to carefully photograph some of these negatives to email to my mom and aunt (and to the kids, grandkids, etc.).<br>

Eventually I'll get these scanned professionally, but for now, I know that my D90 can take good enough images to send everyone while Mom and Aunt are still alive (both in late 70s).<br>

I took one negative, in front of a sheet of white paper, on a diffused white light, with a clean flat piece of glass on top to flatten the negative and made a couple of trial shots with my nikon and my 28-200 zoom in the telephoto range.<br>

I know this photo could be photoshopped to look presentable enough to please Mom and Aunt while they're still alive to see these photos again after decades, but a problem on my first shot.<br>

THE PROBLEM:<br>

A fine, perfectly formed grid of lines across the whole image...like a fine net.<br>

<img src="http://jamasters.smugmug.com/photos/i-prSQTZC/0/M/i-prSQTZC-M.jpg" alt="" /><br>

<img src="http://jamasters.smugmug.com/photos/i-Lf7fs6C/0/M/i-Lf7fs6C-M.jpg" alt="" /><br>

Since this was a problem with THE very first attempt to photograph a (6.5cm x 10.5cm) negative, I feel I must have done something wrong that is truly basic and simple.<br>

I photographed this negative at 1/15sec, f/11, ISO 1600.<br>

Can you guys that have tried this process tell me what is wrong?<br>

Thank you!<br>

John M./Palm Bay, FL</p>

<p> </p>