Slide copying adapter

I am interested in buying a slide copier adapter for my D80, but don't known

what is involved. I have hundreds of slides that I would like to put on disk. I

assume I need a lense on the camera, must it be a fixed focal length or will the

adapter work with a 20-70 zoom lense. Anything else I need? Any recommendations

or advice? Thanks.

It can be done, but it's not fun. I went through this exercise with my D200 and PB6 system. I was fairly disappointed at the results, no matter which lens I used. The DX sized sensor doesn't relate 1:1 with 35mm, and getting them to match is a major pain, regardless of the lenses I was trying. I would think a zoom would be an ever worse choice. Check out this setup and image from Conrad Hoffman, and do a search for a couple of threads on the subject. Here's one to get you started: http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00HbBV

 

I think it's a really good solution. The other good solution (that I ended up doing) was just to buy a slide scanner<g>.

I've done it too. It sucks. Get a slide scanner if you can.

I have ordered a slide scanner after considering the alternatives. Joe Smith

While it's possible, it's still difficult to get decent results with slide copy adapters.

 

Personally, I wouldn't bother with them, but would opt for a film scanner instead. The scanner will give you excellent results everytime.

For traditional slide copying with the old F era Bellows rig I have, the recommended lens was the 50/F2 or the 55 mm 3.5 Micro Nikkor. Owing to the intervening bellows, these are the only two lenses that will both fit into the apparatus and allow magnification of 1x or less. And even these will only go a little past 1x, not a low enough magnification to compensate for the digital crop factor. I tried it and got only a little of the mount around the slide, but not enough more. The bellows, even when compressed all the way, simply won't allow focusing from far enough away.

 

I mention this just in case anyone is contemplating doing it with bellows. I don't think there's any way to avoid cropping with that setup.

I found this work like a charm.

 

a. Spiratone Slide Duplicator. Head only, not lens (~$10 used)

 

b. 52mm to 49mm step down ring

 

c. K4 & K5 ring

 

d. 55 Micro Nikkor (if required extension tube to 1:1.5)

 

See picture<div></div>

I was considering doing the same thing as you, posted a query on this forum, got similar responses, and bought a Nikon Coolscan V instead. I've been using VueScan software with it and am very happy with the results.

The first problem with using a slide copier on a digital camera is the DX size sensor and how it increases the effective focal length by 1.5, thereby cropping into your slide and not being able to capture the full image. The second is that contrast buildup will make it hard to capture the full range of lights and darks. Film scanners will get the full image without croppign and have lower contrast settings to compensate for contrast buildup.