Improvising a slide holder for scanner

[escuta]

Hello forum, my first post here and just getting back into film photography after more than a 10 year break. I have HP G4050 scanner which, many years ago, I used to scan 120 transparencies. By no stretch a professional device, it does however have a back-light and I got good results with it in the past. I've lost the slide holder for this and can't find another, but in any case, I was never very satisfied with the 120 holder as often the film would buckle within it. I was thinking instead of laying the film flat on the flat-bed glass and placing a second A4-sized pane of glass on top of it. What I'm wondering is: how thick can that pane of glass be before it causes any optical effect? Alternatively, does anyone have any other home-made solutions that I can try? (i'd prefer not to have to import anything via online sources) - all the best!

[tom_halfhill]

You will probably get Newton rings by pressing the negative directly against the flatbed scanner's glass. Anti-Newton glass on top won't remove Newton rings between the negative and the glass bed. Also, flatbed scanners that are designed to scan slides and negatives (e.g., those with backlights) usually fix the focus slightly above the glass bed when scanning those films, so pressing the film directly against the glass may throw the scans out of focus.

 

Possibly you can find a 120 film holder made for a different scanner and adapt it to yours. But it's not easy unless you can examine the holder first.

 

I faced a similar problem when I needed to scan some negatives of an obsolete box-camera format. The film was too wide to fit my scanner's 120 film holder. So I built my own film holder by cutting and glueing together several wooden sticks salvaged from frozen corn dogs (similar to popsicle sticks). It held the negative flat and slightly above the glass bed. I painted the wooden sticks flat black. Years ago I posted a photo of my contraption here on Photo.net, but I can't find it now. It was fragile and needed occasional repairs, but it worked, and I scanned more than 1,000 of those negatives that were up to 100 years old. Maybe you can improvise a similar solution. Even cardboard might work, but I needed something sturdier for the large number of negatives to scan.

[Ed_Ingold]

The emulsion side of a negative is rough enough to prevent the formation of Newton's Rings under most circumstances. Place the emulsion side down, and hold it in place with a piece of anti-Newton glass. anti-reflexive glass used for picture frames has a very fine texture, and can be used instead. Use a spacer 1 or 2 mm thick as a mask. Black cardboard works well, and can be purchased at an hobby shop (e.g., Hobby Lobby).

 

Some scanners focus best at the glass surface. Others raise the focus about 2 mm when used in transparency (backlighted) mode. In that case, you need a film holder provided by the manufacturer, or a third party. The DOF is fairly shallow, and can be tested by placing an engraved engineering scale on the glass at an inline, raised at one end by a pencil or something.

[tom_halfhill]

Ed Ingold ... this is slightly off-topic, but in another discussion you mentioned that you were modifying a Nikon ES-1 slide copier to make it work with film strips (negatives). How did you do this? I've been thinking of buying a second ES-1 just for this purpose. If I can take it apart and remove the metal slide clips, maybe I can squeeze a film-strip holder into the channel. For example, I have an FH-3 film holder for my Nikon CoolScan V, but it's much too thick to fit inside the channel with the metal clips in place. What is your solution?

[escuta]

Thanks for the information Tom and Ed. I did find a 120 film adaptor on Ebay for the scanner, but with import duties and shipping it will cost almost as much as buying a complete secondhand unit here in Brazil. I'll continue looking locally and work on a little rig myself to raise the film up slightly. All the best!

[Ed_Ingold]

Ed Ingold ... this is slightly off-topic, but in another discussion you mentioned that you were modifying a Nikon ES-1 slide copier to make it work with film strips (negatives). How did you do this? I've been thinking of buying a second ES-1 just for this purpose. If I can take it apart and remove the metal slide clips, maybe I can squeeze a film-strip holder into the channel. For example, I have an FH-3 film holder for my Nikon CoolScan V, but it's much too thick to fit inside the channel with the metal clips in place. What is your solution?

The Nikon ES-1 is designed to hold a 2x2" mounted slide. The spring clips hold the slide firmly against the aperture of the ES-1, establishing the focal plane and blocking extraneous light.

 

The best solution I found for film strips is to use a Nikon FH-3 Film Strip Holder, which came with my LS-4000 and is used with a single slide adapter. It is the same width and thickness of a mounted slide, and has an insert which can be moved to bring a frame into a viewing window. There are two windows, so you can "expose" three frames, then turn it end for end and expose the other three. The FH-3 attachments are like gold on the internet. I had two originally, but can only find one. (the other was for an older scanner, which I gave to my son).

 

An alternative I am using is a Novoflex geared focusing rail with a slide copying attachment. I can use an inexpensive film strip holder sold for other scanners, which are twice as thick and 1/4" wider than will fit in an ES-1

 

Another contributor to PNET uses an illuminated copy stand. This device works for slides, film strips and film of any size, and is probably the best solution.

[Ed_Ingold]

If film holders are too expensive, get creative with black matting board from a hobby shop, a razor knife and glue. I got better results with my "creations" than with holders that came with my (many) flatbed scanners. The best board is black all the way through, thin, and surprisingly durable.

[tom_halfhill]

Ed, thanks for your answer. Apparently you have an older-model Nikon ES-1 slide copier, which has a wide enough channel to accept the Nikon FH-3 film holder. My ES-1 is a new model (purchased in 2016). The slide channel is too narrow for the FH-3. The film holder can't be forced into the metal clips.

 

The ES-1's frosted glass and metal clips appear to be screwed or riveted to the tube. A stick-on label hides the screws or rivets. I'm hoping they are removable screws, not permanent rivets. Then I could buy a second ES-1, peel off the label, remove the screws, remove the metal clips, and replace the screws. This would create enough space in the channel for the FH-3 film holder (perhaps with shims, if it's loose).

 

It's a shame. With only a little more imagination, Nikon could have designed the ES-1 to work with both slides and negatives. Whoever designed it wasn't thinking.

[Ed_Ingold]

I'm pretty sure they're screws rather than rivets, looking at the ends. You can use an hair dryer (not an electric heat gun) to soften the adhesive in the label covering the heads, for removal without scraping and scratching the plastic. I considered shimming the holder as you describe, but that didn't solve the height problem with readily available strip holders.

 

My ES-1 is a couple of years old, purchased new from B&H. The FH-3 fits under the spring clips, on the same side as would a mounted slide. You might have to tease the strips a little to insert the holder. Make sure you're not inserting the FH-3 on the wrong side of the clips.

 

The Novoflex Castle-Q rack and slide holder is really expensive, but serves a dual purpose for me. It is essentially a self-contained copy stand compatible with Arca style QR. I also use it for product photography and closeups, for fine focus control and focus stacking. A rack-and-pinion is more useful than a micrometer screw for these applications. It has ample extension for use with a 90 mm macro lens (Sony) or Nikon 105/2.8 AFS.

 

Novoflex Castel-XQ II Macro Focusing Rack CASTEL-XQ-II B&H Photo

Novoflex Castel-XQ II Macro Focusing Rack CASTEL-XQ-II B&H Photo

 

I use a daylight LED bulb in a desk lamp for illumination. The spectrum is continuous and surprisingly similar to daylight, 5600K, except for a spike in the near-UV at 430 mu. Shutter speed is irrelevant, since the whole assembly is locked together. Typically, I use ISO 400 at f/5.6 and 1/4 second.

 

Why do I beat myself up like this? Two reasons. The LS-8000 is big, heavy, noisy and sloooow. I rearranged my office, and could put it under the flatbed I use often. I simply had no room for it before, and little need in the digital age. "Scanning" with a camera is fast. Even cleaning each slide or strip carefully (no ICE), I can scan 5 to 10 rolls an hour. Slides are easy but onverting negatives is still time consuming and difficult to balance color. Guess what? Color is not all that consistent with the LS-8000 either.

 

There are slide copiers which take slides or film strips, but most are cheaply made and rely on a +10 diopter rather than a 1:1 macro lens. Holders are $12 instead of over $300 for a used FH-3 (did I say "gold").

Edited June 14, 2017 by Ed_Ingold