New Nikon ES-2 Film Digitizing Adapter

[Ed_Ingold]

Tom, you are using a film strip holder designed to fit in the mounted slide attachment for a Nikon scanner. I didn't have to modify the spring clips to use mine.

 

Is it possible to insert somehow a medium format holder in an ES-1?

The aperture plate in the ES-1 is only large enough to cover a 35 mm image, plus a little more. Novoflex makes a film holder for their Castel-Q focusing rail which will work with film up to 6x7 cm. I already had the focusing rail, but if you bought the whole assembly, it costs more than a decent copy stand. Since the Novoflex rig has a wide range of adjustments, you can use a 105 macro lens with ease. The same is true for a copy stand.

 

Yes, sure. If Nikon doesn’t have the balls to keep producing scanners, the least they could do is developing a decent software to treat dsrl scans in combination with their cameras and slide adapters.

The slide holder is just an adapter to hold the film, nothing more. Vuescan and Silverfast software will drive a Nikon scanner, and is compatible with most operating systems.

 

 

And what about DX cameras, are they as useful as FX ones to do this digitizing work?

Since you need less than 1:1 magnification to fit a 35 mm image on an APS-C sized sensor, the film must be held further from the lens. You can do it, but it requires an extension between the lens and the ES-1/2.

[martin_dake]

The Film Strip Holder from a ES-E28 will fit the ES-1.

The ES-E28 was a set made for Nikon point and shoot and can be found on eBay etc for next to nothing.

It comes with the adapter to fit a point and shoot, a film strip holder and a slide holder for 2 slides; the adapter part is not needed for use with an ES-1.

When using the ES-E28 film strip holder with the ES-1 you cannot slide the strip holder from frame to frame as the springs in the ES-1 get in the way so you have to remove the holder and move the to the next frame. Or, as someone else pointed out you could modify the ES-1 by removing the slide holder springs.

[Fiodor]

When using a DX-format camera and 40mm macro lens, the ES-1 is a better solution than the much more expensive and complicated ES-2.

 

Tom Halfhill,

 

Is this the lens you have? Nikon 40mm f/2.8 DX Micro-NIKKOR

 

It seems like a very good lens for Nikon DX and for film digitizing with the ES-1, without tubes.

 

It is definitely the analogous to Nikon FX + Micro-NIKKOR 60mm 2.8G + ES-2

 

---

P.S. Thank you, Ed Ingold.

[Fiodor]

If I were to buy an ES-1, what negative holder should I buy?

[glen_h]

My doubt was how scanners treat the orange mask, if they do it by hardware or software. Then I read this article through the Nikon F-Mount - How to digitise your slides and negatives which says “Colour negatives have a strong orange mask. Formerly, I thought the scanner would correct it with a special mix of its RGB light components. But I was wrong - it is just software.” So, apparently, it is merely a software job, and we are dealing with an orange tinted image from the start, which if you think about it, is terrible, specially because this orange is not a Raw color temperature variable.

 

(I still don’t know how this orange mask is apparently useful for printing, and how color enlargers and photographic papers work in relation to this mask, but this is another story)

 

(snip)

 

The film dyes have some absorption where it isn't supposed to be.

 

By giving the uncoupled couplers the same absorption as the undesired dye absorption, the difference between coupler and dye is much closer to desired.

 

Also, C41 (and previous color negative films) have a much lower gamma than is usual for B&W negative films. Color printing paper has the appropriate gamma to correct for the film gamma. This results in the large exposure latitude of C41 films, though it requires more accurate exposure in printing. It also increases the effect of color balance differences. The rule for filter selection is to select the filter with half the absorption, and complementary color, to that filter that when you look through makes the print look right. (The low gamma allows good results with simpler cameras, as were common for much of the life of Kodacolor.)

 

The result of this, is that color negatives don't stretch the dynamic range of the scanner (camera).

 

When digitizing, it would be easy to apply the appropriate matrix to undo any cross terms (undesired dye absorption).

 

As well as I know it, the three color layers have close to the same gamma, with a constant shift due to the mask.

If they aren't quite the same, that could also be corrected in scanning.

 

It might not be so good, though, to take a JPEG image of the negative, and try to generate the positive.

The JPEG compression might throw away some useful information. (Though as well as I know, JPEG

separately compresses R, G, and B, so maybe there is no such loss.)

[Ed_Ingold]

Be sure to set the camera's color temperature to that of the light source. Otherwise the orange mask will fool the camera and make it nearly impossible to invert the color.

[iosif_astrukov]

actually the ES-2 is a full set -

 

In the Box

Nikon ES-2 Film Digitizing Adapter Set

• FH-4 Strip Film Holder
  

• FH-5 Slide Mount Holder
  

• 52mm Adapter Ring
  

• 62mm Adapter Ring
  

 

so… I don't think ES-1 is better option, of course it's half the price, but still you need at least adapter rings and etc… and works only for framed slides

[tom_halfhill]

Ed_Ingold said:

"Tom, you are using a film strip holder designed to fit in the mounted slide attachment for a Nikon scanner. I didn't have to modify the spring clips to use mine."

 

Right, like I said before, the older ES-1 units have more clearance between the spring clips and don't require modification to use a film holder. Recent versions of the ES-1 have less clearance and require modification -- the film holder won't fit otherwise. I have confirmed this by comparing the older and newer units. The modification was easy.

 

Iosif_Astrukov, the adapter rings are unnecessary when using the ES-1 with a DX camera body and the Nikon 40mm f/2.8 macro lens. The ES-1 screws directly into the lens' 52mm filter thread and enables 1:1 copies of mounted slides. (Actually, you can get a little more magnification than 1:1 by sliding the tube all the way back.) No other attachments are needed. For an FX body, the ES-2 may be a better choice.

 

For those who don't have the FH-4 film-strip holder that came with a Nikon scanner, just about any film-strip holder will work. Most are thinner than the FH-4, so they will fit inside the ES-1's modified metal clips. In fact I may buy one, because the metal slide on the FH-4 is annoying.

 

The 40mm f/2.8 macro lens is uncommonly sharp, even at small apertures. Indeed, I think it's my sharpest Nikon lens of any kind, including my other primes. I'd use it for everything if the effective 60mm focal length on my DX body were appropriate.

[Fiodor]

Iosif, probably you are right…

 

I had a look at the Q&A section of the product page, and a Nikon employee wrote this:

 

“The ES-1 Slide Copying Adapter is designed for use with mounted 35mm slides and is compatible with the Micro-NIKKOR 55mm f/2.8 lens and the AF Micro-NIKKOR 60mm f/2.8D Lens (with BR-5 adapter ring, sold separately).

 

The ES-2 Film Digitizing Adapter can be used with 35mm strip film as well as mounted 35mm slides. It is compatible with the AF-S Micro NIKKOR 60mm f/2.8G ED Lens, the AF Micro-NIKKOR 60mm f/2.8D Lens, and the AF-S DX Micro NIKKOR 40mm f/2.8G Lens. Adapter rings are supplied with the ES-2 for use when attaching it to the AF-S Micro NIKKOR 60mm f/2.8G ED Lens or the AF-Micro NIKKOR f/2.8D Lens. When used with the AF-S DX Micro NIKKOR 40mm f/2.8G Lens no adapter ring is needed.”

 

So… it seems that the ES-2 has a 52mm thread. That’s why the adapters are supplied for the two 60mm lenses. Here is a photo of all the accessories:http://cdn-4.nikon-cdn.com/e/Q5NM96RZZo-MRItDefY8uS3cNHsVS3bpm3NYPzZUKnZYcvoY1nH7polAbfyN6aQJvsLlD8wcV5LI36dLB-9ziZsE1bmXljLbUkhJXI2mV78pRmac5L1RdA==/Views/27192-ES-2-Film-Digitalizing-Adapter-other.png

 

 

It seems that the adapters not only adapt the thread, but also the distance? But aren’t both 60mm lenses 1:1? I don’t understand. If someone understands this well, please correct me and clarify.

[Ed_Ingold]

You don't use 1:1 reproduction with a DX camera if you want to capture the entire image area of the film. You need 2:3 magnification, which will require a longer focus setting and an extension between the lens and ES-1. Moving the slide away from the lens gives less magnification, not more. Unless you use extension rings between the lens and body, the Nikon 40 mm Macro (DX) will yield a maximum of 1:1. Perhaps it is a matter of nomenclature. I'm using the conventional form, image:subject, so 1:2 is 1/2 actual size in the camera.

 

The FH-4 alone goes for over $300 on the internet. Inexpensive film strip holders you can buy on Amazon or B&H are 50% thicker than the Nikon holder and 1/4" wider.

[Ed_Ingold]

ne understands this well, please correct me and clarify.

Older Nikon 60 mm Micro lenses had a 52 mm thread. The newest versions have a 62 mm thread. The straight end of the longer tube slides into the ES-2 and is used to adjust the focus, held by the thumb screw (the ES-1 is only held by friction). The shorter tube is probably a 52-62 step-up adapter.

 

The film strip holder looks very much like the cheaper versions I bought, hoping to use them in the ES-1. They're still handy for use on a flatbed, a copy table or my Novoflex copy setup. I'll know more when my ES-2 arrives.

[Fiodor]

You don't use 1:1 reproduction with a DX camera if you want to capture the entire image area of the film. You need 2:3 magnification, which will require a longer focus setting and an extension between the lens and ES-1.

 

Yeah, I remember that you told me in the other thread that for DX cameras, you have to add a tube between the 1:1 macro lens and the slide adapter. In the review by Rockwell (Nikon 40mm f/2.8 DX Micro-NIKKOR) we see that it can photograph until 24mm long, well, in fact 23mm, but we need to take a picture of a 36mm frame, don't we? So why doesn’t the Nikon employee of the Q&A page mention this?

 

Tom Halfhill, when you use the 40mm with the ES-1, do you see the whole frame, including the borders, or the frame is cropped?

[iosif_astrukov]

Tom Halfhill - I personally don't like 'adjusting' such things myself, like you described and 'handmade' it… but… everyone is deciding for themselves

 

I guess Nikon added extenders and adapters so that you can use the ES-2 set with all kind of lenses and bodies - DX/FX, & 40, 60, 85, 105 micro and etc… depending on what you have

 

the ES-1 has ability to extend also, but for example not enough to use the 105 micro lens - beside the 1:1 magnification (that all new micro Nikon lenses have) the closest focusing distance mind too… also if you decide to use an FX lens on a DX body… I guess the new ES-2 set cover all options, including all kind of film (35mm)

Edited September 3, 2017 by iosif_astrukov

[Ed_Ingold]

It's a slip tube, so you have to adjust it every time you put it on the camera, both for focus and angle. The set screw should help (the ES-1 doesn't have that), but I suspect it will still get knocked out of alignment.

 

Focusing is easy if you have live view, especially with magnification for fine focusing. At 1:1 the focus ring on the lens is useless. The only means of focusing is the slide adapter. If you are willing to part with a millimeter or so of the film frame, you can defocus the lens, adjust the slide holder, then touch up the focus with the lens helix. You want it grain-sharp, which can be difficult to achieve with the film holder alone. Even so, the cardboard mount still crops more than using less than 1:1.

 

For those who are compulsive about seeing the sprocket holes, these devices won't work. Get a life, or get a different film holder ;)

 

You would need at least 3" of extension to use a 105 mm macro. That would require two complete sets of Nikon K tubes. theoretically you would need 4" extension, but the Nikon 105 shortens the focal length as you get closer, in order to keep the lens "growth" to a minimum. At 1:1, it's something like 75 MM, not 105. I don't think extensions would be necessary for a 40 mm DX, 55 FX or 60 FX.

 

The Nikon Q&A page doesn't answer questions unless someone asks. That's where PNEt comes in.

Edited September 3, 2017 by Ed_Ingold

[Ed_Ingold]

For 40 years the only filter sizes I needed was 39 mm (Leica) and 52 mm (Nikon). Nikon's f/2.8 zooms are all 77 mm. Now I'm faced with 39, 52, 62, 67, 72, 77, 82, 93 ... I've lost count. You can count on the Japanese to use the same turn signal/headlight dimmer configuration on all makes of car, but Sony changes filter sizes like I change socks.

[Fiodor]

For those who are compulsive about seeing the sprocket holes, these devices won't work. Get a life, or get a different film holder

 

I am personally not interested in seeing the sprocket holes, but I like to see the borders of the negative frames. I don’t like a piece of plastic to crop who knows where inside the image. Call it OCD, I don’t get offended. Do Nikon holders show you the borders, or do they crop by themselves? My Epson holders, for example, show me the borders, and they don’t have vertical plastic separations between frames. But they are not compatible with slide adapters. Also, Epson’s are not good when the negative is bent, they don’t hold it flat enough. In this respect, I read that Plustek’s are good, and also Better Scanning’s. But I don’t know about the Nikon ones.

 

I don't think extensions would be necessary for a 40 mm DX, 55 FX or 60 FX.

 

So, in conclusion, as far as I understood, extension is needed, but the one that the adapter offers is enough, even though the information given by the Nikon page is incomplete, and despite the fact that, previously, you thought extension tubes were needed. Is this correct?

 

It would be interesting that Tom confirms us this suspicion.

[tom_halfhill]

There seems to be much confusion about using the ES-1 with a Nikkor 40mm f/2.8 macro lens on a DX body. I'm seeing misguided advice from people who apparently have never used this combination. Let me clarify:

 

1. No adapters, extension tubes, or additional gizmos of any kind are required to copy mounted slides. The ES-1 screws directly into the lens' 52mm filter thread. All you need is a DX body, the 40mm lens, and the ES-1. Nothing else. Really!

 

2. When I said this combination enables 1:1 or better copies, I meant the entire 35mm frame can be copied, with or without cropping. If you want to see the slide mount or the film sprockets for some reason, you can do that. If you want to crop the image, you can do that, too.

 

3. I never focus by sliding the ES-1 tube. I slide the tube only to adjust magnification. I focus the 40mm macro lens normally, using autofocus through the viewfinder. It has no trouble locking focus in bright light, and the images are wire sharp. The film grain is easily visible. I usually shoot at f/11 or f/16 to ensure sharp focus at the edges and corners of my slides and negatives, which are often old and warped. Contrary to statements by people who apparently have never used this lens, there is virtually no visible loss of sharpness at f/11 or f/16 versus f/5.6 or f/8. The visible difference is that corners and edges are sometimes out of focus at those "ideal" middle apertures.

 

4. To speed up slide copying, I wrap a wide rubber band around the ES-1 barrel. Sliding the tube against this rubber band instantly sets the tube for full-frame magnification. Of course, you must find a rubber band of the correct width and circumference for this purpose..

[iosif_astrukov]

No adapters, extension tubes, or additional gizmos of any kind are required to copy mounted slides. The ES-1 screws directly into the lens' 52mm filter thread. All you need is a DX body, the 40mm lens, and the ES-1. Nothing else. Really! - and for AF-S Micro 60mm & any FX body you need only BR-5 - 52-62mm, nothing else, for the old 55 micro you need extension tubes

I never focus by sliding the ES-1 tube. I slide the tube only to adjust magnification. I focus the 40mm macro lens normally - exactly!

 

Fiodor - if you want to see the full frame of the 35mm slide - you have to cut a little bit the edges of a single plastic frame - that's what I did, so that I could have the whole slide - from black to black

the Coolscans also rely on the frame so you have automatically cropped file if you use normal frame, the negatives are full I think, I don't know how it would be the new holders of ES-2

 

I use f8 and honestly I don't see any focus problem on the edges

[Ed_Ingold]

So, in conclusion, as far as I understood, extension is needed, but the one that the adapter offers is enough, even though the information given by the Nikon page is incomplete, and despite the fact that, previously, you thought extension tubes were needed. Is this correct?

I'm pretty sure extensions will be needed for DX cameras, since the lens must be focused further, at 1:1.5 (2:3) reproduction ratio. I have several film strip holders which will show the borders of the frame, but other than the glass holder for my LS-8000, none can show the sprocket holes. I don't yet have the ES-2 device, and can't comment on the holders which come with it. I remain hopeful, however.

 

The film usually needs adjusting once clamped in a frame, particularly to put the dividers squarely on the gaps between frames. Get a few pairs of cotton gloves used by photofinishing labs to do this without leaving fingerprints. (Latex gloves work, but are extremely uncomfortable after a while.) Even lint-free gloves leave lint at the pixel level, so clean the film after it's in position.

 

@asrukov: Magnification is adjusted with the lens, and lens alone. The sliding adapter is used to focus the slide once the lens is set. I use slightly less than 1:1 ratio with the lens, which leaves me a little room to fine tune the focus using the lens*. Adjusting the adapter has NO EFFECT on magnification (Optics 101). And yes, a 55 mm macro needs an extension tube (27 mm, or PX13) to achieve 1:1 reproduction. I was referring to another the of extension ring, Nikon K tubes, which go between the filter ring and the slide adapter. The latter will be required to use the ES-2 with a DX or 4/3 camera, which require 1:1.5 or 1:2 magnification respectively, which increase the working distance of the lens.

 

* I'm using a Sony A7ii or A7Rii which apply a 5x or 12x magnification to the electronic finder for fine focusing. This makes it easy to achieve grain-sharp focusing not possible with a DSLR unless you have live view with digital magnification. (All a loupe will do is magnify pixels of the screen itself. You can use a loupe (e.g., Hoodman) with an LCD screen, but only to shield from extraneous light at 1:1 magnification.)

[Sandy Vongries]

4. To speed up slide copying, I wrap a wide rubber band around the ES-1 barrel. Sliding the tube against this rubber band instantly sets the tube for full-frame magnification. Of course, you must find a rubber band of the correct width and circumference for this purpose..

 

If you only use one setup / combination, blue painters tape works well also.

[Ed_Ingold]

I am personally not interested in seeing the sprocket holes, but I like to see the borders of the negative frames. I don’t like a piece of plastic to crop who knows where inside the image. Call it OCD, I don’t get offended. Do Nikon holders show you the borders, or do they crop by themselves? My Epson holders, for example, show me the borders, and they don’t have vertical plastic separations between frames. But they are not compatible with slide adapters. Also, Epson’s are not good when the negative is bent, they don’t hold it flat enough. In this respect, I read that Plustek’s are good, and also Better Scanning’s. But I don’t know about the Nikon ones.

 

The dividers are necessary to prevent curling or supping of the negatives. If the negatives were stored rolled up, you may have a lot of trouble scanning them. Mine are stored flat in "archival" pages, and after a while (days, weeks or months) become dead flat. You may not be able of fit these dividers to all the inter-frame spaces, Most cameras have irregular spacing, unless they actually pull the film with the sprockets rather than count pulses. The only cameras I have which do this are Leicas, or any of the single-digit Nikon F cameras.

 

You can usually adjust at least one frame to fit the opening exactly. Use gloves and slide the film once the holder is closed. The film is never held too tightly to do this. If the film is curled, the cut ends must be held by the frame or spacers.

 

Nikon scanners show the full frames with borders (no sprocket holes). I generally crop in the preview mode, before scanning, because too much border showing affects the exposure and color balance.

[Ed_Ingold]

My apologies to @Astrukov; You were quoting and responding to @Halfill.

 

@Halfhill - Please note that DX and 4/3 cameras need special accommodations. 1:1 reproduction means just that, the image is the same size as the subject. This is independent of the lens or format size. At 1:1, a DX camera would only copy the center 2/3rds of the frame.

[bgelfand]

I have an older 60mm f2.8 Micro Nikkor and the threaded ring is dented. Nikon can't repair it because they no longer stock the parts. Question 2: Is there a way to repair the filter threads in the lens without replacing anything?

 

Try KEH, the used camera dealer. They have a repair service. If they do not have the part, they may be able to take it off an unserviceable lens and replace yours.

[iosif_astrukov]

At 1:1, a DX camera would only copy the center 2/3rds of the frame.

 

if you use FX lens… the 40mm micro is DX lens… for DX bodies… NO PROBLEM with it…

 

f you want to use other brands - like Sony, Olympus and etc, of course you have to take in mind the different ratio of the sensor

 

This makes it easy to achieve grain-sharp focusing not possible with a DSLR unless you have live view with digital magnification

 

I didn't get that AT ALL… I don't have ANY problem focusing SHARP without live view or other stuff…

[iosif_astrukov]

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