Film Digitizing

[Liisa Komara]

Howeverto make things a little more complicated, not every camera and lens is ideal for this purpose. The best choices are the Nikon D850 and D780 DSLRs. Both of these cameras have an interesting feature: they can digitize 35mm negatives (both color and black and white) and automatically convert them into a positive image.

The last piece of the puzzle before you can get started is the Nikon ES-2 Film Digitizing Adapter Set (for $140). The Nikon ES-2 is simply a device that holds a strip of film at an appropriate distance from the lens. It attaches to the lens like a filter; a 62mm thread and an adapter are included in the set.

An integral part of the adapter is a matte glass, the purpose of which is to diffuse the light so that the entire window is evenly illuminated. The simplest, cheapest, and perhaps best light source to use is a window. To avoid color shift, position your camera so that a plain white or gray background is in front of the lens. Alternatively, another source of neutral light, such as a lightbox or a high CRI fluorescent lamp (CRI 95 or higher), will come in handy.

For digitizing negatives, which are typically archived in strips of six frames, use a strip film holder. Carefully insert the negative into it. To keep your photographs as clean as possible and to save you from subsequent retouching, I recommend cleaning the negatives of any dust with an air blower first.

I recommend starting by focusing the lens manually at the shortest focusing distance first. Then, move the digitizing adapter with the film inserted to the plane where the image will appear sharp in the viewfinder or display. From this position, move the adapter about 1mm forward, level the horizon, and secure with the screw.

The camera will set the exposure automatically. The default settings are ISO 100, aperture f/8, and shutter speed according to the level of light coming through the negative onto the sensor. If the film is flat, leave the settings as they are. If the film is warped due to improper storage, you can use a narrower aperture, such as f/11 to f/16.

The last step before digitizing is to focus accurately. I have found that autofocus only works reliably if the film is further away from the lens (which is not ideal because it leads to a frame that will need to be cropped in post-production). I recommend turning AF off and focusing manually on the grain at maximum magnification in live view.

Done? Now all you have to do is press the shutter. The resulting digitized image is saved to the card as a full resolution JPEG. Personally, I would prefer if the image was saved as a converted RAW or at least a TIFF, but I understand that for most of these images, JPEG would be the optimal output.

If you would like a greater degree of manual control over the whole process, of course the negative can be digitized without using automatic conversion.You can shoot it in RAW format as always and convert the negative file to a positive in your photo editing program.

Is using a DSLR the best way to digitize your analog archive? I think there is no universal answer. Of course, the truly quickest way would be to outsource the task to a professional lab dedicated to digitizing old film. But such a thing can cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars, and it takes away some of the flexibility that you get from being able to choose between RAW and JPEG.

The method presented today is what I would recommend to most photographers instead. And if we also consider the price, it is definitely the most efficient option, assuming that you already own a DSLR or mirrorless camera. Then all you need to do is buy a few small things and you can start digitizing your 35mm film archive relatively cheaply, quickly and easily.

Libor works as a biology teacher, guide, photographer and photography course lecturer. His passion is birds. As an ornithologist, Libor has studied the avian diversity of the South American Andes. He fell in love with this part of the world and since then he likes to return there with his camera to popularize its nature with his photographs, talks and articles. You can see more of Libor's work on his Instagram page.

Interesting but almost no one has a D850 or D750.

Also I do use a scanner that corrects all color shifts and restores faded slides etc.

Finally the scans go directly to the computer and the desired file.

Sorry, I have tried the camera routine of one at a time vs 12 at a time all corrected and where I want them.

I have a D850 and have many times considered buying an ES-2 to digitize my 35mm negatives and slide. I also have the Nikkor 105mm Macro lens, but sadly that is not compatible with the ES-2. And furthermore, when I check the recommended lenses, AF-S Micro NIKKOR 60mm f/2.8 ED or AI AF Micro-Nikkor 60mm f2.8D are no longer availabel for purchase from Nikon.

Is there some other digitizing adapter that might work with my 105 Macro lens?

In this post, I present a simple and inexpensive solution for digitizing film negatives along with an overview of options for inverting and color correcting the digitized negatives. My goal is to cut through all of the BS out there on photo forums (e.g., about the wonders of VueScan or why you need a $650 negative holder/copy stand) and show you how easy it can be to get great results. This post is an update from my previous guide originally published in 2018.

Over the years, it always bothered me that we had a trunk full of 46 prints and film negatives that rarely came out, but we never did anything about it. I did some research once on scanning film negatives, but the consensus then was that it was impossible without specialized film scanning equipment and software. I got serious about photography in 2014 then took an interest in film photography in 2017. After seeing my first batch of scans from the lab, I was convinced I had to scan and convert the negatives myself to get the kind of image quality that I wanted.

Thus began untold hours of searching the internet and scouring discussion forums for the occult knowledge of how to digitize and invert/correct the images. On the digitizing side, there are two camps: those that use scanners and those that use digital cameras. I will allow that the dedicated film scanners of old (e.g., the Plustek, Coolscan, and Dimage) probably provided a great balance of speed, ease of use, and image quality, but sadly those are no longer widely available and reliable. But I spent a month with an Epson flatbed scanner and found it to be intractable for more than an occasional roll of 12 frames of 66. The process was excruciatingly slow, the scanner is huge, and the resulting images are not without their problems. Suffice to say that flatbed scanning is not for me, and I was able to achieve much better image quality using a makeshift camera scanning rig. So the flatbed went back to Adorama at the end of 30 days.

I am using my Sony a6500 (and previously a6000) paired with the Sony 30mm f/3.5 Macro lens. I see a lot of posts and questions about using either very expensive modern macro lenses or vintage macro lenses, and there is no need for anything more than a basic, inexpensive macro. The lens I use is $300 new but can be picked up used for much less (I paid $150). It is small and light, has good autofocus, and is very sharp at f/8.

The light source was a major struggle for me initially because quality lightboxes are not cheap. Now I have an iPad Pro that I use as a backlight. If you do not already own an iPad, then I recommend getting one to use as your light source. It will also be invaluable for use throughout your photography workflow. I also have the Apple Magic Keyboard which is perfect for holding the iPad behind the film but any kind of iPad stand should be suitable.

The camera scanning process is simple. Shoot in raw and use aperture-priority exposure with the aperture at f/8 and typically +0.3 exposure compensation to shift the histogram slightly to the right. It is best not to expose to the right too much because the darkest areas of the inverted photo are the lightest on the negative, and overexposing tends to affect detail and contrast in those areas. If you are just starting out, I recommend capturing a few frames and checking the results rather than capturing an entire roll of negatives at once. After you are comfortable with the process and are seeing consistent results you can capture entire rolls without stopping.

For white balancing the raw negative, it is important to capture an image of the unexposed negative either in the area between frames or the area around the image if your negative holder shows it. I typically capture an extra image at the first of the roll in in between frames and use the area outside the image for white balancing.

I use the Sony Imaging Edge software to tether and remotely control the camera for capturing images of the negatives. Using the Sony a6500, the software offers a live view on screen so I never have to touch the camera. Having a large image on my computer monitor simplifies the process of moving and aligning the strip of negatives between frames. I also have Lightroom set to watch and auto-import images as they are scanned, so I can quickly invert and color correct a digitized negative to check exposure or focus if needed while I still have the negatives in the carrier. Usually I will digitize the first couple of frames then check those in Lightroom before capturing the remainder of the roll.

I work primarily in Lightroom because I prefer working with an all-RAW workflow (Photoshop TIFs are typically 150+ MBs), so I am biased towards solutions that maintain that RAW workflow. But there are other options out there so I have listed a few of those in this discussion. I use Negative Lab Pro and strongly recommend it.

Negative Lab Pro is a plugin for Lightroom that provides a new interface for converting negatives. Negatives can be scanned using a traditional scanner or digitized using a digital camera. Negative Lab Pro produces fantastic results, provides an all-RAW workflow within Lightroom, and is my choice for inverting film negatives. I have a full review of version 1.2 from 2019 and am working on an updated review of the current and much improved version 2.3. Negative Lab Pro costs $99.

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