Best way to scan film negatives with a digital camera & Negative Lab Pro

[@lepp1814]

One thing I learned many years ago if I wanted a quick and simple solution for exact leveling is to lower the tripod and let the front of the lens rest on the top of the panel. This allows the lens and the camera to level to the panel......tighten it down and raise the tripod back to the correct height.

[@liem376]

That's very clever, Louis, because it is so simple, fast, effective, and it removes other factors from the setup. Normally, I would have to level both my camera _and_ the panel to unsure they are parallel to one another. With your method, I don't care about leveling them at all. As long as the front end of the lens is parallel to the panel, the camera's focusing pane (the sensor) is parallel to my film. Neither the camera nor the panel has to be level. Very clever. Wish I thought of that earlier. Thank you!

[@johnbattista9519]

Louis Curtis , that’s how I was taught..

[@TALLLCHIEF]

Brilliant solution, Louis. Funny how the most simple, direct remedy is usually the best, eh? Thanks for sharing!

[@RBespoir]

It’s a good idea. I’d still check the level when I raised the tripod as the centrer column (or however the tripod rises) might introduce a light sway.

[@azaeldrm]

This suited perfectly for my needs. Thank you so much!

[@JanneRanta]

If you dont have a bubble level one easy way to level is to place a mirror on the surface. Then you just make sure your camera is pointing exactly in the center of the reflection of the lens. That actually works better than a bubble level because it takes into account if your surface itself isnt level.

[@DarrylCarey]

Thanks Janne, will try that next time

[@AdamHaas]

"I don't want to show you how I adjust photos, because it may not be what you're looking for" Bravo, thank you for keeping it technical.

[@DarrylCarey]

thanks Adam :)

[@r14557]

sometimes youtube algorithm amazes me. I never though about doing that, but of course it works! Thanks, Darryl!

[@DarrylCarey]

Thanks for watching Rodolfo :)

[@Zammmeh]

indeed. Recently I was thinking about getting some film from an old SLR I had as a kid developed. Now I can just do it myself.

[@DarrylCarey]

@@Zammmeh Let me know how it goes if you use the same setup.

[@martonvida8021]

5:15 1. Set a timer. 2. Then you have 2 seconds to lean on the table and wobble the whole thing like a maniac. Good tutorial btw liked it very much :D

[@SEPK09]

Finally a video that shows everything without a mobile phone, well done and thanks.!

[@LetsBuildThatApp]

Thank you for putting up a video on youtube that actually teaches something instead of a generic review vide. Thumbs up to the skies.

[@DarrylCarey]

Thanks for watching the feedback :)

[@Diablist]

Oh i just accidentally found a comment from you here ❤️

[@kharlleegrafie]

The moment that first negative was converted, man, honestly I was mind-blown. My mouth was just open the whole damn time hahaha. Thank you man.

[@DarrylCarey]

Thanks Kharl

[@sergiovera2494]

Estimado Darryl Carey: Quedé maravillado por su video. Mi padre fue un gran fotógrafo social. Hace diez años estuve buscando un buen Scanner para guardar los negativos en forma digital, pero era demasiado costoso. Su disertación, 10 años más tarde, agiliza mi búsqueda. Gracias infinitas. Un gran abrazo desde Buenos Aires, Argentina.

[@Stephen.Bingham]

Putting a mirror on the light box and centring the image of the lens in the view finder is an alternative way to align the camera

[@DarrylCarey]

Stephen Bingham May have to try that :)

[@c.augustin]

Great tip! Not new, but I forgot that this is a good technique … :-)

[@dirtywater5336]

That's genius

[@007380]

I use to do something similar to that when aligning my enlarger. I think I had to use two mirrors to align the enlarger.

[@voggeneder]

the true lifeprotip is always in the comments

[@tully667]

When you use a 3 way level, make sure the floor/table is also level. Most forget to do that. Great vid! Thx!

[@shitakemushroomzftw]

Would love to see a comparison between your scanner, a lab and this method. Along with your editing of each

[@patprop74]

As would I

[@extendedp1]

Me too

[@jpwillm5252]

The first thing I was waiting for ... La première a chose que j'attendais... jp willm willms.yj.fr/willms/index.html

[@Motoman69]

Yes, and please show the non and high res G9 Function.

[@hulkhatepunybanner]

I second that. Or sixth that.

[@MrBecka12]

First and foremost, this is a great informative video! Thanks for that! I just want to mention that there’s actually another quite simple way of inverting the negative images in Lightroom, or Photoshop - doesn’t really matter as long as the software has a built-in curves adjustment menu. When editing the image, you just have to turn the diagonal line of the curves menu upside-down (slide the black set point all the way up and the white set point all the way down). It’s as simple as that and doesn’t cost you anything.

[@gatorsem8427]

Awesome info. I have boxes and boxes of negatives and photos that I need to start converting.

[@paulwomack5866]

A) You're right B) I've never seen editing software that HAD curves adjustment, but DIDN'T have an invert command

[@nigelfelangue2295]

I've been using this this method for fifteen years , to digitise formats from 35mm to 5X4' !

[@dirtywater5336]

Nice video. I will need to pick up those film holders. Curled and bowed film will be the death of me. A couple important things to mention though. The white balance needs to be set off a blank spot on the negative like the frame where there is no color information. This will rid the image of the film's color cast. I know you did this in the video but it wasn't explained and some people might not have seen it so I thought I would share. Also, maybe things have changed since I downloaded the software but cropping in on color images to just inside the frame renders a better color conversion. Including the frame can sometimes throw off the conversion and give you some funky color casts. This is also the case even with Silverfast software. B&W is not an issue though. Speaking of B&W, I don't usually even use Negative Lab Pro for it. I just flip the tone curve and slide the whites slider to taste. I find it's actually faster doing it that way. Just remember everything it inverted this way. To bring up the highlights, you need to lower the shadows

[@bcleste]

I was going to ask why you would need a plug in. I've never scanned film but sometimes I flip the tone curve on digital photos for abstract photos.

[@martifingers]

Clearly explained. I would suggest that the copying be done in low ambient light to reduce the possibility of unwanted reflections etc.

[@WildBikerBill]

I also use black construction paper to mask off the unused surface of the lightbox. It's trying to minimize bombarding the camera lens with unwanted light.

[@NatePhotographic]

Great video and conversions, Darryl! Thanks so much for sharing! Quick tip: make sure you disable your graphics processor in Lightroom (preferences > performance > uncheck "Use Graphics Processor). This will solve that little sync delay (where you see the preview of the image update, but the main window not update), and will likely speed up and fix other little issues in Lightroom. Cheers! -Nate (maker of Negative Lab Pro)

[@DarrylCarey]

Thanks Nate, will try that later

[@leeo.alexander2324]

Thanks for your video negative scanning. I am a member of the Wichita Wildlight Photographic Society-Lawton, OK. Old school trained in Germany while serving in the military. I am trying to get members of the photo club to look at their old negatives, not give up their DSLRs, and introduce the younger members of what film is and how it will broaden their photographic senses. I downloaded the Negative Lab as you suggested and will use it along with Lightroom. Thanks again for your input.

[@gfinnstrom]

outstanding old school techniques with modern day twist well done keep up the great work

[@jeremykeller211]

Interesting alternative. We ancients occasionally emerge from our darkroom dungeons and consider options like scanning. However, I would point out that many of us treasure classical photography because it offers an escape route from the 'net, and from computers generally. There are fewer and fewer hobbies in which this is possible.

[@privatebydesign1808]

You don’t need a plug-in to reverse negatives in Lightroom, just invert the tone curve and do a white balance and it’s done. You can even save that as a preset and apply on import so the images are already inverted and when you first look at them. Of course this is all done nondestructively and any changes are easy to step back.

[@DarrylCarey]

I think I should do a video on that method, as a few of my subscribers have told me about and will have a play around with this over the weekend.

[@privatebydesign1808]

I'd take a picture of a Colorchecker with each film stock and process that first and keep that as your basic import preset that gets the colors where they need to be and neutralizes the film base. Then it is comparatively easy to make preferred styles and save those additional presets, heck you could then sell those as a Lightroom Plugin preset film pack!

[@NatePhotographic]

Hi! Nate Johnson here, maker of Negative Lab Pro. Just a few clarifications... Negative Lab Pro is also non-destructive... it's always working on the original RAW file using special RAW camera profiles made just for your camera (the default Lightroom profiles are made for positive digital files and wreak havoc on negative scans)... and the process of bringing out the natural colors of the negative is quite a bit more complex that just inverting the curve... you have to compensate for the non-linear effects of the orange mask, the gamma of printed paper, etc. Also, even on the same roll of film, the tonal area of the shot can be in a completely different area, which is why the idea of "presets" doesn't really work well for inverting negatives (although it can give you a quick sense of the shot). Negative Lab Pro is able to quickly analyze and correct each image individually, which leads to much better results. Hope that helps!

[@johncarrell334]

Of course doing that will result in all normal adjustments being round the "normal" way

[@philemotion8876]

Hi Darryl ! 👍 Yes, a new review about Negative Lab Pro would be welcome ! Your reviews (very well made!) are getting better and better ! Bravo !!! 👏👏👏

[@DarrylCarey]

Thanks Phil :)

[@yannickbrouwer]

I would be curious to see a digitization with the Panasonic G9 high res mode compared to the normal mode. Showing some 100% crops to see if it's worth it.

[@adrinathegreat3095]

If you must or need to shoot with film or have old negatives you want to digitize this is a great idea. I own a medium format digital camera now so I no longer need to go through this labour intensive method

[@SD_Alias]

Good video! I worked as a scanner operator on drumscanner from linotype and Crossfield in the 90th. But I prefer this method nowadays. With modern cameras and top notch macro lens you get better results than drumscan negative. Drumscanner were optimised for slides but not negatives. I digitised 6x9 negatives on a reprostand and negativeholder from enlarger with a rent phaseone mf camera. Amazing results.... Thank you for that software link! I used colour perfekt for converting. But it is a pain to use. This seems much better. Just doing invert in Photoshop is no good option. Images with flat gradation are the result. I will try this software . Thank you... P.s. you should mask the light box outside the negative holder with black plastik Sheets to avoid flare...

[@DarrylCarey]

Hi Georg, I think we only have 2 drumscanners left in NZ and costs way to much to get a negative scanned. I really like this system and yes black tape will help, will add that to the smaller lightbox i have ordered. Negative Lab Pro has a 14day free trial, which is nice as you can test the software before buying.

[@MiaogisTeas]

If love to know more about your experience using a PhaseOne for scanning - were you using a standard camera or one of their heritage 'scanners'?

[@SD_Alias]

@@MiaogisTeas it was an IQ3 on normal Camera with 120mm macro Schneider lens. Heritage system did not exist at the time I did the job. But I do not think that the heritage system is in rent available. But I doubt, that the performance of heritage system is much better. Results were really amazing. Nowadays you could soon rent a GFX100 with the 120mm macro and a distance ring. I thing it will be a little bit cheaper... But use mf only for mf film or for Largeformat. For 35mm a 50MP camera is more than sufficient.

[@tamasnemeth2161]

@@SD_Alias The biggest benefit of having the iXG over the DF/XF solution is - especially with a motorized Cambo stand - is to be able to set the resolution / magnification of the captured are and letting the column and camera work together to figure out the subject distance and focus. Obviously the 120 Macro (especially the Blue Ring) is a nice solution for up to lifesize captures. Having the 72mm lens with both extension tubes will bring you larger than lifesize magnification with slightly better results than the XF + M mount extension rings + SK 120 lens. But it is minuscule difference compared to the improvement over a m43 camera standing on a tripod's center column and a ball head...

[@junenorsworthy689]

Yes, I would love to see you edit these negatives and slides in your next video

[@DarrylCarey]

You got it!

[@johndangmusic]

I'd been looking at buying a negative scanner and stumbled upon your video. This is brilliant and the quality looks significantly higher than I'd get with a cheap flat bed like the Epson v600 I was looking at originally. Thank you !

[@DarrylCarey]

johndangmusic Thanks for watching and please let me know how you go with trying this for yourself

[@essencelee]

The photos you took at my home town - Taiwan look so warm. Thanks for your video.

[@DarrylCarey]

Taiwan is an amazing place and Taiwanese people are super friendly. I work in Taiwan 4-5 times a year. Which part of Taiwan are you from?

[@essencelee]

@@DarrylCarey I came from Hualien, but living in New Taipei city now.

[@minims]

Completely understood everything in this tutorial watching it without sound.

[@rsgblue]

Thanks for the Video, I have been thinking of converting my 20 years old negatives, for the last 15 years but never got the time. Now it is will be so easy.

[@DarrylCarey]

Please let me know how you get on when you try this.

[@Xiaoyi_Wang]

I'm similar to you, the difference is: In order to prevent stray light, I use a black tube to connect the lens and film.

[@Meadowwing]

I think that you have been an instrument to help me open my life back up thank you and I will be looking forward to all of your teaching

[@DarrylCarey]

Its nice to know my video has helped, will try and get more videos out soon

[@TomStratton]

I do something similar, but take 2 shots per negative (2 halves with a little bit of over scan). Photoshop joins them together again into a very large, very hidef image.

[@jimbailey3998]

Excellent video for someone that is a long time serious amateur with LOTS of 35mm negatives that I want to scan and am going back and forth between a scanner like the Epson 850 or using my Canon 6D and a light box, camera mount, and good software. More good food for thought. One day I need to make a decision... Been "mulling" the "how to" now for 10 years as a project for "when I retire", and that day is almost here.

[@DarrylCarey]

Thanks Jim, let me know if you go for the scanner or Canon 6D

[@YVZSTUDIOS]

OMG! the most impartant and new part of this video was the whitebalance for me 😅 Thanks a lot! 👌✨

[@DarrylCarey]

Thanks for watching and good to know you like the video.

[@zbruch66]

Thank you for useful tips, I’ll definitely have to try digitalise my old positive and negative films

[@DarrylCarey]

Let me know how you go when you get a chance to convert your negatives

[@allinsiteUK]

Just a couple of observations... Think you need to black mask around the neg carrier as the stray light from the light table / box will be illuminating the camera and causing reflections on the film surface which could be noticeable as darkened patches in the highlight areas of your processed images. Also, I used to use a mirror placed on the light table in order to ensure camera to table alignment. Put the mirror in place and adjust your camera such that the reflection of the centre of your lens falls exactly in the middle of your viewfinder. Walla.. your camera is now aligned to the table. It matters not whether the table is level to the planet as long as the camera and table are in sync. Makes it much easier. I note that you take your black point reading from the film base rather than the least dense part of the image. Obviously, if the neg is over exposed or shadows in the shot are subject to flare this might not be the most accurate method shown. Still can't get used to Monochrome images being referred to as Black and White.. as only Lithographic images are truly B&W. I don't use Lightroom so not really a full solution for me. Thanks for the video though.

[@RobertLeeAtYT]

Have you tried focus stacking? This should address any local buckling of the negative in the film holder.

[@unleashthedragonwithin2057]

@@RobertLeeAtYT Focus stacking is a hugely unnecessary faff if you simply correctly align the planes from the outset.

[@RobertLeeAtYT]

@@unleashthedragonwithin2057 It depends on how much you care about the resulting scan quality and how good your equipment is. Film is a lot more than whatever TikTok influencer hyped up 135 hotness. Equipment is a lot more than basically a digicam mated to a home built jig. If you're wet mounting the 4x5 for a Flextight, sure no flatness or scanning plane orthogonality issues. You're also not watching these kind of post. If you're serious film photographer but without the budget for tools, then using the equipment you do have access to better will provide noticeably better results than treating the process cavalierly.

[@unleashthedragonwithin2057]

@@RobertLeeAtYT Whilst I acknowledge the importance of 'caring', having run copious tests with a range of sensor sizes, HDR, focus stacking, optics, copying paraphernalia and setups, providing suitable technique is applied, focus stacking adds no discernible advantage.

[@lightbox617]

I live in the U.S. I use an Epson V600 with the accompanying adapter for film and slides. It's pretty quick and I have a "workflow" that is fast enough for me. I don't think I have had a role of film, E6, B&W or Koda Color in more than 10 years

[@DarrylCarey]

You try this system, been using Epson scanners for years but this has changed everything for me.

[@avallejo]

Just wandering ...what this software does that a simple “invert” command won’t do?

[@azaeldrm]

Quite a lot of things, actually. If you've thrown negative film into Photoshop and just inverted the image, you'll notice how far you actually are from the final result. www.negativelabpro.com/guide/ Try it out (for free), and compare.

[@Nobody-Nowhere]

@@azaeldrm All you need to do in photoshop, is define the blackpoint.. just click on the edge of the film to get the base color, its simple. People waste time on these fancy softwares trying to automate something they could learn to do in few minutes.

[@azaeldrm]

@@Nobody-Nowhere My point is that the software not only looks at simply inverting the curve and defining a blackpoint, it does more intrinsic histogram analysis and uses neural networks to determine other aspects. I am not arguing that one cannot do this on its own, but the software itself provides consistent results, and cuts a lot of the trying to nail down the colors, which on aggregate cuts a lot of time and manual tinkering. For 100 bucks, the amount of time saved over a year pays itself off. People don't "waste time", they save quite a lot of it in fact. But to each their own.

[@thefilm8kr277]

I happen to come across your video, very well done. I shoot 6x7 and have a huge box of negs that I dread scanning. I appreciate you showing an alternative to long hours of scanning.

[@DarrylCarey]

Thanks for watching and the feedback 😀

[@pjd210]

Great video. Just a thought : I sit the spirit level I have right on the LCD screen. I would make sure there is no discrepancy w/level when using it on the hot shoe.

[@DarrylCarey]

Will have to try that next time

[@ekomanurung]

Thank you Sir. This is helping me alot. By practicing this way, it is like 10 times easier to print the negative film.

[@DarrylCarey]

Hi Eko, great to know this video is still helping people.

[@smartdoctorphysicist3095]

Hi what is the price of negative lab pro you did not say ?

[@JeremyOClair]

Just ordered the Lomography 120 film holder. I didn't know about it until I saw your video. Thanks. :)

[@DarrylCarey]

Awesome Jeremy, please let me know how you get on with the film holder.

[@T-Slider]

Thank you so much. I will use your links to order this setup! Just what I needed to know.

[@DarrylCarey]

Let me know how you get on with the setup :)

[@T-Slider]

Darryl Carey Just placed my orders from your links.

[@DarrylCarey]

@@T-Slider Awesome Joe, let me know how you go with the setup.

[@carloso5599]

this is awesome! i use the V550 and im tired of waiting so long to scan a tiny 35mm negative. im excited for this setup

[@DarrylCarey]

Using a flatbed scanner would drive me crazy now, this system works so well and very easy to get good results

[@extendedp1]

Great video, thanks. Could you possibly do a comparison video using different scanners and of course this technique? Hopefully showing close up results of focus and pixel quality? Thanks!!!

[@DarrylCarey]

Waiting on a few products so I can do a video on different types of scanning.

[@extendedp1]

Cool, thanks

[@Tore_Lund]

Did a cardboard box of glass negatives: A white cutting board with some additional layers of white shopping bags behind to remove any blooming from the desk lamp behind. Then harmonizing the histogram, and they came out absolutely perfect, with detail in the dark areas not visible in the negatives. So likely better than the original lost paper copies!

[@DarrylCarey]

That's a great idea!

[@geepi265]

For 135 film, how many Mega-pixel of camera that can maximum magnify. and what about 6x4.5 medium format. (my experience for scan in Lab via scanner not camera, the Lab scan my 135 film got size 50mp/pic but zoom to 100% it blur)

[@DarrylCarey]

Hi Gee, I can get up to 189mp Raw file from my S1R on a 35mm slide, but thats crazy big. It depends on the sensor in your camera. I scan all my 6x45 negatives this way and its much sharper and more detail than my V800.

[@geepi265]

@@DarrylCarey Thank you. i sent film to develop and scan in the Lab. and got file per pic. around 50mp (slide 135) but when zoom 100% it not sharp. (blur like zoom over 100%) Zoom 80-90% (estimate) it's maximum for sharpness for my case maybe cause from scanner. (limit of 135 film if use Pro-grade macro-lens and Pro-high resolution camera should be ??? mp)

[@sandeemilhouse555]

Thank you so much! I JUST bought a TLR and was concerned about getting into excess fees with film, this is just what I needed!

[@DarrylCarey]

Let me know how you get on with convert your negatives this way.

[@sandeemilhouse555]

@@DarrylCarey Just took my first two pictures ;)

[@thumbsup9208]

Amazing! Didn't know that. But you made it see so easy. Thank you very much for sharing. This is the kind of content I always looking for on KZbin. Thumbs up.

[@DarrylCarey]

Thanks for the awesome feedback and watching the video

[@edwardnixon1782]

Good to see a Lumix specific example of film scanning. Sadly, neither the film holders nor the light table are available -- 11/2024. I would be using a Lumix G9ii and I'm wondering what the high-res mode contributes to the resolution of the scan. I've recently started using a Bronica ETRSi 6x4.5 camera and scanning with a V600 -- as you say good but not great. Do the results with this method replace the good scans you used to be able to get in NZ? Thanks for the info.

[@CmdrBondUK]

Can the software be used to scan slides too? Am I right in assuming so? Is it a quicker process than doing the negatives?

[@Switz417]

Wouldn't you just edit slides straight out of the box? There's no need to convert them

[@f1remandg]

Excellent, no nonsense video that gets to the point and explains every aspect sufficiently! DG New Forest U.K.

[@DarrylCarey]

Hi David, nice to know you enjoyed the video. The New Forest my favourite place back home in the UK.

[@f1remandg]

@@DarrylCarey 👍🏻

[@olgakalashnikova]

I would love to see how you edit the photographs in Lightroom.

[@skywalkdesign2023]

WOW!!! You saved some of my negatives and a huge time. Thank you so much.

[@DarrylCarey]

So happy this video could help

[@SourianteOrange]

Hi! Thanks for the video! Could you tell me what kind of attachments do you use for this setup of the tripod? Additionally, are they usable with all kind of tripods or not? Merci!

[@SergeGolikov]

See if you can find a dedicated copy stand, the kind that used to be used for duplicating slides. Gives you a lot more control, can be let set up, needs less space 👍 www.amazon.com.au/s?k=copy+stand&hvadid=71193447918417&hvbmt=bp&hvdev=c&hvqmt=p&tag=msnaupcstd-22&ref=pd_sl_57l53wn9b_p

[@ruiner101]

Thank you! That's my new favorite way to scan negatives. BTW, the word you're looking for is Digitize. :D Keep up the good work.

[@thelondonbear]

What are you using in terms of tripod/copy stand to hold the camera? I have the Autograph Lightbox and the same lomography negative holders but am trying to decide what to use to hold the camera since my current tripod can't get close enough. I've been using an X-T3 and old vintage OM lense with extender to get close enough, rather than a dedicated macro lens.

[@DarrylCarey]

Hi Sebastian, I used a Really Right Stuff L-Plate with a Really Right Stuff tripod and ball head :)

[@thelondonbear]

Ah yes you do say that at 4:27 ha! Thanks very much!!

[@alvareo92]

You can get really good vintage macro lenses for like $50-$100 :)

[@feryfirmansyah_14]

This is the amazing ecosystem of photograhy

[@tommy860624]

7:26 You just took this picture downstairs from my house.😂

[@DarrylCarey]

I'm always in the area because of KGB burgers :) Awesome night market .

[@wangty2088]

@@DarrylCarey This picture shall be mirrored according to the Chinese characters.

[@DarrylCarey]

@@wangty2088 Was there only one? I knew I made a mistake when I uploaded the video.

[@wangty2088]

@@DarrylCarey Yes, that's the only one.

[@DarrylCarey]

@@wangty2088 Thanks

[@AlanChuang]

I’m from TAIWAN. Surprised to know that you developed your film here. I just got into film photography, really enjoy your vids. Great works!

[@DarrylCarey]

Hi Alan, Taiwan is an amazing country. What film camera are you using?

[@AlanChuang]

@@DarrylCarey I am using Minolta X500(X570) now. Just purchased a Canon Eos 7,cuz I want a film camera can auto focus. Did you develop your film in Taiwan because you are on a trip or something? Why not consider a local lab?

[@DarrylCarey]

Alan Chuang I work in Taiwan, well I did before COVID. I use a local lab in Taipei, always been happy with the service. I would bring about 20 rolls with me to get developed. My last trip to Taiwan was my 53rd time to your beautiful country

[@DarrylCarey]

Alan Chuang check out my friends channel Real Sir Robin, we had both had fun shooting in Taipei

[@mvs]

wow never seen anything like this before thank you so much you have just saved my pretty old photos, only one question does this Plug-In only work with Lightroom or it can be used in Photoshop? Left a Massive like

[@KetansaCreatesArt]

Photoshop has a Invert colours setting built into the menu. You should try using it first 🙂

[@racerschin]

you could make a grain definition comparison between the scanner and the camera, as well as dynamic range comparison, details in blacks and whites.

[@DarrylCarey]

Thats a great idea, will try to get a video done on this soon

[@samchan5513]

Wonderful! Darryl, thanks to solve my many years of aquestion about how digitize my Neg.

[@DarrylCarey]

Great to know my videos help, let me know what you think of the software after you have tested it :)

[@shiroumxm2052]

I think I just fell in love with analog photography!

[@KoenigF50]

Digitize : )

[@MakrameeAnleitung]

From 4:00 you have the camera mounted with some adapter to get an overhead view facing the table. Could you please tell me what equipment you are using for that. Would be amazing to know 😉👌

[@DarrylCarey]

Its called a an L-plate, this one is made by really right stuff, you can also buy them from SmallRig. Hope this helps

[@MakrameeAnleitung]

Great thanks a lot. I think this might be the one I was looking for actually 🙃

[@geonerd]

Wouldn't hurt to mask off the unused area of the light table.

[@constantinosschinas4503]

so true, contrast can go very south.

[@jacksong1218]

Very nice!! I machined an instrument for the front of my D810 with a 60marco to do that same! The 3x3x6 inch instrument has full spectrum diffused LEDs in it, keeps the camera a perfect distance from that negative so the full frame is filled up, and holds the negative flat.

[@jamessurber853]

The term I am more familiar with is "digitize".

[@samoanquarterback]

Wow I did not know you could do this yourself. I had this grand idea of sending all of our photo negatives to a camera shop to get them scanned and digitise, know it would cost me an arm and a leg! I have a DSLR and a micro lens. I will look at purchasing the film holders and sign up with the Negative Lab Pro. Thanks man! Kia Ora!

[@DarrylCarey]

let me know how you get on converting your negatives

[@samoanquarterback]

@@DarrylCarey I have a Nikon D3100. I don't think it has a hi res mode like your camera. Do you know much about Nikon D3100? Or do I just change the default image quality to 'Raw'?

[@samsen3965]

Seems effective, only if your lab knows how exactly to cut your negatives. Well, you can cut the roll, if they return it that way to you, but what if they decide to cut at their own customized length that doesn't match the holder. But then and more importantly, what I don't Understand: If you go old fashion for enjoyment or nostalgic aspect ( That I fully understand) why should you go digital at the end? Why not all chemical and old fashioned paper result? Or is there any advantage of shooting on expensive cumbersome film, then go scan and digitalization, that I don't get? Please enlighten me as this is not a troll and I just wanna learn. Thanks in anticipation.

[@DarrylCarey]

Hey Sam, thanks for your comment. I make a digital copy of my negatives so I share them in my KZbin videos, make a digital back and check the negatives to see if I want to get them printed.

[@scottgaulin]

labs have a standard size the negatives are cut at which corresponds to the clear archival holders you see in the beginning of the video

[@alexloinaz9588]

I use a Nikon Z9 megapixel camera body using an FTZ attachment for an F mount Nikon macro lens with a bellows slide and film copier attachment for complete control. I even can zoom in on the negative image with the bellows attachment. I plan to buy a Z bellows for the set up upgrade.

[@dotadojardiner]

A friendly pointer, your video is visually technically excellent (as you are a photographer I would expect no less) but listening on headphones highlights your in a big, big, empty room - the echo/reverb is really off putting. Maybe consider sound aswell when shooting to polish a complete package .

[@DarrylCarey]

Hi Dotado, thanks for the feedback and yes sadly I shoot most of the videos in my gallery which is a huge box! If you was to hear the audio without the special echo removing software you would be shocked how bad it it. Things are changing soon and the echo will be gone :) Apart from the audio, its good to know you enjoyed the video.

[@RobertLeeAtYT]

Have you tried focus stacking? That should nicely solve both problems with film flatness and camera to film plane angle issues. It should give grain level sharpness across the frame regardless of how curled or otherwise misaligned the camera. This may obviate the need for a film holder altogether.

[@DarrylCarey]

Hi Robert, I have never tested focus sacking ... worth a try.... will have a new video soon on using a digital camera to convert your negatives

[@Lurker1979]

I have done something like this with my dads slide collection. Works out well.

[@imagistatheimagista1870]

Thank you for solving a very expensive problem in a much easier and more cost effective way than scanning! 🙏🏻

[@DarrylCarey]

Thanks for watching

[@michaelwoods9005]

"Cost effective" if you already own a $1k+ digital camera AND macro lens.. Completely back-asswards if you don't, lol

[@imagistatheimagista1870]

@@michaelwoods9005 works with an iPhone too which I’ve used when I don’t need as high quality/Rez files. Scanners suck. :(

[@HaramiSalami420]

What exactly are the benefits of shooting on a filmrole?

[@urwholefamilydied]

Digital cameras aint THAT old... film was the only choice until about 20 years ago (digital cameras existed in the 90's but weren't a common thing) and only 15 years ago really took off. The original Canon 5D (12 megapixels LOL) was released in 2006, only 13 years ago. So film although more of a niche thing now isn't exactly a dinosaur technology. And to answer your question, film has a different look than digital images. And when you're shooting medium format (or bigger) with a fine grain film actually has more resolution than most digital cameras.

[@Janken_Pro]

tyvek05 do u know da wae?

[@PaulVotava]

Excellent, exactly what I was looking for, you saved me countless hours of research! Cheers for that!

[@tomokra]

so you don't bother darkening the room when you do this?

[@jarequemetabolski]

with high shutter speeds (less then 1 sec) stray light isnt a problem

[@jampiserapah]

Well well well, now this is a tutorial of scanning film with a digital camera. A M43 camera at that too! I'm curious on your take on answering those people telling me that 'scanning' those full frame and medium format films using my Olympus E-M1 Mark II is pointless. Thanks in advance.

[@DarrylCarey]

Hi Hadith, please let me know how the scanning went if you do try this setup

[@13squier]

My answer to that is you don't need a medium format sensor to take a picture of a small, flat rectangle. The sensor size for digitizing makes literally no difference. You could get a good scan of a 8x10 LF film with your phone if you set it up right. The only meaningful difference would be the MP of the sensor vis-a-vis how large you want to print. So my 24mp APS-C D5300 could make larger prints from film than my 12mp FF D700.

[@calrob300]

The word you're looking for is digitize. The al not needed, ie digitalize.

[@jeremytravis360]

I have been using my digital camera to convert pictures and negatives for the past 12 years. Ok I don't have a fancy stand but it works out fine. Oddly enough the light box came from my shop where we had a photographic department with a negative viewer. But thanks for the info on how to do it properly.

[@noway8828]

And all the dust, hairs and all i have now digital in HR ;)))

[@MadAntz970]

Thanks for the very informative video. I'd been sitting on the fence for some time now over the best method to home scan my negs, now that I'm also processing film at home. Your straight forward approach is greatly appreciated. I'll spend the money I was saving for a V800 scanner on a DSLR/macro lens combination, light box & negative holder instead. Thanks again!!

[@NurNiazPortfolio]

I think its "digitize"

[@SaulHOU]

Please share the CAMERA 90° Holder Vendor / Source - Great Video thanks for sharing!!!

[@DarrylCarey]

It’s called an L-plate ... Made by REALLY RIGHT STUFF and Smallrig also make them

[@ELRAYMAKERSOLDADURA]

Gracias !!!

[@PlanetIscandar]

*Darryl Carey* The negatives need to be handled with their own "filter". This is how the older photographers printed our films, but not all of them had all different filters for every film. *A fuji Reala needs a different filter than a Fuji NPS.* How do we solve this problem here?

[@DarrylCarey]

Never had a problem with converting this way

[@PlanetIscandar]

@@DarrylCarey Perhaps you can't recognize the problem. I am also looking for a way to scan my negatives because i am not satisfied with my Epson. In the meanwhile i found a video that explains the "filter" issue. Watch 2 minutes from minute 4:30, here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jaCylKeDe9yLa5Y

[@HankyNoodle]

1:30 *Digitize Nice video

[@Todd-v9y]

Just got my camera holder (Tarion desk camera arm $59.00) set up with the Panasonic Lumix G9. Slides and negs turned out very good. Used a Kodak light panel 8x6 ($44), NEEWER Professional 28mm Low Profile Tripod Ball Head ($21), the Lumix Macro 30mm lens with the free Gimp software. Couldn't be happier.

[@DarrylCarey]

Let me know how you get on converting your nagatives

[@Fariskhan1]

a great video with a great Idea ! I really thanks to KZbin and persons like Darry...! Thanks Darry !

[@DarrylCarey]

Thanks Faris :)

[@Fariskhan1]

@@DarrylCarey You deserve the better thanks that I have paid... ! please carry on with your more innovations ... !

[@Fariskhan1]

God Bless You !

[@DarrylCarey]

@@Fariskhan1 Thanks Faris, that means a lot when I get good feedback from my subscribers.

[@johannespihl]

Great video! It was really nice to get to see some examples of how it turns out.

[@DarrylCarey]

Thanks Johannes

[@Harrzack]

Very nice product and idea. Makes me wish I had some negs to “digitize”!

[@thecatsman]

AND the flare produced by the light around the neg holder softens the contrast - just what you don't need.

[@DarrylCarey]

Hi Bob, the Lightbox I'm using is designed for this so the light is limited... I have a video coming in a few weeks on a system I have been using for a while which is better than the way shown in this video

[@thecatsman]

@@DarrylCarey Look forward to your new video. However any light source in front of a camera always creates some flare in the camera - and all flare degrades the image. I think it's best to be a bit obsessive about this.

[@chajaso]

what's the point of shooting in film if you are going to digitize it?

[@DarrylCarey]

So I review my negatives and then send the ones I'm happy with to be printed and also share in social media plus include photos I have shot in my KZbin videos.

[@scottmurphy650]

My Nikon Coolscan 8000 ED is still my go-to scanner but I also have a PS-6 slide/film attachment for my PB-6 bellows that works quite well. The only shortcoming to the PS-6 is it can only handle 35mm and smaller formats.

[@chungkam]

Ya is the fast way but the film detail will be lost. I still prefer the scan way cause like the film kind of 'noise' quality.

[@SujaysPhotographyy]

Fabulous.. thanks for sharing !! Also could you share the link for the tripod set up you used for the camera mount 🤝👌