I scan by sandwiching the film between two sheets of Tru Vue Museum Glass.
I have no problem with black and white films, but slide films sometimes shows Newton rings. The same goes for color negatives.
So recently, after watching this YouTube video, I bought some TRU VUE Reflection Control Glass for slides and color negatives, but haven’t tested it yet.
p.s. I used 4 LZ60 Z-Axis manual linear stages(about $30 each), but the LZ40 is even cheaper (about $21 each)
As mentioned in this post, here’s my new rig. It’s not quite finished yet, but I can assure you that it is sturdy like nothing I have seen before.
It’s DIY, except for the obvious items (rail, camera, backlight) and consists of the following parts which are tailored to fit the Kaiser panel and for digitising negatives between 24x36mm and 6x9cm.
Brackets and boards bought in a hardware/DIY store.
The current rig is not finished yet. I plan to put the backlight below the baseboard and attach a negative holder from an enlarger. This will have to wait though, as I plan to make the rig fit both FF and APS-C cameras.
Quirks: The Novoflex rail has three treads each for 1/4 and 3/8 tripod screws, but the spacings are a bit strange. If they were evenly spaced, it would be easy to mount the rail at higher or lower positions without having to perforate the backboard … but it is what it is. Having that focus stacking screw drive rail would really be nice. But it will have to wait, probably indefinitely.
Addendum: The backboard spills light back onto the image. I’ll habe to paint it black. Maybe black MDF would have solved that issue. I don’t trust MDF holding the wood screws tightly enough.
That’s nice, it looks as if you can slide your holders under the support board for 645 and/or stitching. That Castel-M rail will have to wait indefinitely for me also and although I’ve been known to recommend it I think there may be play in the Nisi rails when they are used vertically. Another brand that seems to be mentioned by the likes of Jim Kasson is Swebo, perhaps they are better.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001093516703.html
They do some very fancy micrometer versions as well:
Thank you for the link to Swebo, it looks usable. Some play doesn’t matter, I’d probably move the camera upwards anyways so that there is no creep downwards. One of the main things is, that the rail needs to be fastened to the backboard somehow, and the Nisi seems to have the threads for the legs only. Depending on how far the camera has to travel, the length of the rail will suffice or not, making repositioning necessary. The Novoflex I use travels just a tad further than 12 cm.
I can’t find the reference but I think the play on the Nisi might be outwards when used vertically which could be a nuisance if true. The photos on this UK ebay posting for the Swebo LS001Pro show the underneath with threaded mounting holes. A spacer would be needed to give clearance for the adjusting knob/lever though.
Hello all! I just posted a big piece on Medium discussing mechanical aspects (stands and leveling heads) of camera scanning rigs along with few samples of my setup. Mechanics of Film Digitizing by Vlads Test Target | On Film Scanning
HTH
Vlad
Here is couple of pictures so you have an idea what i am discussing in the article.
@Digitizer Beautifuly simple and solid setup, a great example! I like the strap/cage and minimum components!
Also: don’t forget the superbly engineered Velmex Unislide.
It is designed to be used in all planes without rotational movement caused by cantilevering weight of equipment such as a camera and lens, quite a bit if you’re using a Sigma Art 105.
It adjusts very smoothly, holds position without brake or click stops and is available in multiple lengths with various pitch threads and configurations. I find it excellent for focusing!
It does, however, require the quick release plate to be fitted with two 8-32 UNC screws as it’s built for scientific purposes.
To it, I mount the lens rather than the camera to avoid flex.
Thank you @Graham
I had thought of a linear stage for industrial applications but tried with the gear I already have. Not sure how they handle load in a vertical setup.
I usually do that too, but the canon 100mm macro, even though there is a tripod collar for it, has a polycarbon housing and I’m a bit reluctant to tighten the collar too much or glue the adapter ring to the lens body, How do you mount your lens?
The overall goal in building this rig was to use basic materials that could be mounted with basic skills. Using black MDF would have been my preferred solution, but the shop had none, but had a scrap peace of bamboo that was just big enough.
A useful discussion on the Nisi rails on the DPReview forum from May 2023. A very positive recommendation for Velmex showing a rig made up of a variety of their (top end) components. it looks like it needs some engineering skills (or a friend with the same) to make the adapters to mount it though. No love lost on there for Novoflex surprisingly and a mention in passing of the Swebo LS01.
Positive review of the Swebo LS01 from the same forum in June 2021:
Perhaps I should add that for macro these rails are generally used more or less horizontally so it remains to be seen if problems arise when they are used vertically on a copy stand.
@Harry Yes, I found with my first Macro rail: it didn’t work well at all vertically, I assume all macro rails are for horizontal use although the Novoflex looks very good. This is where the Velmex Unislide comes into its own. It is designed to work in any orientation, see here in Robert O’Toole’s Review.
https://www.closeuphotography.com/velmex-unislide
My Velmex is mounted to my stand with two countersunk screws using the holes provided. The Quick Release Plate is mounted to the Velmex slider with two 8-32 UNC screws, easy. However, this does result in the Release Plate orientation suited to a lens collar which is good for my setup. I was very careful mounting it, keeping the lens axis parallel to the Velmex travel and square to the subject.
@Digitizer I use an “iShoot” Collar which is aluminium and tightens well onto the Sigma, which I’m sure is metal? You will see also a Kenko 10mm extension which I use to get more leeway with mounted slides.
Thanks for the link to Robert O’Toole’s page, the model that you chose looks very similar to the one depicted there and looks ideal for this purpose. Velmex do seem to be an extraordinary company, so many models and so many options, I’ve just downloaded their catalogure here:
I’m actually quite surprised that they don’t market that model to the camera scanning market but I suppose they don’t need to. Of course I imagine it must be expensive and even Robert O’Toole mentioned that they could be found easily on the used market. That’s in the US though, not so in the UK. We must use such things in our engineering industery though, I must investigate.
The Castel-M is indeed perfect for this application. However, I personally would not have purchased it solely for film scanning as it is pricy and a bit of overkill. But as I justified the purchase previously for Macro, it fits the bill perfectly.
Actually, I started camera digitizing after wondering if there were other applications where I could utilize the new rail!
