I have a Nikon D7000 APS-C and I was wondering if anyone has had any good luck with non full-frame cameras? Or is this a total non-starter? thx
Used a Canon EOS M6 for most of my trials. Itās probably a good idea to ETTR to get less noise in bright areas. I also used a full frame 5D which worked nicely too. I think that your gear does not matter much unless it is broken 
There is NO problem using APS bodies. I do this all the time (D7200 and Sony A6000).
For 35mm, you are shooting at 0.67x, many macro lenses perform better at this magnification. I like a legacy macro lens and focus manually with a copy stand.
OK, thanks for the feedback. Yeah, I have a friend who is giving me a vintage 55mm Nikkor Micro in perfect shape.
A quick follow up. The 55mm Micro Nikkor lens with the D7000 gives excellent results.This is a quick scan with minimal processing, no sharpening.
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Did you ever get the 55mm Nikor and try it? I have one also and wonder how it would work wit ha newer camera.
I use a Nikon D5100 mainly because of itās reasonably āhighā 16MP sensor. This means the RAW files are not so large that they take forever to import and edit, plus they are good quality.
Hereās a couple of unedited, in camera processed from NEF Jpegs from my āearlyā days as a photographer over 40 years ago.
All slides copied using a Nikon D5100, Sigma 150mm f2.8 DSG APO macro, 0.62 secs, f8, 100 ISO, Aperture Priority. The backlight was actually a computer monitor. I simply filled the screen with a large open empty word document with a plain āwhiteā background and positioned the slide vertically in a little rig about 6 inches in from of the screen to ensure I did not capture any screen pixels (unlike my first attempts.)
To be honest though, I thought I would find even more ākeepersā from my back catalogue, but after seeing what is not in lotās of the image, I am more of a convert than ever to Digital.
I just wanted to say thanks for this thread and the replies; Iām switching from full-frame to APS-C (FF is my wifeās camera, but Iām buying myself a Sony E) and just needed to know if thereās any problem to continue with my own camera. Sounds like Iāll be alright. I just need to find myself a good e-mount macro lens that doesnāt break the bank.
Just one point: find out what reproduction ratio you need and see if the lens can do it on your camera.
Why? Many lenses with āMacroā designation can (only) do 0.5 life size. With Full Frame, the smallest negative that can be reproduced (without wasting pixels) is 48x72 mm. With a 1.5 crop camera, itās 32x48 mm.
Thank your for the adviceā¦ although I donāt fully understand it. If I get a 1:1 macro APS-C lens, wouldnāt it stay 1:1? Since it was designed for APS-C?
Also can you clarify what you mean about the āsmallest negative that can be reproducedā?
Maybe I was a taking a shortcutā¦ So let me try to explain.
When the lens we take as an example can do 1:2 (but not 1:1), the area that fills the sensor is twice the size of the sensor - in each direction. We can shoot smaller things for sure, but they will not fill the image. If we capture an object that has the same dimensions as the sensor, weāll waste 3/4 of the sensor area, effectively using e.g. only 6 M pixel of a 24 M pixel sensor.
Anyway, the message is: Check the specs before buying. If the lens is designed for APS-C and can do 1:1, you can fill your frame with things no smaller than 23.5 x 15.6 mm (Sony A6000), with 1:2, youāll get 47 x 31 mm approximately, which means that youāll waste pixels if you copy 135 type film negatives.
Thanks so much for this explanation, it actually makes a lot of sense now that I understand it better. So are you saying that a smaller than 1:1 macro ratio is actually better in my case, because Iāll be able to capture larger objects?
By the way, Iāll only be scanning 35mm negatives. My whole NLP setup is dedicated to scanning all our old family archive pictures.
You can capture larger objects with most lenses (those that can focus to infinity).
Capturing smaller objects while filling the frame is the thing to care for here.
If you get a lens that a) was designed for APS-C and b) can do 1:1, you can capture those 35 mm negatives without wasting pixels. Check out https://www.opticallimits.com or any other test/review site in order to see what you can get for your money.
Ok, I appreciate all the information! I learned quite a bit.
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I know this is an old thread but Iām hoping to use my D7000 as well and had a question. Did you continue using the 55mm Micro Nikkor and did you feel the need to get a macro tube? Iāve seen comments regarding the macro tube but not entirely sure what the right answer is.