Free tool: true-size framing charts for setting up your rig
The first step of camera scanning is often the most confusing one: setting up the camera and lens at the right working distance from the film while keeping the reproduction ratio you want. At 1:1 and similar ratios, depth of field is tiny, so the image snaps in and out of focus with the smallest movement. Many macro lenses, especially those with floating elements, also change their effective focal length as they focus close, sometimes in counterintuitive ways. Moving the camera and turning the focusing ring both change the magnification, and getting the frame to exactly fill the viewfinder can turn into a long, frustrating hunt.
To make this easier, I built a simple, lightweight web tool. It’s essentially just a web page that shows almost any film frame at true real-life size on a smartphone, tablet or computer screen. It covers everything from Super 8 to 24×36 to 8×10.
The idea is to skip fiddling with the film holder and light when all you need is an illuminated frame to set up against. Put the screen where the film would go, then position the lens and camera at the correct working distance. You’ll see how tall a copy stand you need, or how long the whole rig ends up for your favorite film formats, before buying anything.
That’s all there is to it. No app to install, no sign-up, no tracking.
Put the screen, where the film would go,will require some fiddling
unless we measure where that negative holder puts the film exactly
and how about all those humps that many devices have?
…
Gave it a try and found that it works as described.
Before use, it’s helpful to get your screen ppi value.
Other than that, the tool could be even more useful if the area of the “negative” could be user-moved closer to the screen edge (free placement) and some easily visible diagonals were added. Something like
Most phones have a raised camera bump on the back, so they rock or tilt when laid down. A tilted screen gives uneven sharpness and a skewed frame. Put a flat, rigid piece of plastic under the phone, thick enough to clear the bump or cut out where it sits. Check that the screen is level."
As for image freely floating across the screen … I started with crazy idea that one starts with piece of 35 mm film pressed against phone screen to get the exact sizing. That required to ‘immobilize’ the chart on screen Let’s see if I need to address that. What is the use case when image needs to be placed near the phone edge? Thanks!
