Hi - I have about 40 rolls of APS-C / Advantix film from the late 90’s that I’d like to scan. The developed film is stored in a strip back in the original canister. I’d like to scan without destroying the canisters. Elsewhere, people have talked about using old scanners circa 2000 to scan (Canon FS4000US, Minolta Dual Scan etc.) but that seems like a lot of investment for 40 rolls of film.
Anyone scanning APS-C film with your DSLR rig? Any ideas for feeding the film without destroying the canisters? How are you doing it?
I have scanned all of my APS rolls using a camera (with a macro lens and requisite extensions) using my Canon fs2710 scanner APS holder. My extension tubes have a metal disc at the end onto which the APS holder attaches with magnets so the distance to film remains constant. Advancing film is easy with the holder’s advance wheel (which also wheels it all back into the cannister when finished). I have looked for an additional hold as a backup but have yet to find one. I have also looked (unsuccessfully) for any other type of APS hold that could manually advance the film.
If you are interested, we could probably arrange a timely loan via mail.
Wow - that’s an amazing find. I use a Nikon ES-2 for my other film, so the Canon IW-50 holder might even work with that. I looked on eBay and a few have been sold recently. I can wait to find one since I still have another 50 or 60 rolls of other negatives to scan. This is amazing and I really appreciate the post.
It must be fate because one popped up on eBay this morning and I pounced on it. Supposed to be delivered Feb 1st. Looks like Canon sold the IW-50 as a standalone film viewer with some type of loupe, which should be handy for looking at the negatives if I can’t find the index prints. Now I just need to figure out how to DSLR scan with it. @tjlongacre - could you please post a photo or two of your rig?
I case anyone else is interested, here is a link to a similar item on Yahoo Spain which has a lot of good photos: Canon IW-50
The overview photo is:
#1 All mounted to camera via step rings. The tubes were from a past purchase where the genius was with the steel “donut” at the final screw element. Originally, a magnetic translucent disk with a 35mm silde cutout attached to the donut; just point to a light source and shoot—shutter speed pretty irrelevant. I am using magnet to attach various film adapters to the donut. Some adapters are rom the “Wolverine” crappy scanner—the scanner is crap, but the adapters are great. I use a 50mm macro lens so the included tubes to the job fine; a 100mm macro may require more tubes.
#2 Shows how the (strong, rare earth disc) magnets attach to the donut.
#3 Shows the tube assembly off the camera (and, therefore, how some other tube assembly might be able to work; coming up with the steel donut might take some scrounging around), and how the magnets are attached to the aps adapter. Note that the magnets attach on two different planes so leveling the magnets must happen somehow. I used two different depth magnets which seems to level the planes very well. The grip tape on the magnets keep the adapters from sliding/shifting on the donut.
#4 Shows two additional adapters I use. The 35mm slide adapter allow for slide passthrough so that shooting doesn’t have to slow down. The 35mm negative adapter also allows passthrough. Note that the white on the ends is non-scratch material to keep the film from touching the plastic adapter AND to keep the film taught so it doesn’t drift around in the adapter. I had to sand/file some of the mouth and tail of the path to allow for the white material to be mounted (two-sided tape) on the inside to allow for film movement through the adapter.
Success! found a Canon IW-50 Film Viewer on eBay and it arrived this week. It’s a great mechanical solution for reading the film and I needed to graft it on to my macro lens (Nikon 40mm F2.8 DX Macro). I found an easy solution with a Nikon K5 Extension ring and an elastic band to increase the diameter for a. snug fit. Here are some photos. So a great scanning rig and a million thanks to TJ Longacre for pointing me in the right direction.
And here is what the overall rig looks like. I use it with a Nikon D5300 (24MP) and Helicon Remote to tether to my MacBook. Light comes from a Nikon Speedlight Flash.
That IW-50 looks ideal - I’m still searching for one with no luck
My initial tests have the APS negative directly on the Kaiser Plano surface and results are great, however, I’m noticing newton rings and cant un see them
An IW-50 would also reduce my stress about scratching the neg surface when I pull them through my DIY mask (black modelling paper)
The IW-50 is definitely the way to go. I just setup and eBay alert and one popped up quickly. It was in the UK though and shipping, while fast, cost more than the item. Hang in there.
- that’s awesome, 
