Lloydc

Lloydc

Is that any better than using the negatives from ordinary B&W film? I’ve begun developing my own.

Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA

I don't think it's any better. I like the transparencies because I can view them with a loop before scanning them.

Lloydc

Thanks. Can you recommend a specific film?

Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA

I don't shoot B&W film. For color transparencies I like Fuji Velvia 50. If you go to the B and H website they sell Fomapan R

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/927372-REG/foma_411813_fomapan_r100_135_36_dx.html/?ap=y&ap=y&smp=y&smp=y&lsft=BI%3A514&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIjpH5_dyG6gIVDDiGCh0igA_DEAQYASABEgI_lPD_BwE

and Adox Scala 160

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1345976-REG/adox_59440_scala_160_35mm_36.html/?ap=y&ap=y&smp=y&smp=y&lsft=BI%3A514&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIjpH5_dyG6gIVDDiGCh0igA_DEAQYAiABEgIEG_D_BwE

Both are transparency B&W film for about $10 a roll of 36 and both got good reviews.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Or you could send them to a decent pro lab for up to 20x16 prints... Many labs have ordering apps made for smartphones that tap into their Remote Order Entry Systems. With all the apps available to adjust images on the iPhone, image preparation is pretty good. The screen isn't calibrated, but for casual use, prints look decent.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Lloyd, there are tons of comparison videos on YouTube that compare the looks of different films, the effects of different developers, and the results of scanning vs re-photographing (optically copying) slides and negatives with a digital camera.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Paths to copying film to digital files:

SLIDES AND TRANSPARENCIES:

Scan with a film scanner or a compatible flatbed scanner. 2400 dpi seems to capture the maximum ACTUAL detail in most films.

Rephotograph (copy film with a digital camera and a macro lens). There are countless rigs to do this, including lots of home brew devices. From top to bottom, physically, you need:

Copy Stand to hold camera
Level to check camera level and baseboard level and film level
dSLR or MILC Camera Body
REAL Macro Lens (please try not to use cheap closeup adapters if you want quality results)
Light Shroud or Baffle between lens and film holder (blocks flare from light sources other than the film)
Film Holders for all your different media (slides, transparencies, B&W and color negatives)
Color correct, continuous spectrum, evenly diffused light source to backlight the film
Light Baffle to keep stray light from your backlighting source AWAY from the camera and lens

You can buy or make all of the items BELOW the lens, plus the copy stand.

BLACK AND WHITE NEGATIVES:

Scan with a film scanner or a compatible flatbed scanner. 2400 dpi seems to capture the maximum ACTUAL detail in most films. Most scanner drivers have software that can reverse the negative image to a positive for you. Most will let you tweak the look before you scan, using a preview image.

A VERY good alternative to letting the scanner driver reverse the negative to a positive is to scan negatives as if they were slides, and use Adobe Lightroom Classic CC (not Lightroom CC) with the Negative Lab Pro plug-in. NLP costs $99, but if you scan or re-photograph film, it is worth every penny (look earlier in this thread for three examples I posted).

Rephotograph (copy film with a digital camera and a macro lens). There are countless rigs to do this, including lots of home brew devices. From top to bottom, physically, you need:

Copy Stand to hold camera
Level to check camera level and baseboard level and film level
dSLR or MILC Camera Body
REAL Macro Lens (please try not to use cheap closeup adapters if you want quality results)
Light Shroud or Baffle between lens and film holder (blocks flare from light sources other than the film)
Film Holders for all your different media (slides, transparencies, B&W and color negatives)
Color correct, continuous spectrum, evenly diffused light source to backlight the film
Light Baffle to keep stray light from your backlighting source AWAY from the camera and lens

You can buy or make all of the items BELOW the lens, plus the copy stand.

You will need Adobe Lightroom Classic and Negative Lab Pro plug-in if you want to work rapidly. Otherwise, most post-processing software will let you "reverse the curves" and manually adjust the images from the camera.

COLOR NEGATIVES:

Scan with a film scanner or a compatible flatbed scanner. 2400 dpi seems to capture the maximum ACTUAL detail in most films. Most scanner drivers have software that can reverse the negative image to a positive for you. Most will let you tweak the look before you scan, using a preview image.

C41 color negative films work with Digital ICE to remove dust and scratches. If you have an older scanner model with Digital ICE and your scanner software supports it, it works well, but it does make the process much slower. You may also be able to tweak the color from negative films, but most folks find scanner software somewhat lacking in this area.

A VERY good alternative to letting the scanner driver reverse the negative to a positive is to scan negatives as if they were slides, and use Adobe Lightroom Classic CC (not Lightroom CC) with the Negative Lab Pro plug-in. NLP costs $99, but if you scan or re-photograph film, it is worth every penny (look earlier in this thread for three examples I posted).

Rephotograph (copy film with a digital camera and a macro lens). There are countless rigs to do this, including lots of home brew devices. From top to bottom, physically, you need:

Copy Stand to hold camera
Level to check camera level and baseboard level and film level
dSLR or MILC Camera Body
REAL Macro Lens (please try not to use cheap closeup adapters if you want quality results)
Light Shroud or Baffle between lens and film holder (blocks flare from light sources other than the film)
Film Holders for all your different media (slides, transparencies, B&W and color negatives)
Color correct, continuous spectrum, evenly diffused light source to backlight the film
Light Baffle to keep stray light from your backlighting source AWAY from the camera and lens

You can buy or make all of the items BELOW the lens, plus the copy stand.

You will need Adobe Lightroom Classic and Negative Lab Pro plug-in if you want to work rapidly. Otherwise, most post-processing software will let you "reverse the curves" and manually adjust the images from the camera. Negative Lab Pro is especially useful with color negative films, as it is essentially the same technology that is in high-end lab scanners from Fujifilm and Noritsu. Results from freshly developed films are awesome. I've had good results from well-stored color negatives from 40 to 55 years ago.

I would tell you that you can post-process color negative images in Photoshop or Lightroom, but then I'd be doing you a huge disservice... If you are a regular color negative film user, just break down and get Negative Lab Pro. It turns the most difficult color reversing job into something almost trivial.

Lloydc

Wow! Thanks for all of this information.