Copy stand recommendations

angelpaaul

angelpaaul

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Paul
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Can anyone recommend a good copy stand?

I’ve inherited a LARGE amount of negatives from a relative and I’d like to digitise them. Using a scanner will take forever, using a camera is a much better option.

I’ve been looking at a Photolux CS320 on Amazon but I’ve no idea how good it is.

Any help/suggestions will be much appreciated.

Regards - Paul
 
In the past I have used my ancient Velbon tripod which has a reversible column. Just set it up above a lightbox with camera pointing down vertically. The negs I was digitising were quarter-plate glass from around 1908, might be a bit fiddly with 35mm.
 
Never thought of that. My tripod has reversible column too, I’ll look into that. Thanks
 
Last edited:
If the slides are 35mm, I'd go for a slide copying lens on a DSLR rather than a copy stand.
 
The top of the tree for negatives and slides was the Bowens Illumitran, with or without the optional focussing bellows. I got mine for £60, a few years ago and it makes digitising a quick and easy job, with the right camera and lens.

Bowens Lumitran with Canon 5 mounted 9521.jpg

A cheaper solution is a portable slide copier, which has the lens and film carrier all in a single unit. If you don't have a full frame camera, look for one like this Ohnar, which has negative ratios down to 0.6x, so will also work with APS sensors...

Ohnar slide copier E-PL1 10183.JPG

If you use anything like this, you'll need an image editor that can reverse negative images to give a positive.
 
Nod said:
If the slides are 35mm, I'd go for a slide copying lens on a DSLR rather than a copy stand.
Click to expand...

They're a mix of 6x9, 6x6, 6x4.5, 127 and 35mm. All a mix of colour, B/W and a few slides thrown in.

It'll keep me out of mischief for a while
 
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AndrewFlannigan said:
The top of the tree for negatives and slides was the Bowens Illumitran, with or without the optional focussing bellows. I got mine for £60, a few years ago and it makes digitising a quick and easy job, with the right camera and lens.



View attachment 364508

A cheaper solution is a portable slide copier, which has the lens and film carrier all in a single unit. If you don't have a full frame camera, look for one like this Ohnar, which has negative ratios down to 0.6x, so will also work with APS sensors...

View attachment 364509

If you use anything like this, you'll need an image editor that can reverse negative images to give a positive.
Click to expand...
Awesome o_O
 
angelpaaul said:
They're a mix of 6x9, 6x6, 6x4.5, 127 and 35mm. All a mix of colour, B/W and a few slides thrown in.

It'll keep me out of mischief for a while
Click to expand...


I think I'd still go down the copier lens route for the 35mm and for the MF stuff, I think I'd go for the simpler alternative of a normal tripod and a lightbox with a macro lens on a DSLR (for the slides).

Getting the colours right from colour negs that have been copied rather than scanned has always defeated me in the past - depending on the end use (having a quick look on a computer is less quality dependent than an A4 or larger print!), maybe one of the relatively cheap camera type neg scanners would speed things up enough?
 
Nod said:
I think I'd still go down the copier lens route for the 35mm and for the MF stuff, I think I'd go for the simpler alternative of a normal tripod and a lightbox with a macro lens on a DSLR (for the slides).

Getting the colours right from colour negs that have been copied rather than scanned has always defeated me in the past - depending on the end use (having a quick look on a computer is less quality dependent than an A4 or larger print!), maybe one of the relatively cheap camera type neg scanners would speed things up enough?
Click to expand...

You mean something like this?

www.ebay.co.uk

Nikon F fit FILM & DIGITAL ZOOM SLIDE COPIER / DUPLICATOR for SLR DSLR CAMERA | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Nikon F fit FILM & DIGITAL ZOOM SLIDE COPIER / DUPLICATOR for SLR DSLR CAMERA at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.
www.ebay.co.uk
 
That sort of thing, yes (the thing Andrew Flannigan posted a shot of is similar).
 
angelpaaul said:
You mean something like this?

www.ebay.co.uk

Nikon F fit FILM & DIGITAL ZOOM SLIDE COPIER / DUPLICATOR for SLR DSLR CAMERA | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Nikon F fit FILM & DIGITAL ZOOM SLIDE COPIER / DUPLICATOR for SLR DSLR CAMERA at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.
www.ebay.co.uk
Click to expand...
That one will only get some of a 35mm frame on a digital sensor that is not full frame. The ones sold as digital zoom will capture whole frame if the zoom goes to 0.6x
 
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