How I scan 35mm film at home (with my digital camera)

Today I'm showing you how I scan 35mm film with my digital camera.

Chapters:
00:00 - 00:26 - Introduction
00:26 - 01:48 - Why I chose this method
01:48 - 07:55 - What you need
07:55 - 10:29 - The scanning process
10:29 - 13:35 - Post processing
13:35 - 14:34 - The end

#filmphotography #howtoscan #tutorial

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Music used in this video:
- Comatose - Jobii
- Daydreaming About You While Drinking a Cup of Tea - baegel
- Imprints - Dusty Decks
- Inlay - Dusty Decks
- Resting My Eyes - Timothy Infinite
- The Vault - Auxjack
- Water under the Bridge - Matt Large

Links to my Gear (USA)

My main video camera and digital photography camera
The two lenses for the camera:

My secondary digital camera for casual photography:
The two lenses I use with it:

Other gear I use to make my videos:

(all links are Amazon-Affiliate links)

For my German friends, here are the links for .de

My main video camera and digital photography camera
The two lenses for the camera:

My secondary digital camera for casual photography:
The two lenses I use with it:

Other gear I use to make my videos:

(all links are Amazon-Affiliate links)

[teocrawford]

Hello there,
finally I made this video! Many have asked for it and I'm happy to show you how I do it :) However... of course I forgot to mention one little detail, so just another tip: before you slide your negative into the holder you will need to decide which side to scan. If you look carefully you will see that one side is shiny and the other is matt (it's still shiny, but less). On B&W film it is obvious, on colour film you will ususaly need to look a bit closer. Anyway, as far as I know it is best to scan the matt side to capture maximum detail and also avoid reflections.

And btw. just want to thank Urth again for partnering with me in the video - their adapter has really been a wonderful tool for me, but something I didn't mention is that you can not only use these for scanning, but of course they are a great way to adapt unique stylistic lenses to your digital cameras to get make use of the pleasing characteristics many old lenses have :)

Have a good week,
Teo

[philippwaschk]

There's a trick to level your camera, you can use a small mirror and place it on top of where the film will be and once the reflection of your lens is in in the middle of the frame of your camera, it is perfectly leveled.

[snoopdog]

I did this myself two years ago to capture slides and negatives. I'm not a regular Gimp user, but I found that Gimp's Color->Invert function worked very well to get regular images back from the negatives.

[PitlordWeedsmurph]

For anyone that doesn’t have a macro lens, check out the vintage Nikon 55mm 2.8ais or 3.5ai lenses. You can find them below a $100 or even dirt cheap and they are magnificent for this purpose. Very weird for me to get that level of sharpness from a late 70’s lens. Mind that they’re 1:2 magnification but with Nikon’s own tube they become 1:1. I scan 35mm negatives with a crop camera and at the minimum focus distance the film frame almost covers the whole picture. Either use a Nikon body or any mirrorless one with an adapter for the Nikon F. Cheers!

[rachel]

I love how concise you are in your videos! As someone who is new to the world of film photography, it is super overwhelming! But you really take the time to organize and explain everything in a way that’s super approachable! Thank you so much!

[jackdedert]

After all the videos with computer-generated voices, I have to compliment you on your rich, deep, voice, enhanced (for those of us on the left side of the pond) with a cultured British accent.

[fotoralf]

If you want a cheap stand get a used photographic enlarger. They can be had for a song. Most enlargers let you take the head off and you have a baseboard, a column and the mechanism that was originally used to move the head up or down. Fix your camera instead of the head and there you are. Far easier to handle than a tripod and, above all, far easier to adjust.

[Dodorio_]

you don´t understand how this video helped me, I´m working in a Photostudio and we don´t have any scanner, but we have macro lenses, a lot of tripods and lights. THANK YOU

[kucken]

Oh man, so cool to see you shouting out Urth. You're spot on about the build quality. I have a bunch of their adapters including their Canon EF to Sony E mount adapter. I use it with a 40mm 2.8 canon pancake and the autofocus is so fast and so precise despite the adapter. Love their stuff.

[michaelwright]

The problem with the macro rings (extension tubes they're also called) is not the tubes themselves (unless you're getting uneven sharpness from side to side) but with the lens. Modern lenses are wonderful, but they are not normally corrected for flatness of field at very close range. As other people have mentioned, if you don't have access to a macro lens, a simple (but good quality) enlarger lens will be very good. As you're working at a fixed distance, it should be not too difficult to get some tubing that gives you sharp focus and satisfactory framing.

[riddle_bookstoreonwheels]

Love the quiet vibe from your videos and your voice! So enjoyable to learn about photography in your channel!

[dollwatchesyt]

Just getting into photography and I found your channel I love your videos! Your videos have helped me learn a lot!

[jacob_s]

9:20 probably goes without saying, but you should test whichever lens you're using to see where it is optimally sharp. Many lens will start showing diffraction around F16, so you may want to stop at F8 or F11 to play it safe.

Also there are specific mounts you can get for your camera and tripod which let you fine tune the alt/az orientation of your camera, and are much easier than trying to fine tune a pivot head.

[Chuk]

What a thorough, informative, and beautiful video to watch. Your voice is perfect for content creation, especially instructive content. I happen to have an Urth X-mount to F-mount adapter, a Fuji X-T5, and a vintage Nikon macro lens. I’m excited to try this!

[AndoNaruishi]

Idk why but the shot at 10:21 was one of the most beautiful shots I’ve ever scene. The tripod being in focus and you being out of focus looks really interesting. Also the painting adds a pop of color with a creative feel. The coolest aspect was the soft lighting coming from the window(I think) giving the wall a nice gradient and you a flattering look, whilst giving the tripod legs a nice reflective slim line of light.

[mymagicmurals]

Thank you, so well explained, precisely done with your gentle manner.

[lgude]

The problem with Extension tubes with a regular lens of some sort is that the field of sharp focus is not flat at close focus distances while a macro lens is designed to have a flat field of focus up close. Ie when the centre is sharp the edges are not and vice versa. Stopping down would reduce the problem but I chose to buy the Olympus 30mm macro which was quite low priced lens even for a M4/3. My solution for a negative holder was to use an old enlarger negative carrier. I built my copy stand from a old enlarger base. I got my led backlight from the hardware store. For software I use Affinity photo and Pixelmator Pro on my Mac and can invert them quickly. Mine are mostly old B&W negs from the 60s. Interesting to see how you went about it.

[ad.]

Tank you much for the tips to invert the colors in Lightroom, that looks now quite easy for me to obtain nice results !

[nirmaldev]

wow cool, i didn't know films could be converted like this. thnx for the video

[asubix]

Now I understand how much trouble I'm in choosing Film Photography😭