I discovered this method myself fairly recently and have been loving the results! I need to just sit down with all my old B&W negatives and start "scanning" them in. I had a set of the Asahi Pentax Bellows II for a while, but I never had the slide copier. So I found one that was in perfect shape for like $15 and that's when I discovered the little door at the back that fits the negatives in it perfectly. So cool and so much cheaper to do it this way with this gear than buying one of the many cheap plastic scanners out there for way too much money! Also, thanks for doing the math and showing the pages from the booklet. That is one thing I don't have with my bellows set up.
DSLR scanning is MILES ahead of desktop Epson scanning in both quality and the massive amount of time saved. You'd have way better quality, in a lot less time, if you spent the $99 for Negative Lab Pro. I 'thought' I was happy just using LR and saving the money, but when I did the free trial, I realized the instant result was way better than what I get after five minutes on a particular negative, not to mention the time factor. Good vid! I use the JJC brand and an inverted tripod on a tabletop, but basically same process. The results from using my Canon EOS RP are almost perfect compared to the typically 'off' scans I was getting with V600 and silverfast. But each photographer has their own needs, mine are likely different than yours. Good video!
I ran into this as well. I wanted to use my Nikon D3s or D4s on a Nikon PB-4 Bellows & PS-4 Slide Copy. I needed E2 or PK-11A ring just to mount to start but then it will not clear battery base beyond few cm. otherwise the Voitlander 5cm, f1.4 is perfect config on FX. I moved to a D300s but now I needed at best a 60mm f2.8D Micro but an 85mm f1.4D works but its huge and you have to extend the slide adapter outward camera almost way back with room to adjust right to top to bottom of slides. I used film feeder to align negatives to not scratch them. Although it has spools and winder if I hadn't cut into strips. Was fun. but at the end of the day. The ES-1 or ES2 is a better or easier deal for FX directly onto the 60mm Micro w/ adapter ring. Otherwise, popped a D810 w/ 50mm removing grip.
In 2013 I was trying to do this with Canon FL bellows and a Pentax k10D. Because of the crop sensor and home made adapter I was struggling. In 2014 I bought a full frame Sony A7 and some Canon FD to NEX adapters. Struggling ended. I do consider this the best way to digitize film and slides.
A very thorough explication, thanks. I have a Fuji XT-5 (APS-C) and have been using a copy stand to perform "scans." The film plane must be perfectly parallel to the negative, and therein lies the rub. It takes several minutes at the beginning of eeach session to precisely level them. The copy stand was purchased from a company making equipment for this purpose but the column itself is not perfectly perpendicular to the base. Your method eliminates all those variables. Time to dig out my c. 1975 slide copier outfit from storage, it will be much faster and likely more accurate.
Your B&W film hasn't been sufficiently fixed. You can tell it by the murky looks of your film base, which should be perfectly clear. Either your fixing solution was depleted, too cold or treatment time too short. T-max film for example takes pretty long to fix. Fix and rinse again, before the white silver salts turn black ;-)
Could I use this equipment in the same style as the Valoi Easy35? So by putting my macro lens on my camera first which has a 49mm filter thread, getting a 42mm step down ring to attach just one or both of the bellows to act in the same way as the extension tubes on the easy35? Loved the video, this is such a unique way!
Nice video. You have left me with some questions. how come you used AV instead of manual, and the green button? Would the K1 made the copy math easier?
This type of bellows was originally developped for full frame 24x36 film cameras. With a full frame digital body and this type of bellows you don't run into bellows length limitations.
I’ll be honest with you, I was disappointed with scanning negs in the past, the dust was just simply ever present. Even “professional” scans from a lab sometimes left a lot to be desired. I’ve only ever done this with full frame cameras, however I expect for APS-C you’ll probably have tried to aim for a 1:1.5 reproduction.
I never use gloves, just handle the film on the edges with fingertips, never any issues. But I'm not eating a greasy pizza before scanning either, so that may help! lol