Need assist with slide copying equipment

I have about 2000 slides that I want to digitize and would like to do it using my 7D2. Was thinking of getting the Canon 50mm f.1.8 STM lens and use extension tubes. I plan to mount the camera on a copy stand and place a Hall light box below for the slides to rest on. I took a few shots and the exposure works out well. Just can't get the camera close enough to capture just the slide and not the slide frame.

Does this sound like a good method? Anything else that I should be considering?

Thanks

It should work ok if you are at or near minimum focus on the lens and have a full set of extension tubes behind the lens (ie around 65mm). The magnification would then be greater than 1:1

Brian V.

If shooting 135 format slides onto APS-C, at most you need 0.62X. Actually, since some of the 24x36 image is covered by the slide mask, you can get away with a bit less. Put 30mm extension on 50mm focused at Infinity results in 0.60X, but you aren't likely to find that length of tube.

Combining the two shortest tubes in a typical set results in 33mm extension, which give 0.66X when the primary lens is focused at infinity.

Let us know how you get on. I have used a film scanner, the quality is good if the film image is good but it is rather slow.

The setup that you are planning will work well but you need to make sure that no light falls between the slide and the front of the lens to minimize the loss of contrast. I have done quite a few copies, not by using a light box but with an external flashgun bounced off a white background

Slides are relatively easy but colour negatives are more of a problem because you have to overcome the colour cast. Easy to do if you know the right routine but takes a lot of experimenting otherwise.

Ramon-uk wrote in post #18269737
The setup that you are planning will work well but you need to make sure that no light falls between the slide and the front of the lens to minimize the loss of contrast. I have done quite a few copies, not by using a light box but with an external flashgun bounced off a white background

Slides are relatively easy but colour negatives are more of a problem because you have to overcome the colour cast. Easy to do if you know the right routine but takes a lot of experimenting otherwise.

That's a good point. An advantage of a film scanner over the above setup is:

a) The SW often has the colour profiles for the film stock used (slide and negative)
b) they often include a infrared channel for auto removal of dust and scratches, this can work quite well.

This is the one I am using if you find you want to try a different approach, they are available from several mail order suppliers
http://plustek.com …nners/opticfilm​-8200i-se/

B&H: Scanning Film: A Buying Guide includes links.

2017
Preserve What's Priceless With The World's Fastest Photo Scanner*
FastFoto™ FF-640 High-Speed Photo Scanning System
https://epson.com …picture-scanning-software

2008-2010 thread Scanning 35mm slides includes links.

The best way to color correct C-41 negative film scans
https://www.iamthejeff​.com …-c-41-negative-film-scans
https://photography-on-the.net …/showthread.php​?t=1472328

https://www.google.com​/#q=bowens+illumitran

Just got the Kenko tubes today and attached the 20mm tubes between a 50D and a 24-105L lens. It zooms in very good on 35mm slides and with the lightbox I get good light. Took a while to get everything level and square. Using a CS-14 lightstand. Been playing around with the camera settings and was wondering if a 50mm 1.8 STM lens would give me a better photo? The copies I have taken today have turned out very good as reviewed on the computer and Lightroom. I want to set this up so I can go through slides quickly without having to look through the viewfinder each time to see if the zoom has moved on me. That's why I'm considering the 50mm prime.

Your thoughts would be appreciated.

just buy a Canoscan 9000F, they're super cheap($150 new).

It will work so much better than DSLR scanning, I did that for years, then finally got a actual scanner and regretted not buying it sooner.

You can sell it after you're done, they hold on to their value very well, heck I bet you could still get $150 for it used on CL.

marchboom wrote in post #18272912
and was wondering if a 50mm 1.8 STM lens would give me a better photo? The copies I have taken today have turned out very good as reviewed on the computer and Lightroom.

Most 'conventional' lenses are optimized to work well with subject distances to about 9-10X FL, and after that they might suffer too much from curvature of field to work well with flat art; or they might have too much chromatic abberations and focus different wavelengths of light differently. That is why APO designs and 'macro' lenses work better. While an STM might be better optimized than a zoom to minimize vignetting and pincushion/barrel distortion, it is likely not ideal for flat field work without chromatic abberations...which is why flipping a lens around so its rear optics are in front is often done, as that side is designed for short distance to the focal plane...but you lose aperture control when doing that with an electronically controlled lens like the Canon EF lenses.

Many thanks to all who offered assistance. My final (I think) setup is a 20mm tube and the 24-105L lens. I made an L shaped fixture out of Luan plywood and taped it to the Hall lightbox. This allows me to center the slide perfectly. I use a wireless shutter release, a 2 sec. delay and the mirror locked up to reduce vibration. So far it's working out well and it's fast.

At first using auto focus, it would not get a lock on the slide. So I found a business card with detail and put it under the lens. Now the camera gets a focus and locks on. I then switch to manual focus and start coping.

I am wondering one kind of quality results one may get out of a typical zoom lens not designed for macro work? It would be great if you can show some results.

You have got your solution but I would like to add my feedback since other people may come across this message. I was trying to resolve the same puzzle recently and here isone of the solutions I tried: I have got a Sony 90mm macro lens which I wanted to use to copy my old stock film and slides. I made the following copy stand:

I used a pole I had got which belonged to an enlarger. I installed on a board I bought from Ikea and replaced the shade attached to the moving holder and cut and installed a rectangular wooden plate to have my camera attached to it. THe result works well if one pays extra care and attention toeliminate the vibrations. Pressing the shutter button on the camera creates too much vibration in this setup. To avoid that,I used my phone a remote control for the camera (with Sony's remote control app) or, I used the 10sec selftimer on the camera. I put a light box on the base plate andcover it with a black paper only with a hole for the film or slide to be lit.