{"id":4606,"date":"2019-09-02T19:17:50","date_gmt":"2019-09-02T19:17:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/michaelcsnell.com\/travelphotographyblog\/?p=4606"},"modified":"2023-01-23T23:37:03","modified_gmt":"2023-01-23T23:37:03","slug":"goodbye-scanner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/michaelcsnell.com\/travelphotographyblog\/index.php\/2019\/09\/02\/goodbye-scanner\/","title":{"rendered":"Gear: Goodbye Scanner? Hello Digitizer!"},"content":{"rendered":"[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” column_element_spacing=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]I shot film for a long time before digital photography came along.<\/strong> The transition was difficult for many photographers, but I had it a little easier because I had already been working as a graphic designer, sending transparencies out for scans and working with the resulting digital files in layout.<\/p>\n

I was still cautious in the early days of digital, however. I first bought an Apple Quicktake, then (I think) a Nikon 950, followed by a 990. My first DSLR was a Nikon D100 and, with that purchase, I began to seriously shoot digitally. I still shot film alongside digital, using my Nikon F100 film body, because some clients and publications were still uneasy about getting digital files from an assignment.<\/p>\n

My last international trip with film was to Ireland in October of 2002. Heightened security at the airports was making it more and more difficult to travel with film and avoid x-rays. Honestly, it was also nice to no longer have to worry about how much film to take, what ISOs to choose, the expense of processing it all afterward, etc., etc.<\/p>\n

This is a long way of saying that, until around 2003, I was shooting a lot of film. And I accumulated a great number of transparencies. I would occasionally get drum scans of key images, but it was too costly to go back and digitize everything. I had a Nikon Coolscan (I forget the model number — 4000?), followed by a Coolscan 5000 which I still own. These dedicated slide scanners worked well enough, but they were slow if you went to the effort of multi-pass scanning — a sort of HDR for scanners where it made several scans to improve shadow detail, etc. Then, there was the dust-spotting of the scans. If you think getting rid of a few spots created by dust on your sensor is bad, try scanning a piece of film with two surfaces that are sure to attract some dust, regardless of how much you use a blower on it.<\/p>\n

Scanning was never fun, but it was a necessity if you wanted to make use of your old archives. As scanners became hard to come by, I kept the old Coolscan 5000 along with the old tower Mac that it was connected to — via some cable or port that has long since disappeared from modern machines. Occasionally, when needed, I could fire the ancient Mac up and make a few scans. Less often had that been necessary as time marched on, but I still had some concerns about what to do when the old Mac or scanner finally gave up the ghost.<\/p>\n

Enter the Film Digitizing Adapter<\/h3>\n

Recently, I spotted the Nikon Film Digitizing Adapter ES-2<\/a> and thought I’d give it a try. It’s basically a tube that connects onto the front of a macro lens, with some frosted plastic on the front and a rack that lets you insert 35mm slides into the tube. You point it into a lightsource (which the frosted plastic softens and evens out) and take a photo of the slide. Brilliant. So simple.[\/vc_column_text][image_with_animation image_url=”4613″ animation=”Fade In” hover_animation=”none” alignment=”center” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” image_loading=”default” max_width=”75%” max_width_mobile=”default”][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”30″][vc_column_text]I had played with a similar DIY idea previously, shooting transparencies on a lightbox through a tunnel of black foamcore, and it was problematic — mostly with getting an even light source on my table. Would the ES-2 be any better?<\/p>\n

I have to say, the results are pretty darned good — and it’s so much faster than sitting there listening to the scanner chug along. Your results will be somewhat reliant on the camera and lens you use, of course — afterall, you’re basically taking a new photo — but what I’m getting from a Nikon D810 and a 60mm macro lens is pretty equal to that of my scanner. Perhaps better, because I’m actually ending up with a larger file, thanks to the 36 megapixel sensor, and there might be a bit more shadow detail as well. I’ll have to test some more, but I think there might be a little less texture being picked up from the emulsion itself. That’s something I always felt was a part of the Coolscan 5000 output that I didn’t see so much of in drum scans (probably because the film was suspended in oil for a drum scan, eliminating any texture issues from the film’s surface).<\/p>\n

Anyway… I’ll continue playing with the ES-2 and I’ll post a few more results in the future. For now, I’m pretty happy with it and my biggest disappointments are coming from the slides themselves. I have gotten used to the level of detail we have in digital files now, the silky-clean skies, the amazing shadow detail, and the sharpness! When I revisit some old slides that I was very happy with at the time, they now just look dark and soft to me. I have to admit, camera and lens technology has a come a long way and my work — and life — is the better for it.[\/vc_column_text][image_with_animation image_url=”4603″ animation=”Fade In” hover_animation=”none” alignment=”center” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” image_loading=”default” max_width=”75%” max_width_mobile=”default”][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”15″][vc_column_text]Above<\/strong> — A photo of Killarney on a frosty morning 0n that 2002 trip to Ireland. Below<\/strong> is a version I scanned on the Coolscan 5000 a few years ago, compared to the new digital copy on the right. I have made no intention to match color, etc. at this point, I’m just sharing the difference\/similarity in the detail and overall rendering.[\/vc_column_text][image_with_animation image_url=”4602″ animation=”Fade In” hover_animation=”none” alignment=”center” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” image_loading=”default” max_width=”75%” max_width_mobile=”default”][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”30″][vc_column_text]Below<\/strong> — One more from 2002 Ireland, this time a morning stroll through Adare. The image at the top of this post is a slide I shot in San Francisco in September of that same year.[\/vc_column_text][image_with_animation image_url=”4604″ animation=”Fade In” hover_animation=”none” alignment=”center” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” image_loading=”default” max_width=”75%” max_width_mobile=”default”][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”30″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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