DPReview TV: Scan film negatives with the Nikon ES-2

I just don't understand why so many people insist on using the misnomer. Everyone knows that this isn't scanning. Nobody would accept it if I would have said, "I am going to scan some photos at the wedding with my new Z6." Nor would it be acceptable to say, "I am printing this photo on my 4K big screen TV." A strange world.

don't understand, why digitizing analog material is still so inadequate, timeconsuming and painful in 2020.

I have about 12k of framed color slides - mostly Kodachrome 64 plus some Ektachrome - waiting to be digitized. Don't understand, why there is no reliable, simple, powerful and fast batch scanner and matching "AI"-software that takes care of things.

I don't see why there is not a single machine available, with slide magazine loading, fast scan time - lets say about 1 sec/image in highest quality setting [6000x4000 pixels, proper DR / color profile settings automatically applied], effective "autofill" scratch and dust removal, JPG and HEIC output file format [forget TIFFS] and at an affordable price, lets say € 999 for hardware plus software license.

Instead the stuipid industry keep launching some additional manual focus lens every day and more video features in every single stills camera. Don't need any of that.

If you like to use that with Z6 or Z7 you can use Nikon Picture Control Utility to set up an inverse setting. So you can have live view of BW and Color negatives and keep the extra control you get by using RAW.

I have an ancient “Spiratone” slide copier, basically a close-up lens with variable distance between lens and film plane and from lens to subject. All in a rigid tube, and since it’s f/11 or so, it’s pretty sharp. But it lacks a negative carrier.

I could use it or I could buy this new rig. If I do, can I mount it on my OM-D EM5ii using the Oly 60mm macro lens?

I use a similar, selfbuilt device for years to do makeshift digitizing of old analog material. I use Canon DSLRs (APS-C) with the excellent EF-S 60mm macro. The easy way to have good backlighting is simply using a flash and any white wall as a reflector. Works a breeze. Have fun.

Did I get it right that the cameras' digitiser mode can't save both the corrected JPEG and uncorrected RAW? What were they thinking?!?

If I'm finished digitizing my negatives I have to go to a repair center for a shutter replacement. :-))

TV;DW

Oh, I do miss the days of actual typed up reviews. Oh well, nice product nonetheless

Why did it take so long for someone to make this?

My father shot slides of my sister and I growing up. He started this in 1955. After he died in 2008 I looked at about 3000 slides and selected 120 to digitize. I tried a slide scanner but that was very tedious. I set the project aside. Late 2018 I bought a Z6, macro and the ES2 adapter. in short I had terrible results. The Z6 could not manual or auto focus to save its life. SOLD! I then tried a D7500, 40mm macro and the ES2 adapter. What a difference from the Z6. Near perfect results every time with just auto focus. I took the RAW files into Photoshop, made some small adjustments and then made 3x5 prints with a Canon dye-sub printer. The result was like taking film to a drug store for developing and getting prints 60 years ago.
The D7500 plus the 40mm macro and the ES2 adapter cost me a total of $1100. If you have slides and you want to digitize them, I highly recommend the arrangement I used (D7500, 40mm macro and ES2 adapter).

I think Nikon would be much more successful with a new scanner. With new sensor technology and today fast chips and prices for sure they could come out with an affordable and fast solution that would trump this ES-2 solution.....

Nice device to have available, but after watching the video, I’m glad I kept my Nikon LS-IV scanner, and really happy that Vuescan works with a 19 year old device. I did use my Epson V700 to scan multiple slides simultaneously when going through my old collection.

I have an ES-2, but have not found it easy to get accurate colour from Negs using a D-810. The results are good, but need a lot of work. Do I really need a D-850?

My old Konica/Minolta 5400-II neg scanner delivers noticeably superior detail and tonality, with stronger more vivid colours.

However, one big benefit of the ES-2 using a diffused light source is - dust and scratches are much less obvious with silver-halide B&W films, compared to a dedicated neg scanner.

The use of a small highly directional led light source in neg scanners ensures that dust and marks are emphasised/exaggerated. Grain too.

ICE dust/scratch removal software largely hides the problem with C41 and E6 emulsions, but ICE doesn't work with silver-halide B&W or Kodachrome.

With the ES-2 having a diffused light source, you don't have issues with dust and scratches to anything like the same degree. Great!

Also, once you've got the ES-2 set up, you can digitise your negs/slides very quickly.

Nice gallery.Black White and colors look real good.

I have an ES-1. To use it on my APS-C camera with the 60 f2.8D lens I simply got a bunch of 52mm magnification filters off Ebay (really cheap), broke the glass out of them and made a stack sufficient to get a whole 35mm slide in the frame. This same thing would work for an ES-2.

I am looking for a low cost alternative to this thing.

Where are Spiratone and Vivitar when you need them!

TEdolph

Over the past year or two I've been using the ES-1 with 2½" of extension tube on the Olympus µ4/3 60mm macro lens, digitizing colour slides as a volunteer for our local museum.

The quality of manufacture of the ES-1 was poor and necessitated repacking the telescopic tubes to remove wobble and maintain uniform focus across the slide, but once done the device is quite satisfactory. I used plumber's thread-seal tape for the job: thin enough to build just the right thickness, bonds to itself with no adhesive, and is slippery enough to permit adjustment. Hopefully, the ES-2 doesn't have this problem.

On the 16MP EM-1 the result is 128 P/mm (3250 dpi). I have found the best light for slides is a clear sky on a bright day. Pan negatives are easy enough to invert but I have not been very successful with colour negatives.

I do have this adapter and find it very handy for digitizing. The workflow is fast and convenient except for inverting negatives (appropriate threads discussing the issue can be found on a new DPReview's dedicated film forum). It is a pity Nikon does not include an appropriate picture profile in every of their DSLRs and now mirrorless cameras. That would be a certain plus of any Nikon camera and a competitive advantage. With an awakening interest in film photography that could bring some additional support for total sales. D850 and D780 do have a special mode but you get only jpegs and this is understandable since picture controls can be copied and used to process images from any camera.
But anyway if you own a Nikon camera and you are a film photography fan or have an analog archive it is worth spending some extra dollars (around USD160 for the adapter (depending on the country you live in) and USD150-300 for a suitable used macro lens).

That Pasta/Espresso photo is a work of genius. Thanks for sharing.

I scanned thousands of my more interesting 24x36 films and slides on a Coolscan IV years ago (drove me crazy but the results were good). Then I scanned hundreds more of my 6x6 films and slides on an Epson flatbed (left me feeling I was not getting the best possible result). For the past 12 months I've been scanning the remaining unimportant 24x36 négatives on my D850 with the 60mm and the ES-2. It's much quicker than the Coolscan. The results vary from very good (with Professional Fuji NPH 400 colour negative film) to abysmal (typically with older amateur colour negative film like Kodak Gold). If it's not coming out right then there's not a I can do. When I've finished the 24x36 then I will try the remaining 6x6 films on the D850+60mm using the film holder from the flatbed scanner and a light table.

8 minutes to explain such a simple task? Why? What is it about video reviews, most are a complete waste of space.

I`ve got one of these in M42 or Tamron Adaptall from the 70s somewhere . has the optics built in ready to go .. they were for turning slides into prints back in the day , stunned that Nikon have re-invented the thing after all this time

You need a good macro lens if you want to use this adapter.

Since buying the ES-2 to use with my D850, I've stopped scanning 35mm on my Nikon Super Coolscan 8000ED.

It wasn't a difficult decision. A fraction of the time, and a 47MP file versus 16MP. The scanner does only 6x6 and 6x7 now.

Chris analog shots look way better than what we see nowadays in those dpreview episodes, but maybe he had more time to shoot in the past...

Something to be aware of in any dust lurking on the INSIDE of the opaque light diffuser is so close to a slide or negative that it usually gets recorded on the digital photo.

If you mounted slides in GE-PE glass or glassless mounts they are usually too thick to fit in the Nikon slide holder.
A solution is to dispense with the slide holder and use a second empty slide mount above the original slide mount to obtain appropriate spacing.

Even though I understand optimal results are probably to be had from RAW I still badly want the digitizer-mode for my Z6.

Firmware update digitizer plz!

I'll never go back to scanners. I've had it with end-lesslessly unreliable hardware and their associated buggy underdeveloped software and drivers. You may not love Adobe but I guarantee they put more effort into their products than any of those scanner software developers.

A good macro lens and digital camera are easily a match for the resolution and DR of any film I've ever used and I've got a raw file I can process to taste rather than a pre-cooked tiff.

It takes a little while to sort out a system but once you've got it dialed in it's much faster as well.

Need to check your light source as colour balance is off on all the colour ones. The scans do not look that great compare to a dedicated 35mm scanner like a Minolta 5400 running either Vuescan or Silverfast.

Really disappointed with the video. I had (still have) many old slides and wanted to digitize them. The adopter made life very easy. I set up my D820 on a tripod and used an external flash set on manual. Nikon's 60 mm lens was set on f/8. Focus was manual, and did not change. Off I went. Everything was in focus. And in RAW. My only problem was removing and putting back the slides from the slide carousel. Dpreview made the process sould much harder than it really is. Boredom will be the enemy of the process.

Is it just my impression or Chris was a (much?) better photographer in the film days?

Lots of impressive images in this gallery, which I don't feel quite the same for his current galleries on digital (at least here in DPR).

That guy with the guitar shot is just epic!