14
KITLIST
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ALL PICTURES © MATT PARRY
Light source
A light source is required
to illuminate the
negatives. This should
be evenly lit, diffused
and bright enough not to
slow shutter speed. It
could be as simple as an
iPad / tablet that is set
to a white screen, an LED
panel light or even a standard light box.
Or you may have some other kind of
lighting in your kit collection.
Digital camera
Most modern digital cameras
with interchangeable lenses
will do a great job. If you don’t
own one and will only use it
for scanning, look for a
cheap second-hand
Canon model like the
550D as it has native
macro lenses and
tethering capabilities.Macro lens
A macro lens that can achieve
1:1 magnification ratio is
essential for optimal scanning
results as focus needs to be
close enough for the negative
to fill the entire frame without
cropping in post-production.
Don’t try to get away with a
cheap zoom lens.
Copy stand
The camera needs to be kept
fixed and stable. It is possible
to use a tripod but a dedicated
copy stand is a much better
option. Negative Supply’s
‘Pro Riser’ is an
excellent choice.
If you already
own an enlarger you could
also adapt this.Soft ware
To convert your scanned negative into a positive,
there are numerous options available. A great option
for Lightroom users is Negative Lab Pro, a plug-in
for inverting and editing scanned negs. You can get
a free trial of 12 scans to see if it is right for you.
Technique
From analog
to digital m
This scanned image
was shot on Ilford
XP2 Super, using
an Olympus XA
film camera