Dec 18, 2017
self scan
by matt
My first attempt at ‘scanning’ a 35mm film negative in order to digitise it… My tripod + DSLR + 150mm macro lens above an LED back-lit 35mm film holder. The technique was one involving a lot of faffing about, but I’m sure it will improve over time – I hope :-) Getting the colours as close as I could to the film equivalent was one of frustration (often the case for first time negative DIY scanners like me). I use Digikam and RawTherapee for my digital workflow, and using Digikam’s spot white balance tool plus colour invert function, followed by some colour auto-correction, gave me a pretty good approximation to the original [a very good starting point]. A small tweak using the Curves tool to try and obtain the same colour as the film version, and I was happy-ish (although note to self – do try to remember to blow dust off the negative before photographing it!). Sounds simple. I think it took me several hours reading up and experimentation before I found what I’m pleased to say is a relative simple way to get reasonably good results. But – they’re never quite as good as the original. That’s the beauty of film :-)
Salts Mill | Kodak Portra 400