Slide copying/digitizing with D3300
- Thread starter Lee R
- Start date
Bikerbrent_RIP
Senior Member
Welcome aboard. Enjoy the ride.
We look forward to seeing more posts and samples of your work.
I have only used a scanner to digitize slides, but someone else will be along shortly to help you out.
We look forward to seeing more posts and samples of your work.
I have only used a scanner to digitize slides, but someone else will be along shortly to help you out.
Fred Kingston_RIP
Senior Member
Google "Nikon ES-1" It's a slide holder/viewer that's adjustable and attaches to the front of a lens like a filter, and does a better job than an extension tube... Aim it at a light with a slide and take a full resolution image of your slides. You can usually find them on eBay... <-- I just sold one there last week for about 90% of what I paid for it...
Fred, will the ES-1 work properly with a DX-format camera like Lee's D3300? I looked into using the ES-1 with my D5100 and I (perhaps mistakenly) determined that the DX-format view wasn't compatible with the ES-1. If it will work and capture the entire image without cropping, I'd be interested too. Thanks!
Fred Kingston_RIP
Senior Member
According to the Nikon site's Question & Answers, DX isn't an issue... You do need a macro lens.
Although I usually go the scanner route, I have also used my PB-6 bellows, slide attachment and 50mm f/2.8 Micro Nikkor
This is an image from a High Speed Ektachrome slide from a Heart concert back in 1977 that I copied with the above setup and a small output studio flash for lighting. It worked like a champ!
This is an image from a High Speed Ektachrome slide from a Heart concert back in 1977 that I copied with the above setup and a small output studio flash for lighting. It worked like a champ!
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Sorry to be late for the party, but the ES-1 on DX does need about 20 mm of extension between lens and ES-1 (to frame the slide fully), but is otherwise very fully compatible with DX.
See my site at Scanning thousands of slides? Try a digital camera for info about the extension.
I've used a setup similar to Wayne's, with great success. I use an old Nikon 55mm macro lens (can get cheap on fleabay), a Nikon PK13 extension tube (27.5mm extension), A different slide holder gizmo I happened to find, and enough misc extensions (old filter rings) between the front of the lens and the slide holder to get the right magnification (35mm slide to DX sensor). The total distance from the front of the lens' filter ring to the slide is about 85mm.
A relative of mine uses a 50mm AF prime lens, with a 25mm AF extension. Works well too.
I use this on a D5100, but any DX camera would work as well. For light source I got the best results with direct sunshine hitting the frosted cover of the slide holder. I use manual exposure, around 1/4 to 1/30 sec at f/16 of f/11 at ISO 200. Perhaps f/16 is close to having diffraction issues so f/11 may be better but I don't see a difference. I use a high f-number to try and get some depth of field, since the old slides are often not flat.
If the slide has high contrast (common with Kodachrome) I find that using the camera's HDR helps. (The D5100 has HDR, the D3300 does not.) Assign HDR to the Fn button for easy access.
I use the full camera resolution (16 megapixels in the case of the D5100), but usually later in post-processing resize to half-rez because my old 35mm slides are rarely sharp enough to justify more than 2-4 megapixels. Maybe yours are better.
I also crop, and use Smart Curves and the "Wire Worm" plug-ins - the latter mostly to remove dust that always finds its way to the slide, despite my trying to clean each one (with rubber air blower, and sometimes a soft brush) before I put it in the holder. (Those plug-ins are for Photoshop but I use them in Irfanview.)
Alas those "thousands of slides" are taking me years to go through. But it's fun to revive some of the old photos. And send digital copies to family.
A relative of mine uses a 50mm AF prime lens, with a 25mm AF extension. Works well too.
I use this on a D5100, but any DX camera would work as well. For light source I got the best results with direct sunshine hitting the frosted cover of the slide holder. I use manual exposure, around 1/4 to 1/30 sec at f/16 of f/11 at ISO 200. Perhaps f/16 is close to having diffraction issues so f/11 may be better but I don't see a difference. I use a high f-number to try and get some depth of field, since the old slides are often not flat.
If the slide has high contrast (common with Kodachrome) I find that using the camera's HDR helps. (The D5100 has HDR, the D3300 does not.) Assign HDR to the Fn button for easy access.
I use the full camera resolution (16 megapixels in the case of the D5100), but usually later in post-processing resize to half-rez because my old 35mm slides are rarely sharp enough to justify more than 2-4 megapixels. Maybe yours are better.
I also crop, and use Smart Curves and the "Wire Worm" plug-ins - the latter mostly to remove dust that always finds its way to the slide, despite my trying to clean each one (with rubber air blower, and sometimes a soft brush) before I put it in the holder. (Those plug-ins are for Photoshop but I use them in Irfanview.)
Alas those "thousands of slides" are taking me years to go through. But it's fun to revive some of the old photos. And send digital copies to family.
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Wild Bill (emeritus)
New member
I have a d3300.
I have a ton of my dad's slides, from air force flight days.
Any one out there with a D3300 and have used the ES-2 extension?
thanks
I have a ton of my dad's slides, from air force flight days.
Any one out there with a D3300 and have used the ES-2 extension?
thanks
Fred Kingston_RIP
Senior Member
I've not used a D3300 for that, but have used other camera bodies to do it. It's not a function of the body as much as it is the lens. You're basically taking a macro shot of the slide at your camera's resolution... lens and software to edit the results are the important factors, not the body.
BF Hammer
Senior Member
I am looking at this device lately. https://www.valoi.co/easy35
It is not so specific with filter threads since it comes with adapters to fit. Comes with a film negative holder (which is what I'm interested in) and a 35mm slide holder is available as an add-on. It has it's own light source which is a weakness of the Nikon ES-1 and ES-2. The Nikon adapters need a consistent white light source to aim at. But that can be done with an app on a phone.
The recommended lens for the Nikon ES-2 and a DX body is the 60mm macro lens. They are around to buy used. The Valoi scanner adapter recommends a macro lens between 40mm and 70mm with a DX body like a D3300. So again, the Nikon micro 60mm would be a wise choice.
It is not so specific with filter threads since it comes with adapters to fit. Comes with a film negative holder (which is what I'm interested in) and a 35mm slide holder is available as an add-on. It has it's own light source which is a weakness of the Nikon ES-1 and ES-2. The Nikon adapters need a consistent white light source to aim at. But that can be done with an app on a phone.
The recommended lens for the Nikon ES-2 and a DX body is the 60mm macro lens. They are around to buy used. The Valoi scanner adapter recommends a macro lens between 40mm and 70mm with a DX body like a D3300. So again, the Nikon micro 60mm would be a wise choice.
I think that the decision on what option to use should also include the quantity of slides at hand. I had thousands, so having to load, focus and shoot each slide would have taken months, maybe years. Remember too that scanning them is only just the beginning, as they'll all require editing to make them look as good as they can be. This takes longer than the scanning, so the time commitment can be enormous. I chose the Epson V800, which has since been obsoleted by the newer V850. The other option is commercial scanning, but it's expensive and I feared losing my slides.
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