Godfrey
Well-known member
I took on a project this past weekend: scan at least to a proof resolution my entire processed Minox subminiature negative library. I shot about 50 or so rolls of Minox 8x11 film between 1996 and 2002, it's been on my mind for a long time that I'd never really seen most of those negatives as anything other than a negative image that I look at with a high-powered loupe.
I store the negatives in classic Minox negative sleeves ... one sleeve holds a roll of film cut into strips of 10 and is about the size of a 4x6 print. They're clear with channels and frame numbering. Hmm. So I set up the scanner to use the transparency illuminator and run at 2400 ppi, set up the exposure and cropping parameters, and scanned all fifty rolls into high resolution JPEGs. They're a little cumbersome to scroll through in that form, so now I'm working my way through the set in Lightroom ... making a virtual copy cropped to each frame with individualized IPTC annotation and exposure adjustments, which I then roll out to a set of JPEG proofs. Ultimately, I'll be able to sort, grade and search through these negatives for the top notch picks that I'll re-capture with my macro setup into 6 Mpixel digital image files.
The results are proving to be terrific! I'm so jazzed by what I'm seeing that it's inspired me to pull my old favorites, a well-used now Minox EC and a pristine Minox C, out of storage, fit a battery and load them up with film. I'm down to 10 frames left with the EC now ...
I guess that means I'll have to mix developer and fixer again soon. ;-)
I store the negatives in classic Minox negative sleeves ... one sleeve holds a roll of film cut into strips of 10 and is about the size of a 4x6 print. They're clear with channels and frame numbering. Hmm. So I set up the scanner to use the transparency illuminator and run at 2400 ppi, set up the exposure and cropping parameters, and scanned all fifty rolls into high resolution JPEGs. They're a little cumbersome to scroll through in that form, so now I'm working my way through the set in Lightroom ... making a virtual copy cropped to each frame with individualized IPTC annotation and exposure adjustments, which I then roll out to a set of JPEG proofs. Ultimately, I'll be able to sort, grade and search through these negatives for the top notch picks that I'll re-capture with my macro setup into 6 Mpixel digital image files.
The results are proving to be terrific! I'm so jazzed by what I'm seeing that it's inspired me to pull my old favorites, a well-used now Minox EC and a pristine Minox C, out of storage, fit a battery and load them up with film. I'm down to 10 frames left with the EC now ...
I guess that means I'll have to mix developer and fixer again soon. ;-)