A stitch in time..

[Ralph Turner]

@Stevenson Gawen thanks and thanks! Having had a bit more of a play, part of the issue seems to be the inevitable slight fall off of lens sharpness towards the edge of the frame. I’ve been using it at f6.7. When I took it down to f8 the issue improved a little bit (although the lens’s centre sharpness diminishes ever so slightly. At the end of the day, though, this is somewhat nitpicking. I increased the magnification slightly this evening and ended up with a resolution just shy of 4700 ppi. There is just so much detail there that I hadn’t seen before. The individual links of the chain on the right, weathered wood grain showing through the white struts, the mesh covering the thatch, the individual petals on the flowers..
As mentioned before I’m not likely to do this on a regular basis as even a single 24mp scan of these transparencies yields plenty for what I’m mostly doing with it all. If ever I need to print to the size of a large poster, though….
I’m not familiar with your slide copier but I would think your thoughts on it’s limited range for moving a slide are right unfortunately. Of course, a carefully set up tripod etc..

 

[Stevenson Gawen]

Don't tempt me to get into medium format...

This is my slide copier (random pic found online). I don't have the cable release or the measuring scales sadly, but the rest is all there.



I used a Pentax 50mm f1.7 to start with, but the corner sharpness wasn't very good.
Now using a Sigma 70-300.... I had to (reversibly) modify the mount for the slide copier attachment to allow more distance for the physically long lens, but apart from that it works very well. Still not as good as a real macro but good enough!

Edit: It takes negatives as well as slides - the slide holder flips down and the film fits into a channel behind it.

 

[Ralph Turner]

Very nice bit of kit! I think the words you mention are important- “good enough”. Being satisfied and happy with what can be achieved with what you have rather than forever caving the next step up. This scanning exercise was just a bit of fun to see what could be achieved. My max home printing capability is only up to A4 so the rest is for the most part overkill. All good fun

 

[Stevenson Gawen]

Very nice bit of kit! I think the words you mention are important- “good enough”. Being satisfied and happy with what can be achieved with what you have rather than forever caving the next step up. This scanning exercise was just a bit of fun to see what could be achieved. My max home printing capability is only up to A4 so the rest is for the most part overkill. All good fun

All agreed - although I feel I should clarify that by 'good enough' I meant for my use at the moment... not intending any criticism of your setup! I think quality is great if it's available. Gosh, I'm getting tangled here.... cheers!

 

[Ralph Turner]

@Stevenson Gawen It didn’t even occur to me that it could be taken as criticism, I took your comment purely as an observation of where you are with your setup at present so no worries at all. As I mentioned the large composite scans are not going to be a regular part of my workflow, it’s just there if I need/want it at any point to produce a large print. At A4 (the biggest I can print at home) a single 24mp scan is sufficient for the purpose and looks great.
I would imagine you get some pretty rock solid scans from your setup