Is a 12 Megapixel, ancient Nikon D300 DSLR a viable option for scanning 35mm film? Especially paired with a cheap 1:2 macro lens? Let’s find out
The Setup:
My dad, an avid woodworker, helped me make a copy stand so that I could use my DSLR to copy newspapers for my thesis research. It’s a beautful oak affair — I’ll post photos sometime soon. The rest of the physical setup is a bit more janky — I have an old film holder from a flatbed scanner that I suspend above my laptop screen with a white image with whatever I have lying around. One day, I’ll get a Lomo DigitalLIZA or something similar.
For the camera, I use the Nikon D300. The D300 was a very highly regarded professional level crop-sensor DSLR when it was released… in 2007. I bought mine in early 2022 for about $160 in extremely good, nearly new condition from B&H’s used store.
I’ve previously used a Nikon DX 40mm f/2.8 Macro. Unfortunately, that lens got permanently borrowed from my car without my permission by somebody I don’t know. I’ll post more about it at some point, but it was awesome. Still, I wanted something, so I bought a used 55mm f/3.5 Micro-Nikkor from KEH for about $45. Forgot to buy the extension tube, and without it, it only goes to 1:2 reproduction ratio. This is not quite enough to fill the frame even on a crop-sensor camera. Once cropped, the D300’s 12 megapixels make about an 8 megapixel scan. Here’s uncropped (but resized) scan. To maximize resolution, I shoot in aperture priority, ISO 200 (base for the D300), and set the lens at f/11.
(note that the images you get when you click on the files will be a reduced resolution copy. I’ve included a few 100% 800×600 pixel crops that should show full-size if you click on them.)
Cropped, rotated, and processed, it looks like this: (NX Studio export, 75% JPG — originally shot on a Pentax K1000 with a Vivitar 28mm f/2.8 lens on Fujicolor 100)
How good can you see the individual film grains? Here’s a 100% crop from the top-left side of the image…
Here’s one shot on an Olympus 35DC on Kodak Ektar 100. Cropped and processed the same way.
Another crop from the top-left
And just for fun, a shot with an Olympus Stylus Infinity on Arista 200
So is the ancient DSLR usable for this task? I’d say absolutely. I’m planning on getting the extension tube for the Macro lens so that I can eek out a bit more resolution. That being said, I think this current setup works fine. Total cost to get into a similar setup would be under $200, for a bargain grade body, lens, with memory cards, etc. Add $50 for a film holder, and ensure you get the M2 or PK13 extension tube.
I’ll post an update once I get the extension tube.
