I just finished building this. I came across this because I recently retired and in the process of captureing all my "old" photographs for the family, etc. This works like a charm. It took several trips to find the "right" container. I used a fan out of an old PC. I didn't use the lights. Instead I bought two small table lamps and sunlight LED bulbs. I added the switch. Can't thank you enough for posting this. It was a fun project, now comes the work of capturing the pictures. THANKS!
My mother was also a photographer -- a pioneer of the antiquarian photography movement who taught at ICP and I also have hundreds of images to copy. Thank you for this tutorial. Not sure I can follow all of it, but will try.
Found it. I really like your idea. Thank you for taking the time to document this process. I have thousands of pictures from my family to digitize and this will make the process much faster. I did create it with a fan that did not move enough air. Now that I have located the bigger fan, I know this will be just what I needed.
This is a nice project. I made one using MDF pegboard. My vacuum source was a small hand vac cleaner that I had laying around. I cut a hole the size of the tube in the side of the box and inserted the vac hose into it. There was more suction than I needed, but worked really well. Low vibration can be damped with foam rubber gasket. These are just some alternative ideas that might help in making this project.
Hi James, sorry for the delay. The white piece is what I call a vacuum mask but don't bother to mention it. It is just a piece of paper that I cut out to fit the outline picture size I am copying. It stops up the other holes in the plate and increases the vacuum in the spot under the picture. I usually use it when I have a lot of pictures all of the same size.
Thanks, I also have an old enlarger column used for printing press plate making. Because I have gotten a 18Meg pixel camera since I posted this . . . I have wanted to try to make one like you describe so I could copy perhaps 20-40 pictures at a time.
Thanks, the light I suggested are already obsolete with the advent of the cheap led lights. I recommend using CN-LUX360 lights which are available cheaply on Ebay and are also useful for other photography projects.
Thanks. Thanks for the info. I came from a offset printing background where huge negatives and thin metal plates require such a vacuum holding mechanism. In that area they tend to say "stands, or plattens or plates". I am also a photographer and a videographer but have never needed such a device. You are right, "easel" is the common term for that device that somehow is rare used for either photography or printing. Sorry for the confusion.
I am just seeing this video many years after it was created and it looks great. Do you have any hints on camera setup? like, what lens, is there a particular F stop that works best? shutter speed, exposure? I appreciate any help you might have. Thanks!
I just set it on auto everything except white balance. You really need to do that manually. A 1080P video camera works really well. The key is to make sure the camera lense is level to the copy bed. Many cameras have an auto balance feature to help with this. or you can make a special blocked end tube to go between your final setup distance and the bed. You just set the camera lens on the tube and lock everything down and remove the tube.
Thank you SO much for the tutorial. I'm not so much of a constructor, so I'm giving this to my husband to build. I'll gather the items though. What type of fan is that? Or rather, where would I go to get one? I saw another commenter stated the PC fan wasn't strong enough. Suggestions? Also, 13 W CFLs will do the trick?
I am doing some copy work and would like some basic info like what size lens is good. How does one deal with any glare on the photo. If I don't have lights laying around what are some decent ones to buy? I like your setup. Too bad the battery operated lights did not work out. It would have made it "wireless."
Since you would have to light them from below, I would say no. But I see what you want and it would be a good idea if you could figure out how to do it.
Nice! Too bad they don't have a way to make money like TH-cam does. I like the format - I hate watching a video just to learn the steps in a process. I would rather see the steps first and then go to a video if there is more in depth understanding required.
Fantastic idea. I am definitely making on a these. Make sure you read the post that I replied to another fan with, regarding my slide digitizer. Better yet... Here's a copy of the post, so you don't have to search for it. I built a slide digitizer that works perfectly. I will have to make a video showing the construction process. (TH-cam channel is Gordwing.. check back once in a while for the video) The finished slide digitizer works incredibly well. Here is the digitizer before all of the finished shades and guards were installed: gordongreene.com/photogallery/displayimage.php?album=97&pid=4997#top_display_media Here is a link to one of the finished photographs of one of my old slides. Keep in mind that this is a photographic copy of a 35mm color slide. This is one of the finished product... This is a 40 year old slide of my Pop in Hawaii. gordongreene.com/photogallery/displayimage.php?album=97&pid=4970#top_display_media I'm still working on the setup for copying negatives. I have ordered a 35mm film holder to try to make some type of negative copier as I have tons of old family heirloom photos in negative form to digitize.
+GordWing FYI the fan is hard to find so you might want to substitute this inexensive blower and a small section of hose in the link below. Also you can use LED panel available from Electronics Goldmine that are much better that what originally did. Just search for LED Panel. www.sunplay.com/intex-quick-fill-electric-air-pump-66619e?gclid=Cj0KEQiArou2BRDcoN_c6NDI3oMBEiQANeix5pe0WO9SfgUU4lefkcfqGDdqg_QjrFW9-fOcVa5pEWMaAgaq8P8HAQ
I just finished building this. I came across this because I recently retired and in the process of captureing all my "old" photographs for the family, etc. This works like a charm. It took several trips to find the "right" container. I used a fan out of an old PC. I didn't use the lights. Instead I bought two small table lamps and sunlight LED bulbs. I added the switch. Can't thank you enough for posting this. It was a fun project, now comes the work of capturing the pictures. THANKS!
My mother was also a photographer -- a pioneer of the antiquarian photography movement who taught at ICP and I also have hundreds of images to copy. Thank you for this tutorial. Not sure I can follow all of it, but will try.
Found it. I really like your idea. Thank you for taking the time to document this process. I have thousands of pictures from my family to digitize and this will make the process much faster. I did create it with a fan that did not move enough air. Now that I have located the bigger fan, I know this will be just what I needed.
This is a nice project. I made one using MDF pegboard. My vacuum source was a small hand vac cleaner that I had laying around. I cut a hole the size of the tube in the side of the box and inserted the vac hose into it. There was more suction than I needed, but worked really well. Low vibration can be damped with foam rubber gasket. These are just some alternative ideas that might help in making this project.
Nice Idea. Thanks for the tutorial. The rubbermaid base is a good idea. I think the joint between wire and plastic seems a bad fit.
Hi James, sorry for the delay. The white piece is what I call a vacuum mask but don't bother to mention it. It is just a piece of paper that I cut out to fit the outline picture size I am copying. It stops up the other holes in the plate and increases the vacuum in the spot under the picture. I usually use it when I have a lot of pictures all of the same size.
Thanks, I also have an old enlarger column used for printing press plate making. Because I have gotten a 18Meg pixel camera since I posted this . . . I have wanted to try to make one like you describe so I could copy perhaps 20-40 pictures at a time.
Thanks, the light I suggested are already obsolete with the advent of the cheap led lights. I recommend using CN-LUX360 lights which are available cheaply on Ebay and are also useful for other photography projects.
Thanks. Thanks for the info. I came from a offset printing background where huge negatives and thin metal plates require such a vacuum holding mechanism. In that area they tend to say "stands, or plattens or plates". I am also a photographer and a videographer but have never needed such a device. You are right, "easel" is the common term for that device that somehow is rare used for either photography or printing. Sorry for the confusion.
I am just seeing this video many years after it was created and it looks great. Do you have any hints on camera setup? like, what lens, is there a particular F stop that works best? shutter speed, exposure? I appreciate any help you might have. Thanks!
I just set it on auto everything except white balance. You really need to do that manually. A 1080P video camera works really well. The key is to make sure the camera lense is level to the copy bed. Many cameras have an auto balance feature to help with this. or you can make a special blocked end tube to go between your final setup distance and the bed. You just set the camera lens on the tube and lock everything down and remove the tube.
Thank you SO much for the tutorial. I'm not so much of a constructor, so I'm giving this to my husband to build. I'll gather the items though. What type of fan is that? Or rather, where would I go to get one? I saw another commenter stated the PC fan wasn't strong enough. Suggestions? Also, 13 W CFLs will do the trick?
I am doing some copy work and would like some basic info like what size lens is good. How does one deal with any glare on the photo. If I don't have lights laying around what are some decent ones to buy? I like your setup. Too bad the battery operated lights did not work out. It would have made it "wireless."
Some of the CONTAX film cameras,like RTS III,featured the unique vacuum pressure plate for film.
I am not finding a fan motor. Where would I find something like that? I tried a computer fan and it does not pull enough air.
Do you think it's possible to adapt the vacuum principle for negatives and unmounted slides?
Since you would have to light them from below, I would say no. But I see what you want and it would be a good idea if you could figure out how to do it.
+generic user name Sorry, I just re-read your post saying "unmounted slides" My digitizer is for mounted slides... Sorry...
Nice video, thanks for taking the time to share!
Copyed hundreds of photos in a photo lab where I worked we just used a two light setup with a large non glare glass..It kept the photos flat .
Good stuff. Will do. Lights, too. Thanks.
Thanks for the video. good tips looking to do something similar so very helpful.
Very nice - thanks for sharing
Great video, thanks
Nice! Too bad they don't have a way to make money like TH-cam does. I like the format - I hate watching a video just to learn the steps in a process. I would rather see the steps first and then go to a video if there is more in depth understanding required.
Fantastic idea. I am definitely making on a these. Make sure you read the post that I replied to another fan with, regarding my slide digitizer. Better yet... Here's a copy of the post, so you don't have to search for it.
I built a slide digitizer that works perfectly. I will have to make a video showing the construction process. (TH-cam channel is Gordwing.. check back once in a while for the video) The finished slide digitizer works incredibly well. Here is the digitizer before all of the finished shades and guards were installed: gordongreene.com/photogallery/displayimage.php?album=97&pid=4997#top_display_media Here is a link to one of the finished photographs of one of my old slides. Keep in mind that this is a photographic copy of a 35mm color slide. This is one of the finished product... This is a 40 year old slide of my Pop in Hawaii. gordongreene.com/photogallery/displayimage.php?album=97&pid=4970#top_display_media I'm still working on the setup for copying negatives. I have ordered a 35mm film holder to try to make some type of negative copier as I have tons of old family heirloom photos in negative form to digitize.
+GordWing FYI the fan is hard to find so you might want to substitute this inexensive blower and a small section of hose in the link below. Also you can use LED panel available from Electronics Goldmine that are much better that what originally did. Just search for LED Panel.
www.sunplay.com/intex-quick-fill-electric-air-pump-66619e?gclid=Cj0KEQiArou2BRDcoN_c6NDI3oMBEiQANeix5pe0WO9SfgUU4lefkcfqGDdqg_QjrFW9-fOcVa5pEWMaAgaq8P8HAQ
Hi, "photogallery" part of your site is down.