Setting up the new studio

Made some progress today...

Wow - that looks great. Congrats! Your setup seems very sophisticated. Mine looks a bit like a Fisher Price version of that. 😅

What is the device your HR Digaron lens is pointing towards?

Hi,

Jim has a super scanner there. One day, I wanna make one myself. All I have is an old Nikon PB-4, PS-4 and 105mm Bellows Lens. So it only does 135 film and I have MF film I can't scan.

Glad to see it made the move OK. Even gladder to see Jim felt like putting it all back together. :)

Stan

That box started out as a Film Toaster, but has been modified quite a bit. I'm using it for film scanning.

Very interesting. Found your description of it here:
blog.kasson.com/gfx-100/scanning-black-and-white-negatives-with-a-gfx-100s/

While I don't have any film to scan, I was wondering recently what the absolute best lens for a setup like that (not including your genius steampunk-scanner box of course) might be. Not that many lenses are actually outstanding at 1:1. Have you tried the following:

• Printing-Nikkor 105 mm f/2.8
• Minolta DiMage Scan Elite lens 39 mm f/4 (www.closeuphotography.com/minolta-dimage-scan-elite-5400-lens/)
  (EDIT to add: Didn't think about sensor size... that one probably won't cover the GFX)

Nothing might fully match it perhaps, but I'm pretty sure there is a significantly simpler and cheaper solution which gets you close. You can do it! 👍

I have not tried either of those lenses. The SK Makro Symmar 120 mm f/5.6 industrial lenses are as good for scanning as the Rodie, but significantly less convenient, as you have to change lenses when your reproduction ratio changes. If you don't buy all four, the SK lenses are quite a bit cheaper. The Rodie goes from 1:3 to 3:1.

I wonder what are your thoughts on using collimated light.

Even if I could figure out how to do it, I'd worry about it making the dust more apparent. But I admit that I've never seriously considered it. The lighting geometry I'm using now is similar to a cold light enlarging head.

Yes.
I'm trying two things: a 170mm condenser and a Fresnel lens.

I use the same mounting oil as for drum scanners.

What oil is that?

Rich

I use Kami, www.kami-produkte.de

I've been a drum scanner operator for over 30 years.

The industry-standard mounting fluid has always been pharmaceutical-grade/food-grade mineral oil. Available from any drug store or pharmacy for about $3-5 for a 16 oz bottle. Almost a life-time supply for most optical lab purposes.

Mineral oil is the perfect fluid for this use. It's water-white, optically transparent. Perfectly harmless to film and optical parts such as plastics, o-rings, gaskets, lenses, etc. It can be left on film or optics for years, never yellows or dries, wipes off completely without any residue. Perfect.

We use(d) pure naphtha for cleaning fluid. Ronsonol lighter fluid is pure naphtha. Always available at supermarket check-out counters in 8 oz bottles. Cheap and plentiful.

Naphtha is highly restricted in many states and can't be gotten any other way than small quantities as lighter fluid. I used to buy 4-6 bottles at a time. Here in California, while it is very restricted, It can be special-ordered in gallons from paint stores such as Sherwin-Williams.

Kami cleaning fluid is nothing but pure Naphtha. We always wondered how they got away with the exorbitant prices they charged for mounting fluid and cleaner. The joke always was, "You can buy better, but you can't pay more."

Rich

I don't know, my customer supplied their product in abundance. In a pinch one can use Zippo fluid ;)
web.faa.illinois.edu/app/uploads/sites/6/2021/05/KAMI-RC-2001.pdf

Wonderful customer!

Rich