Can I copy 35mm slides with a Nikon 50mm f/1.8 instead of a macro lens?
Asked 1/19/2018
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I want to digitize 35mm slides using a Nikon D7000 and a 50mm f/1.8 lens. Many slide-copy setups recommend a macro lens, or a duplicator attachment such as the Kaiser or Nikon ES-1. Since macro lenses are expensive, I'm wondering whether my 50mm lens can work for this, possibly with a longer tube or another modification. Is the issue focus distance, magnification, or both?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
8y ago
2 Answers
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IT is NOT a matter of holding the slide out far enough. The issue is getting it close enough for the image to be sufficient usable size. However, the 50 mm lens does not focus close enough to get an image of a small slide large enough to fill the frame of your camera. That is what macro lenses or extension tubes do.
The 50 mm lens cannot focus closer than about 1.5 feet. The lens specs say the reproduction ratio there is 0.15. To fill the DX frame with a FX slide requires a reproduction ratio of 0.67, or about 1.5 to 1.
Originally by user38978. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user38978
8y ago
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A plain 50mm f/1.8 is generally not enough by itself for slide copying. The main limitation is magnification, not just tube length.
A 35mm slide is much smaller than your camera frame, so you need fairly high reproduction to fill the sensor. Your 50mm lens only focuses to about 1.5 ft and gives roughly 0.15× magnification, which is far short of what’s needed. For a DX camera copying a 35mm slide, you need much greater magnification than that.
That’s why macro lenses or extension tubes are commonly used: they let the lens focus much closer and produce a larger image of the slide on the sensor.
Some slide duplicators also solve this by adding a strong close-up lens in front of the camera lens. In other words, the attachment is not just a holder; it also changes the optics so close focus is possible.
So: no, your 50mm alone will not do the job well. You would need either extension tubes, a suitable close-up lens/duplicator attachment, or ideally a true macro lens.
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