Quote Originally Posted by bob carnie View Post
I notice a lot of people talk about stitching and reassemble, what are the thoughts of 150mb single capture using a phase back? I like this idea but wonder how people feel about this single capture, or would one still stitch even with this kind of back.?
A friend of mine has the 100mp Phase back and uses it to digitize his film. For MF film, he uses single shot. For 6x17 panoramic shots, he shoots 3 overlapping frames. He built his own frame, which he wet mounts the film inside. He made 3 identical frames. These also work for smaller formats than 6x17(the frames will accommodate (4) 6x6 negatives in a strip at once, wet mounted). He 3d printed the plastic frame, and used a simple sheet of thin glass as the base to mount on, using mylar and Kami fluid like he did on his drum scanner before. MUCH faster, and his results meet his needs without issue.

For 4x5 and 5x7 film, he shoots 3 frames for 4x5, each overlapping one another for a seamless stitch. For 5x7 he shoots 6 shots, 2 columns of 3 frames. He doesn't shoot 8x10, but a 600mp file(roughly sized, smaller once stitched and cropped) is pretty dang big as a start.

In short, for HIS needs(and according to what I see with my eyes in prints), this method is not only faster, but more enjoyable than drum scanning. Having owned my own scanner in the past, the crazing issue with acrylic drums, plus the lack of replacement drums, if needed, dictates that service bureaus abandon drum scanners for another method. I see high MP backs, and/or stitching solutions as a viable method of delivering high quality results.

Personally, my light source planned is a small 4x4 box with two layers of sign white acrylic, mounted into the table flush. The light source being a commonly available halogen source, of approx 150W. It is easy to set a white balance point this way, and there is no issue with output balance shot-to-shot like you'd have with strobes. These bulbs, unlike many of their LED counterparts, also do not flicker, so you have a wider range of shutter speeds if needed, to balance the exposure properly.