I'm building a LF SCANNER camera

I think you've done a pretty decent job! Some of the images have come out great! Will look forward to seeing where you go with this.

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Originally Posted by Vascilli

Cool to see I'm not the only one still interested in this.

I'm wondering, would any Canon Lide scanner work, or only specific ones? There are several available used in my city for less than $50 and I'd like to know which is best..

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Well, using a Lide scanner you will not able to capture color images because the scanners with CIS sensors use a different method:
the light illuminate the subject alternating red, green and blue light, so using a different kind of light the result is a BW image.
Also they have some issues with the quality of every single pixel sensor and most of the time you can see some dead pixels as well.
Anyway, any scanner can be a camera, and there's not a big difference between a Lide 25 and 200.

But if you want better results you have to use a CCD scanner like me. It has other problems, but the quality is much better and can capture color images in a single scan and without filters.

So, the pros an cons of those 2 kind of sensor are:

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CIS sensor:

pros:
-large format sensor
-low price
-simple construction

cons:
-black & white images
-poor quality
-no sensitivity control

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CCD sensor:

pros:
-high quality color images
-sensitivity control

cons:

-higher price
-the sensor is only about 2 inches
-anamorphic images (if you use it with the original gears)
-the modificaion can be difficult for beginners

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using the ccd sensor, I think the best choice si to convert it in a MEDIUM format, building a proper chassis and gears, but only if you have some experience about making cameras.

Project ESE, where in Italy are you placed? I am also interested in a scanning camera and maybe I can come and visit you.
Regards
Martin

I'm in Florence. Are you planning to build one too?

(there was a post by someone asking how I manage the power supply when I am in the field, but I think it's been erased because of some spam links in the message. anyway this was the answer)

Using batteries, but most of the time I shoot near my car because it's not easy to walk far with this camera, so I connect it to the car.

Hi Everybody,

I'm pretty new to this forum. I am trying to construct a LF scanning back for my 8x10 setup as described in this whitepaper that others have referenced here:

http://www.cs.ubc.ca/~heidrich/Papers/EI.04.pdf

I bought a LiDE 80 on eBay and attempted the mods discussed in the article. I removed the plastic LED magnifier and filter in front of the sensor array, then scratched out the LED element so it doesn't light up.

I thought I'd test out the scanner so I fired it up and discovered it would not advance beyond recognizing the device (no preview scan). So I de-soldered the LED element from the PCB board containing the sensor.

Now the scanner works but I am getting images like the ones below. The first is with lights off -- you can see the basic pattern. The second is with a light on and my hand held over the scan area.

http://www.prohtex.com/lfscan/unlit.jpg
http://www.prohtex.com/lfscan/lit.jpg

Did I mess up the scanner? Do I need to start over? What should I do differently? Besides scratching out the LED, I removed the other two parts pretty carefully. This site mentions blacking out the LED with paint:

http://johnvanhornphoto.com/lgformat...amera2007.html

Is there anybody out there who has done mods to these scanners who might be able to help? Did you leave the black plastic piece on top of the PCB board after your mods? Does this reduce light getting to the sensor? I cannot seem to find a more detailed description out there.

Many Thanks!!

Hey everyone,

I am a newbie around here and just like many of you me too I am attempting my first built of a LFC using a scanner.
After reading papers and watching websites online I have come to understand the difference between the CIS and the CCD; while I am waiting for my Epson v30 CCD I am giving a CanonLide210 a go.
I have followed Golemebski's advice and went to hack the scanner.
I have masked the LED sensor with electric tape after doing all the rest of the template as advised here http://cdn.makezine.com/make/scannercamera.pdf
Now the scanner won't be recognised no matter how many softwares I try to open and use; the CIS board after moving to its original position, it won't be going more than a few steps up and down the scan. Despite my efforts I can't seem to be able to get VueScan or ImageCapture to scan the image, even after installing the SANE TWAIN drivers. I am working on a Mac and thinking about installing Unix.
Did anyone have the same experience so far?

Any help will be extremely appreciated.

thanks everyone!

Fabio

I didn't scratch out the LIDE neither destroy it, I have masked it out with black tape and then I was suggested to let the scan run its normal alignment (through the CIS LED light). But even like this it won't work

All I can say is, after 3 scanners in a month I gave up and bought a used BetterLight. I eventually got one of the LiDE scanners to work by using black paint over the LED, but it took forever. Many times it would fail, as you described, with the head jerking on init and refusing to advance, or the SW not recognizing it at all. I used several models of Canon LiDE and all were very finicky. Good luck to you!!

prohtex, you have to remove the black plastic from the pcb entirely in the LiDE.

Here's the results from my scanner back camera experiments.

Hi j03, what is plastic I need to remove exactly? I have removed all black plastic from the board, only leaving enough 'frame' to hold the Sensor (the green bar) in place.
I have kept a visual rec of all I have done so far here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/faeve/s...7625887918900/
is there anything wrong or anything I still need to try?
Scanner is not being recognised and the scan head isn't going further than a few cm only to go back to its original position. Any suggestion is more than welcome :)