iPhone - smartphone - scanning of 4x5 and 5x7 negatives.

[schafphoto]

I thought I'd start a thread about scanning negatives with a phone camera. I have an iPhone 13 Pro and the Macro mode seems to leverage the extra wide lens and has good sharpness in the center but seems terrible around the edges of the negative. I'm experimenting with forcing the camera to use the wide (regular 5.7m f1.5 lens) when photographing negatives. the 9mm f2.8 "telephoto" (in name only) iPhone lens does not seem to focus close enough to capture a negative well, I was hoping this would have less barrel distortion.

I have a Lightroom tethered-capture setup with a Nikon D800E that I use for my HABS/HAER/HALS negative scanning, but that takes a lot of time... I'm now experimenting with this iPhone thing for quick draft images, and social media use.

Anyone else using a phone for negative to positive scanning?

[drarmament]

Hi,

When I don't have my scanner, I use my Iphone 12 pro max and a light box. I use the standard lens and the invert the image in lightroom mobile. This is only to preview the image till I can scan it. [ATTACH=CONFIG]223668

[schafphoto]

Hi,

When I don't have my scanner, I use my Iphone 12 pro max and a light box. I use the standard lens and the invert the image in lightroom mobile. This is only to preview the image till I can scan it. [ATTACH=CONFIG]223668

I use PS mobile to invert the image if I want to see it on the phone, I just set up a 'theme' that inverts. I have started to use the Tech Camera app to capture the negative as a grayscale DNG and then transfer the negative scans to the computer for curve inversion and processing. The Tech Camera app with the normal iPhone 13pro lens seems to give the best results so far for me, because the app has lens correction profiles to correct for all the various iPhone lens distortions.

[drarmament]

I use PS mobile to invert the image if I want to see it on the phone, I just set up a 'theme' that inverts. I have started to use the Tech Camera app to capture the negative as a grayscale DNG and then transfer the negative scans to the computer for curve inversion and processing. The Tech Camera app with the normal iPhone 13pro lens seems to give the best results so far for me, because the app has lens correction profiles to correct for all the various iPhone lens distortions.

I might try the Tech Camera, Normally I just wait till I get back to california to scan in film, but I just tried out lightroom mobile.

[schafphoto]

Update 2023: I now have an iPhone 14 Pro and the results are worse even though the sensor is "48 megapixel". Lots of interpolation of what should be sharp and not sharp. The new 1X "normal" lens is really a bit wide, and it no longer focuses as close as the 12 and 13 iPhones. the 2X telephoto is a crop of the 1X. the 3X telephoto is still 12 Megapixel. iPhone Macro attachment lenses seem to be for really close up, not the 6-8 inches away that a 4x5 negative copy might require. So I continue to dupe negatives with my Lightbox-copystand and now my Canon RF5 with the canon Marcro 85mm RF lens. (still using the 60mm Nikon with and adapter for 5x7).