In A Nutshell

So what does “Digitizing film with a digital camera” actually mean? Traditionally, film negatives and color slides are digitized with flatbed or drum scanners. Since high-resolution DSLR have become common and widely used, simply “taking a photo” of the negative or slide has become a timesaving and sufficient option. This list outlines the digitization workflow:


 * 1) Illuminate your negative
 * 2) Mount a closeup or macro lens to your DSLR
 * 3) Having your camera on a tripod, focus on the “film grain”
 * 4) Take a photo
 * 5) Load the image on your computer
 * 6) Edit as needed

Every single step and any technical gear used in digitizing work flow can be optimized to rocket science – but it does not have to. Most people will completely be fine with digital images that can be printed up to 20 inch and look good on screen and social media – at least better than the small scans from their drug store's Photo CD; Many others like the idea to have a versatile 6000×4000 pixels RAW file to work on, saving the money for expensive high-res scans from a professional film lab.