Rigged for Success: The Art and Science of Assembling Your Scanning Rig

In academic terms, one might distinguish between two ways of achieving perfect film/sensor alignment: declarative and iterative. 

The declarative way is based on the use of high-quality, precision-engineered pieces with high rigidity - like spacecraft. The iterative method, on the other hand, does not expect you to have precisely engineered pieces, but instead requires the use of a number of tuning wheels, knobs, and levers so that the components can be aligned properly by executing a sequence of tuning operations. This iterative process may involve using collimators, smoke and mirrors to bring all pieces into the right position along all five axes just before the shoot.

Quite obviously, the first approach requires very expensive specialized pieces of equipment, but means you spend no time on tuning. The second approach, on the other hand, requires one to spend considerable effort to fine-tune the setup with cheaper components, which may be used in other projects too if needed. 

Either approach requires full commitment from the photographer in advance, and there is very little room for compromise between these two methods. Most folks would understand that the most expensive rigs from Negative Supply and modestly-priced VALOI easy35 or Easy 120 are machined to have declarative alignment, while everything else needs iterative, fine-tuning efforts.

A camera scanning rig is an arrangement that securely holds your camera and film in place as you capture the images. It usually includes a camera mounted on a stable tripod or copy stand, a high-quality light source, and a film holder either attached to the light or to the the base. Some photographers also use a test target for alignment and an anti-static brush for dust removal.

Vertical and horizontal setups refer to the orientation of your scanning rig when digitizing film.

Vertical Setup: In this arrangement, the camera is mounted facing downward with the film positioned beneath it, usually on a light source. This setup has the advantage of gravity assisting you to keep the film holder in place. However, it's essential to ensure that your camera and film plane are parallel to avoid focus discrepancies across the frame.

Horizontal Setup: In a horizontal setup, the camera faces the film that is positioned upright, typically against a light source. This arrangement might be easier to operate as it resembles regular photography. However, maintaining perfect alignment of the film can be slightly more challenging since there's no natural vector against which to verify the alignment of the film and camera.

In both scenarios, aligning the film and the camera sensor is crucial to ensure sharp and well-focused digitization. The choice between a vertical and horizontal setup largely depends on personal preference, space constraints, and the equipment you have at hand.

The quality of light source significantly impacts the final image quality. A LED light panel or other light source with a high CRI (Color Rendering Index) and a high frequency to avoid flickering is preferred. It should provide diffused, uniform light with adjustable level of blue (420 nm) component.

Halogen lamp or RGB or CMY dichroic lamp house from old color enlarger will also do. If you are in a hurry, you can use sunlight (time of day dependent). Electronic flash has a sunlight spectra so it works just fine. The extra benefit of flashlight is that it effectively freezes out mechanical vibrations.

For Vertical setup, a sturdy copy stand is ideal for camera support. It should keep the camera steady and lens' optical axes aligned perpendicularly to the original  film plane.

For Horizontal setup, the long sturdy CNC machined rail is used to align camera and film holder. Macro focusing rail is typically employed to fine tune the focus. Lens coral is recommended to better balance the camera agains support.

Precise alignment is vital for sharp, distortion-free images. While bubble levels can offer a general guide, for more accuracy, you might consider using a mirror trick or a focusing target to fine-tune the alignment. More on that read TBD.

Absolutely, the stability and precision of alignment in your rig can significantly impact image quality. Any vibrations can result in blurry images, and misalignment can introduce uneven focus or distortion.

Pre-assembled scanning rigs are available, but many photographers prefer to assemble their own to customize the setup according to their specific needs and budget. Besides folks use different camera with different mounts and different lenses with different focal lengths,  so one-size-fit-all setup is not possible.

You can buy complete scanning rig from Negative Supply or VALOI .

The basic setup remains consistent for both slides and negatives. However, different film formats might necessitate size-specific film holders. When scanning slides, you should take into account the variations in slide mount thickness. If the slide is held in place by the flat springs during scanning, extra care should be taken to ensure that the additional force used when extracting the slide does not disturb the rig. 

Using a robust support system and a remote shutter release or your camera's self-timer feature can help minimize vibrations. Note that while an electronic shutter can reduce vibrations, it can make camera susceptible to flicker from some LED light sources. Having your rig setup in basement , far away from street traffic or subway helps tremendously. Flash light as light source helps fight vibrations very effectively.

Yes, you can use flatbed scanners as door stoop or cup holder. Just joking. While flatbed scanners can digitize film, they're not typically part of a camera scanning rig. However, some photographers repurpose a scanner's film holder or even cannibalize the lens for their camera scanning setup.