Building a 4x5 Digital Scanner Back for Large Format Cameras

Neat!! If you are only going to use the lens in the shutter, why not build your own camera in the scanner that takes the lens boards from the cameras you already own so it focuses at infinity. It would only be a box on the scanner of the correct length with a lensboard and a wire frame viewfinder. A good grade of cardboard and a coathanger would turn the trick.

"how to turn this into a 4x5"
"well, actually, you won't get nearly as close a resolution though. It is just 2400x3600"... smh

brilliant Idia. i wonder what if not to use any of Ground Glass. just Let the flat bed regiester the light directly

I'm so confused, why don't you just got a good ground glass and replace it, or to be lazy, have a gound glass sticker on top of it?

Pity these have crap sensors and aren't available anywhere. Apart from that, great idea.

So I managed to disable the leds on the scanner but I'm getting a large overexposed spot near the center when taking photos outside. Has anyone had similar problems?

im pretty sure you can put wax papper bitween the glass and the furnel so you get much clean and colored pictures (without grinding the glass)

I'd love to see some sample shots without the ground glass texture, it's super interesting

Thanks a lot, for all ! - Luc, from Brussels...

Do you need the glass at all? Film dont uses glasses.

Awesome
Awesome

Why do you have to make a ground glass if it leaves huge grain scratches/ residuals on the image? What is doing this trying to accomplish exactly? If it’s to matte the screen/to remove the reflection of light off the screen, then why not just buy a non-reflective ipad screen protector or something like that to apply to the glass?

maybe this is a begining point of an evolution of capturing images. dslr to mirrorless, than mirrorless to sencorless.. great idea.

wait, you don't need to grind the glass. just take the image.

Que ideia revolucionária

Wet and dry sandpaper should work. Make a few glass plates for different grain sizes.

The Better Light 4x5 scanning back was introduced in the early '90s, created 50 megapixel 100MB files. A lot to handle with a 1993 computer... They got even better over time. Was really incredible. They were marketed by Dicomed for a while, then back to the Better Light brand. This is very much a poor man's example of the same type of thing. A moving sensor back.

I would think that the grain would increase or decrease in correlation to the grit used when sanding

One thought.. since the scanner is at the film plane... Do you really need the glass at all?

I mean, yes, if you use a normal camera to capture the giant projected image, you do need the ground glass. But I am pretty certain that, especially with the bellows camera setup, you can get the projected image plane in focus at the scanner line itself.

Composing and focusing would be a chore, yes. You'd do it blindly unless you first attach the ground glass, focus and compose, then made sure it's locked off, you then replace the ground glass with the scanner assembly.

It would be a chore, but you'd also not have the trouble with grain and circles that the ground glass and the fresnel lens impart on the image.

This scanner probably flashes a strip of red, green and blue LEDs to illuminate an image for three exposures for each line of pixels, so with the light only coming from the ground-glass (You did remember to disable the LEDs, right?), each colour sensor is getting the same light value and thus returning a monochrome image.

1. If you want to do this, use soapy water.
2. The translucent diffuser sheet from a broken LCD monitor probably works better than this, and is entirely reversible.

For some reason, my mind goes straight to making a stop motion video.

Really cool work!

Cool, this one even have huge view finder 😁

or just spray mat top coat on the glass....

Did you have to disable the sensors light bar?

This is an interesting concept for creative photography and it's also possible to create high quality color pictures using certain scanners with CCD sensors. Also you don't need to grind the glass, instead use an acrylic sheet.

Hello,

I watched your camera obscura how to. I have a question about the cardboard box. Is a single box cut have the 2 pieces fit togther? If so, would you be able to send me diagram of how to cut it for that purpose? Or, is it 2 boxes that fit snugly to gether? Is that is the case, how would you find a set of boxes that fit that way.

Why on earth do you think you need to scan off ground glass? Just scan the image circle!

You're the man, Sean. 👌

There are a few options for large format digital backs. And scanning backs (or sometimes called line scanners, push broom sensors) might be the cheapest option - yet I never realized how cheap and simple (especially portable) it could be. Having a working 3D printer makes all those adapters easy

Try rechargeable AAs. You should get more shots per charge, and unlike disposables, you can use them again afterward.

Would make more sense to grind the side of the glass oriented to the sensor row.

Lost continent of Mu?! Good choice friend. Way to represent ancient and modern together ;) Love this tutorial and all of the inspiration that it stirs up.

My brain is always working... We could use an adaptor to attach a 35mm size DSLR or mirrorless. By eliminating the mechanism that attaches the old film back and the mirror we could use the LCD on the camera to focus but this wouldn't work for a scanner as you would loose a way to focus. So, I would say keep the mirror for a scanner and loose it for a DSLR. Did I miss something? I can think of these ideas but need someone else thinking along to get it right. Cheers, Sid

I think this would be a really cool project for you to take on. There are 3 different GX380 models to choose from and they are really cheep and the lenses are the best glass ever made with all the right coatings to correct for absorption, not the right word but I don't know what it would be in English, However it makes the wavelengths strike the film plane at the same time making all three wavelengths, R,G and B in focus. Let me know what you think. I no longer have the space or energy to accomplish this on my own. Cheers, Sid.

Hi Sean, Did you ever do anything with a Fuji GX680 build into a "technical camera"? I have seen some with and without bellows. Any Ideas? Thanks Sid.

Hay Sean, thanks.

I love this

Great suggestion, lad. How about using Energizer Double A Lithium batteries for that scanner?

Just got through making my own with an old speed graphic, grainy but I like it

OMFG I did this in college in the 90's, I used a Kodak scanner and had an old 8x10 camera. Digital monster! 90minute exposure! Remember about 5 years ago, some guy built his own scanning camera and he did temporal images in the NYC metro... so freaking cool.
As far as avoiding light scatter from the ground glass, it is actually possible -not convenient, but possible. Its a complex process of using liquid between the scanning head and the ground glass. I've tried it with isopropyl 99%, and switched later to Glycerin, its laborious but the end results are literally off the charts.

good experiment but not much useful i guess

Images look great 👍

why did you needed the matt glass ? Ive tried just puting a lens on my scanner some time ago and it just worked as is

you are using the wrong type of scanner, those are contact sensors, CIS.... not CCD

What will happen if you remove the glass at all and try to scan something?

A less "destructive" way for your scanner glass is using paraffin wax, putting between another peace of glass, melting with hair dryer or heat gun until the glass seats over with a very thin layer of wax and an even opaque surface.

This is super cool!