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Please reach us at questions@mshobbies.co.uk if you cannot find an answer to your question.
Loading, processing and scanning has to be done by hand. Even with our Noritsu LS scanner or digital camera copying unit we would still have to use manual positioning for the scan.
However, if you want your local film lab process your colour film, tell them to buy a 110-sized processing cartridge for their film processor. That will fit Minox film and it can be run through as a normal 35mm film.
Because the film has no guide holes or sprockets, no film lab can pass it through their machine automatically.
We can reload your cassette though.
A Digital camera and close up lens will give excellent results in black and white. The dust filter on the Hasselblad Imacon is superior but very slow and let down by dated software. Use chromagenic films such as XP2 and CN400BW to have scanners remove dust and scratches. You will also get a much bigger file with the right lens, but you have to stop down to get all the negative in focus. This increases exposure time.
If your scanner has Kodak's digital ICE, then it will do a good job of removing dust and scratches from colour negatvies and slides at a small cost of sharpness. Digital cameras do not have ICE, and you will have to manualy remove all marks. Remember a digtal camera will give you a larger image area to edit but will take longer to process. Our Noritsu customised scanner gives superior results.
if you have a lot of negatives use the maid of all work, Vuescan. Fast, and capable of batch work. For Epson flatbeds, Epson's own software (V2)does a better job of dust and scratch removal and a better job of multi-selection of negative strips. Nikon's Scan software has settings from the last version of digital ICE not reproduced in Vuescan.
Vuescan's excellence comes at a price: if the scanner has digital ICE installed, it will be not be used. Vuescan does use an infra-red channel if available. This means that image restoration is not as good as the hardware/software based Digital ICE.
If you have a small number of 8x11 negatives and want the best out of your scanner (see -best scanner), you will need the wallet-thumpingly expensive Silverfast 8 or 9. I hate to admit this, but the Silverfast is great, but outrageously expensive. Silverfast is licensed to use the Digital ICE embedded hardware. Compared with native scanner software (Nikon Scan/Dimage Scan) or with Vuescan Silverdast superior. But you pay an awful lot more.Our pro-lab scanner scans a at new level.
The dimage 5400 takes the prize. The resolution and the Digitlal ICE solution for colour means that, for Minox and 110, performance is superior to my Imacon III. The Imacon had higher resolution (6000 vs 5400) but the lack of digitlal ICE, poor software, cost of scanner and cost of special holder puts the Imacon out of contention.
Imacon Flextight is superior but very expensive. a decent digital camera with a decent close up lens comes second.
Minolta Dimage 5400/Nikon LS5000 come third.
For practical use the Nikon 50 mm Micro-Nikkor f3.5. We use ours with original Nikon extension tubes and a reversing ring with our Easy 35 light source
In tests,. from 11mp to 22mp there is an improvement in resolved detail. Above 22mp no more detail is resolvable, but the scan can be displayed on larger devices such as 4k TV's. Minolta's Dimage 5400 scanner is a 24x36mm sized sensor but when scanning a 8x1mm sized image you only use 552 ppi. However, the 5400's dynamic range of 4.8 (same as Nikon Coolscan LS5000 and better than my Imacon (4.2).
Any camera sensor over 22MP will fine: the limiter is the size of the screen you wish to project your images.
Professional lab scanners, modern ones, scan at 24MP
The Minox BL - no competition. you can over-ride the meter reading without having to mess around with the ISO dial underneaeth.; its mechanical shutter needs no batteries. And there is something about the shutter sound of a BL (try it) that simply oozes superiority compared with any other mechanical Minox.
We are testing a Noritsu LS-600 for Minox and 110. Early tests show a sharpness we have never seen outside an enlarger, or our one-off Afga DLAB 110 converter adapted to Minox. Commercial Digital ICE and a full frame 24mp sensor helps. The high quality lens does the rest.
Please reach us at contact@mshobbies.co.uk if you cannot find an answer to your question.
What is the best Minox camera to use for best results?
The Minox BL - no competition. you can over-ride the meter reading without having to mess around with the ISO dial underneaeth.; its mechanical shutter needs no batteries. And there is something about the shutter sound of a BL (try it) that simply oozes superiority compared with any other mechanical Minox.
The Minox EC with fast film. Automatic exposure and smallest size. Silent in operation.
Use it with the caution of an 80 year old camera. Unlike a Leica III they are hard to service. The only Minox to get unalloyed pleasure from using a camera in 2024 which went through world war two.
Please reach us at contact@mshobbies.co.uk if you cannot find an answer to your question.
Well, mirrorless cameras with APS-C sensors are popular with customers for copying their 8x11mm negatives. Whilst this works well for black and white, colour suffers because there is no Digital ICE support for still cameras. This means there is no dust and scratch support in hardware to remove all marks.
You also would need a close up lens - I recommend canon macrophoto 20mm F3.5 lenses for 110 and 8x11mm negatives.
We are open by appointment only. The Hobbies has always been a part time business from 1991 until today. Email sales@mshobbies.co.uk for an appointment.
Yes we offer repairs for classic Minox 35 and the hard to find working 8x11mm cameras.
We sell the famous Minox 35mm and 8x11 'spy' cameras. We also have a range of used digital and film cameras from time to time.
We have made a small amount of new aluminium cassettes for all cameras except the VEF Minox. Choose black cassetes for the C, Bl, EC, LX, Sharan and Ataron cameras. Choose grey cassettes for II,III, B, and C, Bl, EC, LX, Sharan and Ataron cameras
We suggest you use the black and white film at 25% of original ASA speed and do not recommend using colour minocolour film at all. This is because as the colours have not lasted well, expecially Minocolor Pro 100.