Building a Copy Stand to Scan Film for $100 Alexander Matragos 2023-01-22 | Building a copy stand in order to scan film, utilising three easy to find items. A flange, a pipe and a piece of plywood. A cheap and sturdy DIY solution that can be assembled in a couple of minutes allowing to scan film at home with ease.BLOGPOST: alexandermatragos.com/blog/2023/1/15/building-a-copy-stand-to-scan-film-for-100Note: Some of the following are affiliate links. Using them comes at no extra cost to you, but it helps support the channel with a small commission on qualifying purchases.SCANNING GEAR & TOOLSViltrox L116T - amzn.to/4bXz7oK3D Printed Holder for the Viltrox L116T (design) - thingiverse.com/thing:5200165EFH - Essential Film Holder - clifforth.co.ukManfrotto Super Clamp - amzn.to/458OrfWManfrotto Stud/Spigot - amzn.to/3KrH35UManfrotto Tripod Head - amzn.to/3yJG26GCutting Mat - amzn.to/3Xa6bWA Tethering Cable (USB—C to 2.0 Mini) - amzn.to/3VsK8cd Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM Lens - amzn.to/4c6MbYX Negative Lab Pro - negativelabpro.comWEBSITE: alexandermatragos.comINSTAGRAM: instagram.com/alexandermatragos
Trying Kodaks New Films - Vision3 AHU Alexander Matragos 2025-10-25 | After 8 years of research Kodak has upgraded their Vision3 lineup of motion picture film stocks. They managed to remove the remjet layer and replace it with an Anti Halation Undercoat (hence the designation AHU). Among several improvements aimed to filmmakers, there was an unplanned benefit for still photographers, the films can now be easily processed together with other colour negative films in a more streamlined fashion. Wether you prefer ECN-2 or C41, now you can process the Vision3 films together with your Portra and Gold. Recently I had the opportunity to shoot them and see how they perform. To begin with, I was interested in comparing the new films against the old structure with the remjet layer. I loaded my Canon EOS 5 with the AHU variant and my EOS 50E with the remjet version of 250D. I used the same lenses on all images swapping them between the two cameras. Most of them were taken with either the Canon 24-105 f/4 L or the Zeiss 50mm f/1.4 Planar with the exception of one image taken on the Canon 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro lens. After finishing the rolls I processed both in ECN-2 and digitised them with my usual setup. There are some interesting results to be observed from this test and you can see some high-res image samples on the accompanying blog post (link further down in this description box).After finishing this comparison, I shot the rest of the rolls in a more casual manner over the course of a few weeks. I shot a roll of 50D, one 250D and one 500T with my M2 and the Voigtländer 35mm f/2.5 Color-Skopar and processed them in C41. For full details, as well as side by side examples and plenty of images samples from these rolls have a look at my blogpost.Blogpost: alexandermatragos.com/blog/2025/10/25/trying-kodaks-new-films-vision3-ahuNote: Some of the following are affiliate links. Using them comes at no extra cost to you, but it helps support me with a small commission on qualifying purchases. The films were kindly provided by 35mm Dealer for me to try out without any obligation to promote or create content about them.Vision3 AHU Films in Single Rolls & 30m Spools-35mmDealer - https://35mmdealer.de/en/kategorie/film/Kodak Announcement & FAQ-Announcement - kodak.com/en/motion/page/ahu-announcement-FAQ - kodak.com/content/pdfs/AHU-talking-points.pdf-American Cinematographer Article - theasc.com/articles/kodak-enhances-vision3SCANNING GEAR & TOOLSViltrox L116T - amzn.to/4bXz7oK3D Printed Holder for the Viltrox L116T (design) - https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:520...EFH - Essential Film Holder - clifforth.co.ukManfrotto Super Clamp - amzn.to/458OrfWManfrotto Stud/Spigot - amzn.to/3KrH35UManfrotto Tripod Head - amzn.to/3yJG26GCutting Mat - amzn.to/3Xa6bWA Tethering Cable (USB—C to 2.0 Mini) - amzn.to/3VsK8cd Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM Lens - amzn.to/4c6MbYX Negative Lab Pro - negativelabpro.comHow To Build your own Copy Stand for ~$100 - youtu.be/OghdfpXwQ1k?si=tmqmCMdj__06YldwCHAPTER MARKERS00:00 Intro 01:20 Comparison Set Up03:51 AHU vs Remjet Comparison08:13 500T Developed in C4108:54 50D and 250D in C41 along with Closing ThoughtsWEBSITE: alexandermatragos.comINSTAGRAM: http://instagram.com/alexandermatragos
Does Film Developer Expire? Alexander Matragos 2025-05-04 | With an excuse to test out both my new Mamiya RZ67 and my 4 year old film developer I set out to do a test shoot to help me compare my old Ilfotec HC to a fresh one, as well as to check on the condition of both film backs. I set up a still life shoot and loaded both backs with Ilford Delta 100. I lit the scene with a single 500w Profoto strobe light with a reflector and a grid attached, firing behind a large sheet of diffusion. I also used a white card to fill in some of the shadows. I took duplicate images and proceeded to develop one roll with the expired chemistry and one with the fresh developer. After comparing the images I piled up a few tips and best practices to help you preserve your chemistry for longer as well as examples on how you can test your chemicals.For full details, as well as side by side examples and some tips on preserving your chemistry have a look at my blogpost.Blogpost: alexandermatragos.com/blog/2025/5/4/does-film-developer-expireNote: Some of the following are affiliate links. Using them comes at no extra cost to you, but it helps support the channel with a small commission on qualifying purchases.DARKROOM EQUIPMENT & TOOLS MENTIONEDAccordion Bottle - amzn.to/4cUbGOW Amber Glass Bottles - amzn.to/3YPtPHH Glass Beaker - amzn.to/4iwHJpi Ilfotec HC - amzn.to/3EoRckI Ilford Rapid Fixer - amzn.to/42GmAo9 SCANNING GEAR & TOOLSViltrox L116T - amzn.to/4bXz7oK3D Printed Holder for the Viltrox L116T (design) - https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:520...EFH - Essential Film Holder - clifforth.co.ukManfrotto Super Clamp - amzn.to/458OrfWManfrotto Stud/Spigot - amzn.to/3KrH35UManfrotto Tripod Head - amzn.to/3yJG26GCutting Mat - amzn.to/3Xa6bWA Tethering Cable (USB—C to 2.0 Mini) - amzn.to/3VsK8cd Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM Lens - amzn.to/4c6MbYX Negative Lab Pro - negativelabpro.comCHAPTER MARKERS00:00 Intro And Comparison Lay Out01:39 Assessing The Negatives & Inverting Them02:14 Comparing The Images03:38 Tips On Preservation And Best Practices04:56 Testing Your Chemistry06:34 OutroWEBSITE: alexandermatragos.comINSTAGRAM: http://instagram.com/alexandermatragos
ECN-2 vs C41 Part II: Darkroom Printing Alexander Matragos 2024-07-14 | After comparing ECN-2 and C41 developed film with scanning in mind, I thought it would be an interesting test to see how these two development processes affect the film when making darkroom prints. Using the two rolls of Kodak Vision3 500T motion picture film that I shot in the previous video, I went ahead and made a few RA4 darkroom handprints to further compare how the chemistry affects the end result.All images are shot with the Canon EOS 600 and the Canon EOS 50E along with the Zeiss 28mm, Zeiss 50mm and the Canon 100mm USM Macro.One of the rolls was developed by a lab in ECN-2 chemistry and the other by myself in C41.All the prints that you see are straight prints, meaning there are no local adjustments. No dodging, no burning, nothing. The paper I used is the Fuji Crystal Archive II on glossy finish and 8x10 inches in size. I used a DeVere enlarger and the prints were developed in an automated processor with RA4 chemistry.At the end, the prints were scanned by a lab using an EPSON V800 and the tiff files were slightly adjusted to make sure that they match the real life prints as closely as possible.For full information on filtration with close-up examples have a look at the blogpost.Blogpost: alexandermatragos.com/blog/2023/5/2/ecn-2-vs-c41-development-comparison-on-kodak-vision3-500t-fb4brAlso if you need any information on how the first part of the test was conducted, including how these rolls were exposed and developed then have a look at the first video which you can find below.Part I: youtu.be/1Avdmw-4zAY?si=y4w1TMqJ3osfnOEvNote: Some of the following are affiliate links. Using them comes at no extra cost to you, but it helps support the channel with a small commission on qualifying purchases.SCANNING GEAR & TOOLSViltrox L116T - amzn.to/4bXz7oK3D Printed Holder for the Viltrox L116T (design) - thingiverse.com/thing:5200165EFH - Essential Film Holder - clifforth.co.ukManfrotto Super Clamp - amzn.to/458OrfWManfrotto Stud/Spigot - amzn.to/3KrH35UManfrotto Tripod Head - amzn.to/3yJG26GCutting Mat - amzn.to/3Xa6bWA Tethering Cable (USB—C to 2.0 Mini) - amzn.to/3VsK8cd Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM Lens - amzn.to/4c6MbYX Negative Lab Pro - negativelabpro.comWEBSITE: alexandermatragos.comINSTAGRAM: instagram.com/alexandermatragos
ECN-2 vs C41 Development Comparison on Kodak Vision3 500T Alexander Matragos 2023-05-06 | With quotes claiming that the ECN-2 process yields far better results when developing cinema film and that C41 degrades the colour and contrast rendition, it got me interested to do a direct comparison of the two processes using Kodak Vision3 500T, developed in ECN-2 and C41 chemistry. All images are shot with the Canon EOS 600 and the Canon EOS 50E along with the Zeiss 28mm, Zeiss 50mm and the Canon 100mm USM Macro.One of the rolls was developed by a lab in ECN-2 chemistry and the other by myself in C41.Blogpost: alexandermatragos.com/blog/2023/5/2/ecn-2-vs-c41-development-comparison-on-kodak-vision3-500tPart II: youtu.be/QItq-REg06gNote: Some of the following are affiliate links. Using them comes at no extra cost to you, but it helps support the channel with a small commission on qualifying purchases.SCANNING GEAR & TOOLSViltrox L116T - amzn.to/4bXz7oK3D Printed Holder for the Viltrox L116T (design) - thingiverse.com/thing:5200165EFH - Essential Film Holder - clifforth.co.ukManfrotto Super Clamp - amzn.to/458OrfWManfrotto Stud/Spigot - amzn.to/3KrH35UManfrotto Tripod Head - amzn.to/3yJG26GCutting Mat - amzn.to/3Xa6bWA Tethering Cable (USB—C to 2.0 Mini) - amzn.to/3VsK8cd Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM Lens - amzn.to/4c6MbYX Negative Lab Pro - negativelabpro.comWEBSITE: alexandermatragos.comINSTAGRAM: instagram.com/alexandermatragos
400ft to 100ft - Bulk Loading Kodak Vision3 500T Cinema Film Alexander Matragos 2023-02-26 | Respooling a 400ft roll of 35mm Kodak Vision3 500T cinema film in order to use it with the 100ft size bulk loaders. Utilising a 3D printed respooler.Blogpost: alexandermatragos.com/blog/2023/2/16/400ft-to-100ft-bulk-rolling-kodak-vision3-500t-cinema-film3D Design: thingiverse.com/thing:4868217Bulk Loading: Matt Day: youtu.be/Evk_oR7TO1oHashem McAdam: youtu.be/gJEM1XS8l9sNote: Some of the following are affiliate links. Using them comes at no extra cost to you, but it helps support the channel with a small commission on qualifying purchases.SCANNING GEAR & TOOLSViltrox L116T - amzn.to/4bXz7oK3D Printed Holder for the Viltrox L116T (design) - thingiverse.com/thing:5200165EFH - Essential Film Holder - clifforth.co.ukManfrotto Super Clamp - amzn.to/458OrfWManfrotto Stud/Spigot - amzn.to/3KrH35UManfrotto Tripod Head - amzn.to/3yJG26GCutting Mat - amzn.to/3Xa6bWA Tethering Cable (USB—C to 2.0 Mini) - amzn.to/3VsK8cd Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM Lens - amzn.to/4c6MbYX Negative Lab Pro - negativelabpro.comWEBSITE: alexandermatragos.comINSTAGRAM: instagram.com/alexandermatragos
