Which film format can your camera handle on the Copy Stand?

Whether a negative fits completely in the frame depends on two things: your camera's sensor size and the focal length of your macro lens. Together, they determine how far the camera must be from the film. We measured our Copy Stand: The maximum distance between the film in the holder on a CineStill CS-LITE and the camera sensor is 54 cm. All the tables on this page are based on this value.

There is something counterintuitive to keep in mind. The smaller the sensor, the more distance the same shot requires, because a smaller sensor has to reduce the negative more. Digital medium format is therefore the easy case, while Micro Four Thirds is the tight one. A 6×6 negative requires 28.6 cm with a 60 mm macro lens on a full-frame camera, and 39.2 cm on a Micro Four Thirds camera.

How to read the tables

Each cell indicates whether the entire negative fits on the sensor. The number below is the distance between the film and sensor that the combination requires. The tables assume a macro lens capable of 1:1 magnification.

• yes means there is at least 2 cm of clearance.
• limited means the distance is just sufficient. Whether it works then depends on your camera, ball head, and lens.
• no means the camera would have to be positioned higher than the Copy Stand allows.

The sensor plane is marked on almost every camera by a small circle with a line through it on the top of the body. If you want to measure your own setup, measure from there to the film.

Micro Four Thirds

The sensor measures 17.3 × 13 mm and is the smallest in this comparison. Cameras with this sensor include:

• OM System OM-1, OM-5
• Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III, E-M10 Mark IV
• Panasonic Lumix G9 II, GH6, G100

35mm film is unproblematic with all of these macros. With roll film, the focal length is decisive: the M.Zuiko 60 mm F2.8 Macro or Panasonic's Leica DG Macro-Elmarit 45 mm can cover everything up to 6×9. With the M.Zuiko 90 mm F3.5 Macro, only 35mm film and 6×4.5 work. For 4×5, the short 30 mm and 45 mm macros are sufficient; 60 mm no longer works.

APS-C

Most APS-C sensors measure approximately 23.5 × 15.6 mm. Cameras with this sensor include:

• Fujifilm X-T5, X-S20, X-H2
• Sony Alpha 6400, Alpha 6700
• Nikon Z50, Z fc
• Canon EOS R7, R10, R50 (with a slightly smaller sensor, see below the table)

Up to 80 mm focal length, every roll-film format up to 6×9 fits, for example with the Fujifilm XF 80 mm F2.8 Macro. With a 90 mm lens, 6×6 through 6×9 are a tight fit. This applies, for example, to the Sony FE 90 mm F2.8 Macro on an Alpha 6700, a popular lens for this camera. Short macros such as the Fujifilm XF 30 mm F2.8 Macro or the Nikon Z MC 50 mm f/2.8 can even cover 4×5.

Canon uses a slightly smaller APS-C sensor measuring 22.3 × 14.9 mm and therefore needs up to 2.5 cm more distance. In the table, this changes three fields: with Canon, 6×6, 6×7, and 6×9 at 90 mm become no.

Full frame

The sensor measures 36 × 24 mm, the same size as a 35mm negative. Cameras with this sensor include:

• Sony Alpha 7 IV, Alpha 7R V, Alpha 7C II
• Nikon Z5, Z6 III, Z7 II, Z f
• Canon EOS R5, R6 Mark II, R8
• Panasonic Lumix S5 II
• DSLRs such as the Nikon D850 and the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV

6×6, 6×7, and 6×9 need the same distance on full frame. All three formats are 56 mm wide, and exactly these 56 mm need to fit the 24 mm sensor height; the longer side then fits automatically. With a 100 mm macro such as the Canon RF 100 mm F2.8 L Macro, that is 47.6 cm, so there is enough leeway. Even the Nikon Z MC 105 mm f/2.8 VR S still works. For 4×5, 50 and 60 mm are sufficient; 90 mm no longer works.

Digital medium format

Fujifilm and Hasselblad use a 43.8 × 32.9 mm sensor in their mirrorless medium-format cameras. Cameras with this sensor include:

• Fujifilm GFX100S, GFX100S II, GFX100 II, GFX 50S II
• Hasselblad X2D 100C, X1D II 50C, 907X

The large sensor needs to reduce the negative the least and therefore works with a comparatively short distance. The calculation uses a 120 mm macro lens capable of 1:1 reproduction, such as an adapted Pentax FA 645 120 mm. 35mm, 6×4.5, 6×6, and 6×7 fit; 6×9 is borderline, and 4×5 does not work.

The macro lenses offered by Fujifilm and Hasselblad themselves reproduce at most at 1:2. Roll-film negatives fit in the frame with a little margin. 35mm, however, fills only around one seventh of the sensor because the lens cannot get close enough. If you want to scan 35mm on a GFX, it is better to use a 1:1 macro lens. The negative then occupies around 60 percent of the sensor, or about 60 megapixels on a GFX100S.

How we calculated it

The tables are calculated and have not been tested individually with every camera. The sensor size and negative format determine how much the image must be reduced, giving the reproduction ratio V. Together with the focal length f, this results in the required distance between the film and sensor: f × (2 + V + 1/V). The decisive factor is always the side of the negative that reaches the sensor limit first in relation to the sensor. The negative sizes used are the mask openings of our film holders; for 4×5, this is the usual image area of approximately 95 × 120 mm.

The calculation is cautious. A true macro lens is not a thin lens. Common models need less distance at close range than the formula assumes. With the Nikon Z MC 50 mm, for example, the manufacturer states that 16 cm between the subject and sensor is sufficient for 1:1, while the calculation assumes 20 cm. What is described as limited here therefore often works without modification. If a combination is just over the limit, it is worth trying it with your own lens.

You can find the copy stand and the matching film holders in the shop. The Film Scanner Finder shows you which set fits your film format.