What film format can your camera handle on the copy stand?

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

Something applies here that surprises at first. The smaller the sensor, the more distance the same shot needs, because a small sensor has to reduce the negative more. Digital medium format is therefore the comfortable case, Micro Four Thirds the tight one. With a 60 mm macro, a 6×6 negative needs 28,6 cm on a full-frame camera and 39,2 cm on a Micro Four Thirds camera.

How to read the tables

Each cell tells you whether the whole negative fits on the sensor. The number below it is the distance between film and sensor that the combination needs for this. The tables assume a macro lens that reproduces up to 1:1.

• yes means at least 2 cm of reserve remains.
• limited means the distance is just barely enough. Whether it works then depends on your camera, the ball head and the lens.
• no means the camera would have to sit higher than the copy stand allows.

The sensor plane is marked on almost every camera, as 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, for example:

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

35mm is no problem with any of these macros. With roll film, the focal length decides: with the M.Zuiko 60 mm F2.8 Macro or the Leica DG Macro-Elmarit 45 mm from Panasonic, everything up to 6×9 fits. With the M.Zuiko 90 mm F3.5 Macro, only 35mm and 6×4.5 still work. For 4×5, the short macros with 30 and 45 mm are enough; with 60 mm it no longer works.

APS-C

Most APS-C sensors measure around 23,5 × 15,6 mm. Cameras with this sensor include, for example:

• 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 a focal length of 80 mm, 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 to 6×9 become tight. This applies, for instance, to the Sony FE 90 mm F2.8 Macro on an Alpha 6700, a popular lens on this camera. Short macros such as the Fujifilm XF 30 mm F2.8 Macro or the Nikon Z MC 50 mm f/2.8 even manage 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 cells: 6×6, 6×7 and 6×9 with 90 mm become no for Canon.

Full frame

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

• 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 have to fit onto the 24 mm sensor height; the longer side then fits by itself. 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 reserve. Even the Nikon Z MC 105 mm f/2.8 VR S still gets a yes. For 4×5, 50 and 60 mm are enough; with 90 mm it 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, for example:

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

The large sensor has to reduce the negative the least and therefore gets by with comparatively little distance. The calculation assumes a 120 mm macro lens that reaches 1:1, such as an adapted Pentax FA 645 120 mm. 35mm, 6×4.5, 6×6 and 6×7 fit, 6×9 is borderline, 4×5 does not work.

The macro lenses that Fujifilm and Hasselblad offer themselves reach at most 1:2. Roll film negatives therefore fit into the frame with some margin. 35mm, on the other hand, fills only about a seventh of the sensor, because the lens cannot get close enough. If you want to scan 35mm on a GFX, you are better off with a 1:1 macro. That leaves about 60 percent of the sensor for the negative, so roughly 60 megapixels on a GFX100S.

How we calculated

The tables are calculated, not tested individually on every camera. Sensor size and negative format determine how much the image has to be reduced, the reproduction ratio V. Together with the focal length f, this gives the required distance between film and sensor: f × (2 + V + 1/V). The deciding factor is always the side of the negative that reaches the limit first relative to the sensor. For the negative size we use the mask openings of our film holders, and for 4×5 the usual image area of about 95 × 120 mm.

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