Full-Frame Lens choice for digitising documents and medium-sized films

[Jeromy]

Greetings! I’m seeking advice on repro photography. I need a macro lens for digitising documents and medium-sized film negatives. Is there a better option than the Sony 50mm f/2.8 Macro lens for this purpose? I understand its autofocus is criticised for being slow, but I primarily use manual focus. Thanks in advance.

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EDIT: Thanks for your input. I’ll elaborate a little more on what kind of work I’ve planned this lens for.

My plan is to digitise mainly almost 50 years old 56x56 mm and 56x70 mm black and white negatives. My previous attempt to copy film negatives using a 9600 dpi flatbed scanner was unsuccessful. This was probably because of the scanners’ inadequate dynamic range and grey scale reproduction.

Besides of the films, I’m also considering digitalising documents and photo prints that are up to A4 (210x297 mm). While adequate for text documents, the flatbed scanner didn’t reproduce high-quality photo prints well.

In summary, the proposed macro lens needs to work with different object sizes; from medium film up to A4 documents. Macro lenses of 70-100mm focal length may not be the best choice; the shooting distance might be too long? Also, the lens’s autofocus capability is irrelevant as I’ll primarily use manual focus.

 

[iamdlewis]

I do not see why the 50mm won't work well for that. It does focus slowly but as you said for this that really shouldn't be an issue and it is sharp. Another lens to consider is the Venus Optics Laowa 25mm f/2.8 which is a fully manual lens, which again shouldn't be an issue and people rave about how sharp the lens is. I just don't know what type of focal length is optimal for what you are looking for. I believe that longer than 50mm might cause issues with framing.

 

[Slug]

I've digitized many slides (positive transparencies) 35 mm negatives and documents with a Sigma 105 mm macro. For the slides and negs I use a 45 degree lightbox and the camera on a tripod for documents I either just scan them or use the camera hand held.