Whether or not you’re a budding movie photographer seeking to share your newest work on social media, otherwise you simply have an enormous field of negatives within the attic that you simply wish to safe in digital type, it is by no means been less complicated or cheaper to get nice scans at residence. And main the cost on each easy and low-cost is the JJC Movie Digitizing Equipment which is without doubt one of the most inexpensive equipment I’ve seen for digitizing movie.
The JJC Digitizer makes use of a technique of “scanning” often known as digicam scanning, which includes taking high-quality photos of your negatives utilizing a digital digicam after which changing them utilizing specialist software program that turns negatives into positives. The advantages are that that is the quickest strategy to scan negatives, and with the precise setup, picture high quality could be each bit pretty much as good as a lab scanner. The draw back although is you want a digital digicam and macro lens.
If this does not sound prefer it’s for you, fortunately there are many different methods of digitizing your 35mm movie negatives utilizing among the finest movie scanners just like the Plustek Opticfilm vary, or a flatbed scanner, though these are far more labor-intensive to make use of, and outcomes aren’t essentially higher for all of your efforts.
Nevertheless, if digicam scanning does intrigue you, then can a digitization adapter that prices a lot lower than its closest rivals actually do pretty much as good of a job? Properly, let’s discover out…
JJC Movie Digitizing Adapter Set: Specs
| Bundle Consists of | 52-52mm, 62-52mm, 67-52mm, 55-52mm, 46-52mm, 49-52mm, 58-52mm filter thread adapters, Slide Mount Holder, Strip Movie Holder, LED Gentle, Instruction Handbook |
| LED Coloration Rendering Index(CRI) | 95+ |
| LED Coloration Temperature | 6500K |
| LED Energy | 7.5W |
| Cable Size | 1.5m / 4.9′ |
| Dimensions | 71 x 91.2 x 52.8mm / 2.8 x 3.6 x 2.1″ |
| Weight | 73g |
JJC Movie Digitizing Adapter Set: Value
As a product primarily imported by sellers on Amazon or AliExpress, there are a number of different listings for the JJC Movie Digitizing Set which vary in worth from round $60-80. However with the Valoi easy35 equipment being the closest competitor when it comes to type and performance, however costing nearly thrice as a lot, this makes the JJC digitizer one of the vital cost-effective equipment for digicam scanning you may get. Though as we’ll uncover within the later sections of this evaluation – you get what you pay for. I might say the Valoi easy35 is price each penny over the JJC – however provided that you possibly can afford it. If worth is the most important concern then the JJC is a suitable high quality for the value.
The elephant within the room although is the JJC Digitizer is just not all it is advisable to scan your movie negatives – with the entire setup requiring a digital digicam, macro lens, and a few conversion software program. When you’ve bought all that, then nice, however in the event you don’t, then this will add a whole lot of {dollars} stretching into 1000’s, at which level, you’re significantly better off taking a look at a devoted scanner just like the Plustek Opticfilm 8200i SE.
JJC Movie Digitizing Adapter Set: Design & Dealing with
Offering you will have your digital digicam and macro lens able to go, the JJC equipment comes with just about all the pieces you will must get scanning. Whereas the field and directions are eager so that you can pair the digitizer with particular lenses, you can also make a variety of unlisted setups work as effectively. I used a Fujifilm X-T5 and a TTArtisan 40mm macro lens (neither of which is formally permitted by the handbook), and whereas I couldn’t get good 1:1 framing, I bought lots shut sufficient to tug as a lot element out of my 35mm unfavourable as anybody was going to get.
You simply have to make sure that the focal size and minimal focus distance of your lens are inside the boundaries of the digitizer. To assist with this there are two 4cm/1.5in tubes that reach the gap between the entrance of your lens and the movie, the tube that goes into the entrance of the digitizer additionally has a number of centimeters of motion out and in of the principle physique. The tubes are all made from strong metallic and screwed collectively good and tightly with none gentle leaking in. There are additionally a sequence of step-up and step-down adapters included within the field to match your lens’s filter thread to the 52mm opening of the digitizer.
The movie holder slots into the digitizer, with little grooves between every body so you possibly can simply lock your body within the middle of your digicam by really feel alone, which actually accelerates the method. These grooves aren’t so deep although that it wasn’t simple sufficient to push the movie holder onto the subsequent body.
The holder itself, regardless of feeling very low-cost and flimsy, truly does a stand-out job of maintaining the movie very flat for uniform sharpness throughout the body, there’s additionally a pleasant little contact of two gaps on the high and backside so you possibly can seize data on the movie kind and body quantity. The movie holder jogs my memory of those Plustek makes use of, and like Plustek’s, movie is sort of fiddly to load into the holder although, you’re positively going to wish to purchase a pair of cotton gloves for this as you actually need to wiggle the movie strip into place. The holder can take something from one to 6 frames in a strip, and there’s additionally a mounted slide holder included within the field, though this disappointingly can solely maintain two slides at a time, so there shall be a variety of pulling out to reload.
Lastly, the sunshine supply pops on the again. The sunshine has a good output of seven.5W, which is lots vibrant sufficient to light up the movie at such a brief distance, the CRI is 95+ which is inside the really helpful vary for coloration consistency and accuracy, and the sunshine can also be impressively diffuse, so you possibly can’t make out any of the person LEDs which might trigger a sample to look in your movie.
It is powered by a USB-A to Micro USB cable which could be plugged into any 5W wall charger, it’s also possible to energy it by way of a laptop computer (in case your laptop computer nonetheless has a USB-A port), however because the cable is just one.5m/4.9′ lengthy, I discovered it a lot simpler to energy the sunshine utilizing an influence financial institution that allowed me to not be tethered to my wall.
JJC Movie Digitizing Adapter Set: Efficiency
There’s a probability I’m going to overuse the phrase ‘for its worth’ on this evaluation, however the JJC efficiency is definitely not half dangerous for the quantity it prices. The largest flaw is the open-sided design of the digitizer, which lets an excessive amount of ambient gentle in. Neglect about utilizing this in a well-lit room, and even in a very darkish room, there’s nonetheless a lot house for the sunshine from the LED panel to bounce round and never gentle movie completely evenly. Distinction this with the totally sealed black field of the Valoi easy35 and there’s a marked distinction between the 2’s consistency.
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Nevertheless, it was primarily the sides that suffered, and with some cautious modifying it’s potential to recuperate among the element, however this simply provides extra effort into my scanning workflow. The movie was additionally noticeably decrease in distinction than that scanned with the Valoi easy35 as a result of stray gentle.
However due to the movie holder holding the movie flat, there’s a constant sharpness throughout your complete body – though total sharpness will differ relying on the lens you’re utilizing and your handbook focusing accuracy, although most digital cameras present excellent focusing help.
I’m being fairly important as I’m a perfectionist relating to scanning my movie, and for extra informal makes use of I’m truly fairly impressed by what the JJC digitizer is able to. In case you are simply archiving recollections or sharing on social media you then won’t discover or care concerning the barely under-par efficiency as pictures are lots adequate for these functions. I additionally assume that the element captured utilizing digicam scanning is above flatbed scanning and leagues above low-cost scanners just like the Kodak Scanza vary.
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Above: evaluate the JJC Digitizer to the Valoi easy35.
With digicam scanning, you, sadly, gained’t get any of the flowery mud and scratch elimination supplied by different scanners, with Plustek’s infrared elimination device being a selected stand out. With the JJC technique, you’ll have to make a particular effort when scanning to make sure your frames are as clear as potential with an air blower and brush – and you probably have specific marked movie, you then may want to seek out some specialist restoration software program after digitizing your negatives.
Lastly, for anybody who has velocity as their precedence, this is without doubt one of the quickest strategies of digitizing movie, with devoted scanners like Plustek taking as much as a number of minutes to scan a body relying on settings, it takes only a few seconds to whizz via all six frames within the holder – though slicing movie and altering it within the holder is a faff, you probably have complete rolls to digitize then the Valoi is the higher choice right here.
JJC Movie Digitizing Adapter Set: Picture Samples
These pictures are all scanned utilizing the JJC Movie Digitizer in a darkish room to keep away from as a lot gentle leak from the open design as potential. Photographs had been captured in RAW utilizing a Fujifilm X-T5 and its 40MP APS-C sensor in addition to a TTArtisan 40mm macro lens. Uncooked recordsdata had been transformed in Lightroom utilizing the Detrimental Lab Professional plugin.
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JJC Movie Digitizing Adapter Set: Verdict
The JJC Digitizer shocked me, because it managed to outperform my admittedly meager expectations fashioned on its inexpensive worth and unconventional open design. The open nature of the again is actually a design subject, it permits an excessive amount of gentle in and to bounce across the body which meant some uneven lighting across the edges that simply stored the standard decrease than the Valoi easy35 which is its closest rival for type and performance. Nevertheless, the movie holder is sweet – though fiddly to make use of – nevertheless it retains the movie flat with sharpness all through the body, and the standard remains to be greater than adequate for informal use, digitizing recollections, and sharing on social media.
The JJC Digitizer can also be very effectively priced, though the standard of the supplies and total polish do mirror that. Nevertheless, it is without doubt one of the most cost-effective methods of digitizing 35mm movie – you probably have the tools wanted that’s. The draw back – you additionally want a digital digicam, macro lens, and conversion software program, which all added up, doesn’t make this look a lot of a discount.
| Options | Comes with all the pieces it is advisable to get scanning you probably have the digicam and lens. | ★★★★☆ |
| Design | Feels very low-cost, with dated elements like a Micro USB. The open design additionally makes all of it too simple to let in stray gentle. | ★★★☆☆ |
| Efficiency | Acceptable efficiency, the movie is held flat and the sunshine is robust and coloration constant, however some gentle leaking across the edges of pictures let it down. | ★★★☆☆ |
| Worth | A a lot lower cost than its Valoi rival, however the high quality and design endure for it. | ★★★☆☆ |
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