Copy Stand

Holding your camera still over a tiny negative is near impossible so you will need some kind of holding device. There are essentially two options - a tripod or a copy stand. This section will briefly mention tripods and you can feel free to read about them here but to get the most consistent, frustration-free results you want a copy stand. The rest of this section will therefore focus on the various different options out there.

The most important task of this holding device is to hold the camera in a fixed position, parallel to the negative, while being sturdy and provide adequate adjustment to make them parallel. Different price ranges will give you different levels of sturdy build, different materials and more or less adjustment. 

General Points

  • Hold the camera rigid and parallel
  • Minimise vibrations
  • Have adjustments to achieve perfectly parallel alignment
  • Be as affordable as possible
  • It is possible to use a tripod but a copy stand is much preferred

Copy Stand Recommendations

Note: The categories you will find below are are ordered in order of price range. While we do not recommend the tripod category we still think it is important to address the issue.

Tripod

Use what you have - don't buy a tripod for this specific purpose

The sturdier the better.

Pros
• More people have tripods than copy stands
• Use what you have - free?
• Holds you camera in place
• Can be sturdy with the right tripod/setup
• Good way to get started without ordering lots of new stuff

Cons
• Hard to set up with perfect alignment
• Can lead to blurry or crooked images
• A flimsy tripod will not be sturdy
• Some tripods are hard to get the camera to point down on
• If you don't have one, buying a tripod is not cheaper than buying a copy stand

 

What most people need

50-150€

CS-500(no brand)

CS-720 (available from UK-based eBay sellers)

Kaiser Reprokid

Pros
• Easy to adjust height
• Easy to get the film and camera parallel
• Relatively compact size
• No DIY

Cons
• The Kaiser Reprokid is not very cheap
• The build quality isn't great
• The cheaper options are only available from the UK (as far as we can find out)

Note: For non-eBay options, Speedgraphic in the UK sells the CS-500. Make sure you calculate shipping and import costs if you do not live in the UK.

 

DIY Aluminum Profiles

35-100€


Be warned: Untested by us
For the DIY spirited

If you have some DIY spirit and a screwdriver, building your own small copy stand from extruded alluminum profiles can give you a sturdy build. For now, this is actually quite a good option. A handy kit with all you need can be bought from this German shop.

A different even more DIY alternative was put together by community member Rodsgear and can be found in this public Google Drive folder.

Pros
• Sturdier than some cheaper copy stands - quality to price ratio is better
• Upgradeable
• Can be modified and built to your needs

Cons
• The head included is a bit simple for our purposes, but totally useable
• Do-it-yourself kit - not an off the shelf finished product


Adapting an old enlarger

From nothing (someone gives you an enlarger) to a lot (enlargers can get expensive)

 

Old darkroom enlargers are often attached on very sturdy stands - essentially copy stands perfect for our use. However, they need to be adapted! This requires anything from removing a couple of screws to completely rebuilding parts, depending on your enlarger.

We particularly recommend the LPL 3301D because it literally has a build-in copy stand function - you screw off the enlarger head (three thumb screws) and attach your camera. With this enlarger, it is completely reversible too, and you get a nice little enlarger to build your bathroom into a darkroom with. These will cost 55€-100€. Other enlargers can be used too, but might require more DIY.

Pros
• Sturdy tripod for not much money
• Some modifications are reversible
• People sometimes give enlargers away for free if you pay attention on local pages

Cons
• Could damage the enlarger
• Enlargers are rising in price as there is more interest in them
• There is a lot of variation from enlarger to enlarger