Features
-
Digital camera film scanning kit for scanning 35mm
Basic Film Carrier MK2 holds 35mm film exceptionally flat for high quality scans
Light Source 35 features a high CRI of 97+ for great color accuracy
Basic Riser Mini MK2 provides a stable support for scanning 35mm or 120 film with standard or short telephoto macro lenses (up to 100mm for 35mm and up to 70mm for 120 film).
Product Details
Negative Supply exists to create tools for film photographers who want to spend more time photographing and less time scanning. Their products allow you to digitize negatives using your digital camera and a macro lens in just a few minutes.
The Negative Supply Essential Kit for 35mm Film Scanning is their most affordable and accessible film scanning kit for 35mm and is great for beginners just getting into scanning their own 35mm at home with a digital camera.
INCLUDES:
Basic Riser Mini MK2: A compact & lightweight copy stand that provides great results at an affordable price for entry level users, featuring bolted-on rubber feet for better grip and dampening, stainless steel base, anodized aluminum column, and 1/4-20 camera mounting point. Allows scanning of 35mm or 120 film with standard or short telephoto macro lenses (up to 100mm for 35mm and up to 70mm for 120 film).
Basic Film Carrier 35 MK2: Offers superior film flatness with a double-s curve film track, and is capable of scanning all 35mm film formats including half frame, full frame (standard 35mm), and panoramic sizes in a single capture. It can also scan 110, 126, APS, and Minox film formats with separately-purchased internal cassettes.
Light Source 35 Adapter for Basic Film Carrier 35 MK2: This accessory holds the Basic Film Carrier 35 MK2 firmly to the Light Source 35 and helps mask extraneous light when scanning to ensure flare-free scans.
Light Source 35 (with USB power supply): Compact and bright, the Light Source 35 features a high CRI of 97+ ensures high color accuracy. This light source is powered via an included USB cable. You will need to provide your own USB block or use your computer to power the light source.
Camera Body
Just about any semi-modern interchangeable camera will work great for camera scanning. There are many mirrorless or DSLR options to choose from, with the most convenient offering tethered live view capture to your computer. The Canon T2i is probably the cheapest option out there with tethering and large lens selection, and new cameras like the Sony A7 series are now very affordable with great IQ. High end setups may even use the new full frame Panasonic mirrorless cameras with pixel stitching.
Macro Lens
For camera scanning, the one real requirement is that your lens focuses close enough to capture the entire frame, without having to digitally crop. For full frame cameras and capturing 35mm film, the term 1:1 designates a lens that will reproduce the 35mm frame exactly onto the full frame digital sensor. With crop bodies, 1:1 focus even closer. There are also options to use extension tubes for older macro lenses. We have had excellent results with an inexpensive Nikon 55mm macro from the film days, using a simple extension tube to get 1:1 on our full frame bodies. Higher end, yet affordable options include the excellent Sigma 70mm ART Macro. Outside of reproduction factor (1:1), also look out for lenses that are sharp, have good color reproduction, limit internal reflections (modern coatings), and have very little vignetting. Finally, it’s generally best to use your lens stopped down 2-3 from wide open, as this gives a good combination between depth of field and brightness.
Software for Negative Conversion
There are a few plugins and standalone programs for converting negatives into positives. Some older and some newer, all of them try to harness the color science based in darkroom paper to various degrees. Many professional scanners have used LaserSoft applications or some proprietary/built-in software to emulate darkroom printing. After all, even a professional lab scanner is simply a digital camera and a light source. The applications below do the same thing for converting negatives captured with you digital camera rather than a digital camera built into a scanner. We recommend choosing the one that best suits your workflow.
