Features
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Block stray light when scanning smaller formats for higher quality scans
Fit under VALO 360 35mm and 120 Film Holders
Film Holders sold separately
Product Details
“Valoi” is a Finnish word meaning light and creation — a nod to the creativity of analog photography. VALOI's Scandinavian roots are visible in the minimalism and functionality of their designs. VALOI 360 is a film holder system that provides an easy and effective way to digitize your film using a digital camera. With the right setup, the VALOI 360 system can deliver faster and higher quality scans than traditional flatbed scanners.
The VALOI 360 Film Masks are made specifically to fit under the VALOI 360 film holders, either with or without the Advancer. While the 120 and 35mm film holders can accommodate smaller sub-formats, stray light from the spaces between frames can cause lens flare that interferes with scanning. While not necessary, in these situations the film masks can provide extra security if you want as clean a scan as possible.
There are 4 different masks, and these must be combined with their respective holders:
For 120 medium format (VALOI 360 120 Holder):
For 35mm (VALOI 360 35mm Holder):
Camera Scanning Considerations:
Camera Body
Just about any semi-modern, interchangeable-lens digital camera will work great for camera scanning. There are many mirrorless or DSLR options to choose from with large lens catalogs, tethered capture capability, and excellent image quality. Some high end cameras can even use pixel stitching to deliver extremely high levels of resolution.
Macro Lens
For camera scanning, the one real requirement is that your lens focuses close enough to capture the entire frame. 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-sensor bodies, 1:1 lenses focus even closer. 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 macro lens stopped down 2-3 stops from wide open, as this gives a good combination of depth of field and sharpness.
Software for Negative Conversion
There are several plugins and standalone programs for converting digitally captured negatives into positive images. Most of the options presented here allow you to download a demo version to try before you buy and determine which one best suits your workflow.
