Last Updated on 07/24/2019 by Mark Beckenbach
With digital cameras among today’s most popular methods of digitizing 35mm film, the Film Carrier MK1 is a tool to help make it easier.
Camera scanning has been getting popular these days for those who want to “scan” their films using their digital cameras. Even Nikon released its own digitizing adapter a couple of years ago. If you’ve been thinking of using this method to digitize your film negatives, you might want to check out the Film Carrier MK1 and Pro Mount MK1 by Philadelphia-based Negative Supply. This new contraption, currently on its last few days of funding on Kickstarter, promises to let you scan your 35mm film in under five minutes.
According to the campaign, the project was inspired by the Negative Supply folks not being happy about the workflow and results of using strip scanners and flatbed scanners from big companies. So, they designed the Film Carrier MK1 and Pro Mount MK1 setup to take advantage of the convenience of camera scanning — which they believe is here to stay — and make it more efficient.
To make this happen, the Film Carrier MK1 and Pro Mount MK1 device has a unique channel technology with a customized guide path design that keeps the film extremely flat. This ensures near-zero distortion of the film, so the scanned image retains sharpness across the entire frame. It also allows the entire 35mm frame to be fully scanned, as indicated by a thin black border. In comparison, most minilab scanners and flatbed methods crop the image by default.
Those who haven’t yet tried camera scanning may be asking what the advantages of this digitizing method are. Negative Supply says advancements in CMOS sensor technology allow greater editing controls for both negative films and slides. The setup they created also makes for a faster scanning workflow. Simply load the negative into the Film Carrier MK1, turn the advance wheel into the scanning area, and shoot. Compared to similar roller mechanisms, it’s also a safer way to scan your precious emulsion, since no part of the image comes into contact with the device.
Meanwhile, the Pro Mount MK1 is designed to enhance and complement the Film Carrier MK1 by adding stability, leveling feet for precise scanning, and dust removal features. Negative Supply is also currently designing their beta 120 and 4×5 scanning systems to be compatible with the Pro Mount MK1 to extend its functionality to other formats.
Here are some sample scans from the Film Carrier MK1:
Want to know more about this new device and how to use it for camera scanning? Check out Negative Supply’s Kickstarter page for more details and make a minimum pledge of $279 for the Film Carrier MK1, or $429 to include the Pro Mount MK1.
All photos from the Film Carrier MK1 Kickstarter page