Some of us like letting the lab scan our film, but others find solace in the meditative process of doing it ourselves with a DSLR, mirrorless camera, etc. If you’re the latter person, then the Negative Supply Basic Film Carrier 35 MK2 is probably going to excite you quite a bit. For only $79, it lets you have lots of the features of the company’s Pro Film carrier at a much more affordable price point.
Here’s what the new Basic Film Carrier 35 Mk 2 offers, according to the company’s press release:
- Standard Border 35mm Cassette (included by default with our Basic Film Carrier 35 MK2 or our Pro Film Carrier 35 – includes interchangeable masks for half, standard, and panoramic frames)
- Full Border 35mm Cassette (Shows fuller borders than ever before and includes interchangeable masks for half, standard, and panoramic frames)
- APS Film Scanning Cassette (Replacing our previous generation and providing superior film flatness)
- 110 Film Scanning Cassette (Replacing our previous generation and providing superior film flatness)
- 126 Film Scanning Cassette (All new thanks to requests from our user base)
Essentially, if you shoot a lot of film, it will help you save a ton of money. If you’re using a film lab, you’ll only need to pay for development. Typically, scanning is where it gets very expensive, as I’ve paid over $100 before for scans on a roll. With the Negative Supply Basic Film Carrier 35 MK2, you can do it at home. But the thing is that you need to keep the film-scanning light table clean.
We recommend using it with the basic 35mm kit, which we reviewed a while back. Here are the pros and cons from our review:
PROS
- Film strip holder keeps your film roll absolutely flat
- You can scan a roll of negatives very quickly once you get the initial set-up done.
- Basic Riser MK1 copy stand is super steady and can support a DSLR with a large macro lens
- Light source is evenly lit
- Feels classy to the touch
- Scanning film with this kit is a quick and really fun experience.
CONS
- Power cable easily slips out from the 4×5 light source unit
- Some might want an adjustable light intensity
- Pricey when you compare it to automatic 35mm scanners
The Negative Supply Basic Film Carrier 35 MK2 is 3D printed and we’re confident that it’s going to feel great considering our findings in the previous review. If it doesn’t, then we’d be quite shocked.
Negative Supply has been overall very good about getting their products out to their customers. However, there’s the exception with the LM1, which we reported on and followed up on recently. The company is still working on the LM1, and is providing feedback on the project as it progresses. The Negative Supply Basic Film Carrier 35 MK2 is the type of product that would be fully in the company’s control though. Henceforth, we think that photographers should be able to get their hands on one with no problems.
What seems really nice here is that you’re getting the ability to scan in a few different film formats and that it works well with half-frame too. Technically speaking, scanning half-frame film shouldn’t be all that difficult to do.
We’ll call one in and see how they perform in our own independent review to come.