spanish_inquisition
Spanish Inquisition
I have been working with film for ~6 years now and over the years I have used several dedicated film scanners (at yearbook and college newspaper) and then several flatbed scanners with film scanning capabilities.
I always liked having the "full-frame" experience, i.e. having the entire frame in the print or scan. Unfortunately most scanner holders these days crop the top and bottom edges of the film (a tiny bit, but it's annoying). So I made a simple film holder out of two 4"x6" fridge-magnet type sheets (got them from ACE Hardware in Berkeley for less than $3). I taped them on one side and the whole contraption works really well.
Below are some images of the holder itself and a few comparison scans at 2400 dpi, scan sharpening disabled, no sharpening or post-processing whatsoever (100% views).
a. with the homemade magnetic holder
b. with the supplied canon holder
c. with the film laying flat on the glass (emulsion facing down)
There is little or no difference in detail in all of these scans, but I like that I can get the whole frame in the scan. This kind of holder can be used with any scanner and I can't see why it can't work with 120film.
Ghe
I always liked having the "full-frame" experience, i.e. having the entire frame in the print or scan. Unfortunately most scanner holders these days crop the top and bottom edges of the film (a tiny bit, but it's annoying). So I made a simple film holder out of two 4"x6" fridge-magnet type sheets (got them from ACE Hardware in Berkeley for less than $3). I taped them on one side and the whole contraption works really well.
Below are some images of the holder itself and a few comparison scans at 2400 dpi, scan sharpening disabled, no sharpening or post-processing whatsoever (100% views).
a. with the homemade magnetic holder
b. with the supplied canon holder
c. with the film laying flat on the glass (emulsion facing down)
There is little or no difference in detail in all of these scans, but I like that I can get the whole frame in the scan. This kind of holder can be used with any scanner and I can't see why it can't work with 120film.
Ghe
johannielscom
Snorting silver salts
I'm gonna make me one of those for my 6x9 negatives, this is just what I need! Thanks, great idea!
thegman
Veteran
Nice work, looks great.
robert blu
quiet photographer
Interesting, but because english is not my native language I do not understand what are "fridge-magnet type sheets". Could you please give me some more details? Sorry for stupid question and thanks in advance.
robert
robert
spanish_inquisition
Spanish Inquisition
Dear Robert
I understand where you're coming from (my native language is not English either). It's this type of vinyl sheet that has magnetic particles incorporated into it. They're usually 1-2mm thick, black on one side and white (or other colors) on the other side. The reason they're sometimes called "fridge-magnets" is because you can print images on them and put them on the door of the refrigerator. Sometimes companies print funny advertising on magnetic sheets and give them away in the hope that people put them on their refrigerators for fun.
see:
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/413XofsVeiL.jpg
http://www.amazon.com/Magnetic-Sheet-Crafts-Home-Shop/dp/B000KZBMDO
robert blu
quiet photographer
Thanks for explanation, I did not know this fridge thing !
Grazie e ciao
robert
Grazie e ciao
robert
tokengirl
Established
I like your idea very much. One question: does your holder help hold the film flat? Some films I use have a terrible barrel curve along the length of the film and the holders for my scanner do absolutely nothing to help the situation.
Mablo
Well-known
This kind of neg holder works well with a Canon flatbed scanner because Canon scanner's focus point is typically very low, at the scanner glass level or maybe 0,5mm above it.
spanish_inquisition
Spanish Inquisition
If your film has a bit of a curve to it- it will work. The point is that the magnets will actually hold the film taught a bit. If the curve is crazy, it will not work. Try flattening the film in a book for a couple of days, or ... ANR glass. Not an elegant solution, but it works. I never had curling problems really, but my standards are not very high.
Ghe
spanish_inquisition
Spanish Inquisition
You can add two layers of magnetic sheet and effectively raise the film off the flatbed for Epsons for example. So you can do some shimming there to optimize the holder for your scanner.
robklurfield
eclipse
just out of curiosity, is there any risk to putting a magnet into your scanner?
I would assume that there are magnets in various places in the mechanism and I am simply wondering if the addition of another magnetic field might cause any issues. No clue.
Anyway, if the magnetism ISN'T an issue, than this is a pretty cool and cheap solution. Very creative thinking.
I would assume that there are magnets in various places in the mechanism and I am simply wondering if the addition of another magnetic field might cause any issues. No clue.
Anyway, if the magnetism ISN'T an issue, than this is a pretty cool and cheap solution. Very creative thinking.
spanish_inquisition
Spanish Inquisition
I don't think there are any issues. The magnetic field decreases very fast as a function of distance from the magnetic sheet. Then, you're not really putting it into the scanner, but rather onto the scanner (flatbed models only). The thickness of the flatbed glass is enough to prevent any potential issues, so don't worry
