Bill Manning of Studio C41 not only recently had us on his podcast, but he also beta tested our Film Carrier MK1 with his personal work. After seeing his share a review online and post several images on the Studio C41 Instagram (@Studio.c41), we reached out to see if we could feature him and his experience on our blog - he said yes!

Read below as Bill answers a few questions about his workflows and experience with film photgoraphy and the Film Carrier MK1, and take a look at the awesome images he shared with us.

Kodak Gold 200, scanned using Film Carrier MK1 and a Canon 50D DSLR

How long have you been shooting film, and what’s your favorite stock?

“I’ve been a photographer for nearly 10 years, 5 of which I’ve been primarily shooting on film. My favorite stock changes based on the work required, but my recent work has mostly been on FujiFilm Pro 160NS in 120.”

When it comes to film development, do you develop at home or use a lab?

“I’m very fortunate to have a photo lab local to me. I get most of my processing and scanning done at Dunwoody Photo. However, I do keep some kits at home to process by hand from time to time.”

Above images: Kodak Ektachrome E100 scanned using Film Carrier MK1 and a Sony A7 III mirrorless digital camera.

What’s your current film scanning method, and what methods have you used since you started shooting film?

“Most of my 35mm and 120 scanning is done at the lab on a Frontier scanner.
Simple because it’s fast and the colors are right along the lines of my tastes. However, I do have a flatbed scanner at home and have just started DSLR scanning.”

How did the Film Carrier MK1 impact your scanning workflow?

“The MK1 has really opened up my eyes to taking DSLR scanning a lot more seriously. Combined with Negative Lab Pro, getting great colors from the negative has never been easier at home. Slide scanning was taken to a whole new level. I was able to scan a roll of 36 exposures in a couple minutes as opposed to 1/2 hour on a flatbed.”

Kodak Gold 200, scanned using Film Carrier MK1 and a Canon 50D DSLR.

“I was able to scan a roll of 36 exposures in a couple minutes opposed to 1/2 hour on a flatbed.”

— Bill Manning

Do you foresee yourself having an interest in our 120 medium format scanner?

“I’m certainly interested in a 120 version of the scanner. With new DSLR cameras harnessing the capabilities of 120 film [through camera scanning] is very exciting!”

Kodak Gold 200, scanned using Film Carrier MK1 and a Canon 50D DSLR.

Interested in seeing more from the great folks over at Studio C-41? You can find them here:
https://studioc41.net/

Are you interested in the Film Carrier MK1 but have yet to back or pre-order it? You can still do so (for a limited time) at our reduced pricing!

Dan took our Film Carrier MK1 for a test drive on recent 35mm portrait work, and we couldn’t wait to share the results with everyone! As one of our US-based beta testers, Dan’s portrait work was a perfect match for camera scanning. Shooting slide film requires a scanning method that can hold highlights while preserving rich shadow detail. Camera scanning is perfect for this, and the Film Carrier MK1 adds several additional benefits. Read on to catch Dan’s thoughts on the MK1, and check out a few more of his photographs.

Expired Fuji Sensia 100, scanned on Film Carrier MK1

We asked Dan to share his thoughts on using the Film Carrier MK1 in his workflow. He’s been using one of our prototype/beta units, and he was initially cautious about trying our system because it required a digital camera and macro lens. Dan and I spoke and found a way for him to build a kit on the cheap.

Here’s what Dan had to say:

”For me, a father with three kids and limited time, the Film Carrier MK1 (beta) scanner from Negative Supply is perfect. I scanned two rolls of slide film in about 6 minutes. Being able to scan a roll in “the blink of an eye” is big for me. I can import the photos at a later date and do my edits if need be. I hadn’t owned a digital camera in a couple years, so I bought a cheap Sony A3000 with a Nikon 55mm f/3.5 macro and adapter for a total of about $170. I get scans large enough for my own personal use, and can’t wait for the final version to get here!”

Expired Fuji Sensia 100, scanned on Film Carrier MK1

I was thrilled to hear of the pleasant experience Dan had when scanning with the MK1, mainly because it hit right on one of our main goals: allowing you to spend less time scanning where you can spend more time shooting, hanging out with your family, or anything else.

Check out a few more images from Dan’s recent scans:

Fuji Velvia 50, scanned on Film Carrier MK1

Fuji Velvia 50, scanned on Film Carrier MK1

Kodak Colorplus 200, scanned on Film Carrier MK1

You can view more of Dan’s awesome work over on Instagram @dancrosleyphoto
https://www.instagram.com/dancrosleyphoto/

Missed out on our Kickstarter? No worries! For a short period of time you’ll be able to pre-order our Film Carrier MK1 with or without Pro Mount MK1 at the same price as our Kickstarter!

Ending at 357% funding, we can’t begin to thank our nearly 150 backers enough for their generous support and faith in our product and our philosophy! We’re working hard to help sustain the film photography industry, and we’re thrilled that so many of you (from all over the world) chose to support our first product. The Film Carrier MK1 makes scanning 35mm film faster and simpler without sacrificing quality, and we can’t wait for our backers to get theirs!

Missed your opportunity to Pre-Order on Kickstarter? We have a limited second wave of orders to be fulfilled in October after the Kickstarter orders! Because of a limited time frame for these, the quantity available is limited. You can order below.

Pictured here is a sample scan from our 120 medium format beta scanner! Our Kickstarter stretch goal secured funds to aid the design of this scanner, and we look forward to sharing more updates from that process - soon!

We’ll be shipping out orders with a goal of postmarking all orders by September 30th. We want you to be scanning soon - and we’re committed to that!

Email subscribers: watch for an update from us tomorrow morning! We’ll also be preparing our website for pre-orders on our Film Carrier MK1, anticipating a late fall 2019 ship date.

We are excited to announce that we have created a group to discuss scanning film with a digital camera. There are a few other groups out there, but we really want this to serve as a safe place to discuss hardware, new products on the market, and best practices.

This group will also serve as a place for conversation about Negative Supply equipment and for early adopters to share images and ask questions.

Feel free to join today!

Scanning Film with a Digital Camera (Camera Scanning) Closed group · 2 members Join Group Hello and welcome! I have created this group to discuss scanning film with a digital camera. This group will also serve as a place for conversation ab...

We are proud to announce a hands on demo event at the Bushwick Community Darkroom - sponsored by Negative Supply!

Join us on July13th at 3:00PM for a photo walk, have your film developed, and try out the Film Carrier MK1 by scanning your 35mm negatives. Color conversion will be with Negative Lab Pro (V2.0 is awesome), and you are welcome to bring already developed slide or B&W film in roll form (or cut strips) to try out.

The first 20 people to sign up for this event will receive free C-41 processing through the Bushwick Community Darkroom, paid for by Negative Supply. This is a great opportunity to network with other photographers, shoot some film, and meet the folks at the BCD and us from Negative Supply!

Once the event wraps up we’ll be getting together for dinner + drinks (location TBD) and you’re welcome to join!

We’ll be meeting at the Bushwick Community Darkroom at 3:00PM before the photo walk begins. Hope to see you there!

You can sign up for the event here:

This example shows our Film Carrier MK1 scanning 1 roll of 35mm film in less than 5 minutes with conversions using Negative Lab Pro for LR Classic. We wanted to show what's possible with our Film Carrier, so we scanned a roll of film with a $150 Canon T2i, a $50 Nikon 55mm f/2.8 AIS from KEH in UG condition, and an iPhone as a light source.

In this demo we scan Kodak T-Max 3200 with the Negative Supply Film Carrier MK1 using a Canon T2i, Nikon 55mm f/2.8, and EOS utility for tethered capture. In addition to Lightroom Classic, the conversation was handled with Negative Lab Pro.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Digital camera scanning is popular because it’s an easy and resourceful way to scan your own work with equipment you may already have. 

All you need is a digital camera, a computer, a way to hold negatives flat, and a small light table or similar light source.  If you’re a digital photographer interested in shooting film, a hybrid photographer looking for a resourceful way to scan your own film, or a photographer exclusively shooting film with the desire to quickly and easily scan at home or the office, using a digital camera is a great option.  You can make use of the digital camera you already own or easily source one used or new.  (P.S.- you don’t need the newest and greatest to get great scans)

Negative Holder or the Negative Carrier MK1

Keeps the film in place for image capture. The film needs to be completely flat for sharp photos. Our Film Carrier MK1 works great if you’re looking to scan whole rolls of film quickly and efficiently. You simply load the roll into our Film Carrier MK1, and begin turning the advance wheel as the film comes into line with the scanning path. Advancing the film from frame to frame is a breeze with our smooth channel design, and this requires little force or pressure to achieve. Scan a full roll in 5 minutes or less!

Light Source or Tablet/Phone Screen

Illuminate the negative from below. Consistent light allows for even capture without vignetting. Light tables very in cost, but it’s important to have one with good diffusion so that there aren’t patterns in your final scans. We’ve even had great results using a tablet screen set to a white background at full brightness! (portable devices fit great under our Pro Mount MK1).

Camera Stand or Tripod

Hold the camera over the light source. Avoiding shake will reduce blur and sharpen images. Tripods actually work great! And for a more steady and tabletop solution copy stands are affordable and compact. Kaiser makes many different models, just choose one that’s tall enough for your macro lens. The compact Kaiser Repro Kid copy stand is an affordable option for smaller space and proves great stability.

Digital Camera + Macro Lens or Extension Tubes

Most digital cameras work well. Tethered capture to a computer makes workflow much faster, and macro lenses between 55 and 105mm give the best results. For full frame cameras look for 1:1 reproduction ratios. My favorite affordable option is the 30+ year old Nikon 55mm f/3.5 or f/2.8 with an extension tube. For cameras, we’ve tested many cameras, including the 9 year old T2i and full frame options like a D810 and Sony A7ii.

Our setup while shooting Kickstarter video, pictured here with Canon 6D and Kaiser Stand. Portra 800 pushed 1 stop, Sample Scan with $150 Canon T2i

Sample Scan with $150 Canon T2i and the Nikon 55mm f/3.5 (Tri-X 400)

Sample Scan with Nikon full frame camera.

Enlarged section showing visible resolved grain from Kodak Ektachrome 100, one of the worlds finest grain slide films.

Want to learn more about our Kickstarter?

You can visit our campaign here:

We are blown away by the support here in the film industry. in less than 36 hours we have almost reached 200% funding ($29.2k), and we believe this is just the beginning!

When we launched this project, we launched knowing we had an opportunity to make scanning accessible to everyone with a digital camera they already own. We also knew we had the chance to launch a company that will continue to respond to the needs of the film company. During this launch, we always knew we wanted to launch a 120 scanner, but a successful 35mm unit had to come first.

Today we are announcing an Early Bird Stretch Goal

Because each and every beta unit we build takes time, guts, and capital, we’ve held off on the 120 unit until we knew we could do it right. With the confidence and momentum behind our 35mm unit, we are excited to share details about medium format solutions!

If we reach $35k funding by end of day tomorrow (July 3rd EST), we will share details of our 120 beta film carrier by the end of the Kickstarter, and announce a timeframe for launch!

Kickstarter is Live

Link below!

It’s official, our kickstarter is live! We are so excited about finally launching our little project into the world. We’ve put together a Kickstarter page and several videos to tell you all about the Film Carrier MK1.

We are here to empower a generation of photographers. We are here to share our passion for film. We are here to help you bring your film to life.

Early Bird Ordering

Early Bird ordering is live for the first 48 hours, with orders being shipped out on a first come, first serve basis (we plan on having all orders postmarked by September).

Live Chat with the Co-Founders

We will also be answering questions live in the comments section below! ask us questions or let us know about your support and chat with Saxon and AJ!

We’re very excited to announce we were on the @studio.c41 podcast, 1 Hour Photo, this morning! We discussed PRICING for our Kickstarter tiers, the Kickstarter launch for this coming Monday, and all sorts of various features of our products alongside details of camera scanning, and a general discussion of the film photography industry.

We are huge supporters of the folks at Studio C41, and as personal fans of the podcast we were blown away by their hospitality and belief in our little project.

A Podcast By Northeast Photographic

Tune in to this week’s episode for an inside look at the development and design on the Film Carrier MK1 on one of our favorite podcasts, Scary Stories to Tell in the Darkroom by Northeast Photographic. Co-Founder AJ Holmes sits down with Mark Sperry of Northeast photographic to discuss what film photography means to him, and how we believe our Film Carrier MK1 and Pro Mount MK1 will encourage more users to and scan at home, quickly and easily.

NORTHEAST PHOTOGRAPHIC

As one of the world’s most innovative film labs, Northeast Photographic is continually looking for new ways to deliver superior results with E6 scanning. Through an extensive beta phase, the MK1 has seen successful implementation in their workflow allowing for greater speed and consistency. We encourage anyone looking for film processing and scanning to look into their amazing services.

Website: www.northeastphotographic.com

Instagram: @northeastphotographic

We are thrilled to introduce yet another exciting product in advance of our July 1st Kickstarter launch! Our Pro Mount MK1 allows our Film Carrier MK1 to securely and easily attach, ensuring a more stable scanning process by adding weight and widening its footprint. Want another feature? Our Pro Mount MK1 also includes an anti static brush that mounts outside of our Film Carrier MK1 film gate, removing dust and unwanted artifacts before you scan. The Pro Mount MK1 also features adjustable feet to help guarantee a level film scanning plane, level and flat helps guarantee sharpness! We’re here to make sure you spend less time scanning, and more time shooting. With our Film Carrier MK1 and Pro Mount MK1, you can do just that.

Over the last year we’ve tirelessly searched for a convenient way to digitize film at home after developing C-41 and black and white films. We tried multiple options including strip scanners and flatbeds from big manufacturers, but weren’t happy with either and the workflows were tiresome! That's why we created the Film Carrier MK1 and the Pro Mount MK1. We believe camera scanning is here to stay, and with our durable products you’ll be able to scan film quickly and efficiently, ensuring you more time to take photographs.

Spend hours with your camera, not your flatbed scanner.

With our Film Carrier MK1 and our optional Pro Mount MK1, digitizing negatives or positives at home or in the lab has never been easier. Unlike traditional flatbed scanners, or aging traditional roll scanners/minilab scanners, our unit is built around a system that can evolve with digital camera technologies, allowing you to continuously upgrade your camera (aka hardware) when you deem fit. With the Film Carrier MK1 you’ll be able to scan entire rolls of 35mm film in as little as 5 minutes or less, all while keeping the emulsion safe and aligned during frame advancement with our precision drive mechanism. With the optional Pro Mount MK1, tricky camera setups are easy to level for consistent and sharp results thanks to adjustable feet and a weighted base, ensuring precision and stability, and you’ll automatically remove dust with our anti static brush!

Scary Stories to Tell in the Darkroom

Tune in later this week for an inside look at the development and design on the Film Carrier MK1 on one of our favorite podcasts, Scary Stories to Tell in the Darkroom by Northeast Photographic. Co-Founder AJ Holmes discusses what film photography means to him, and how we believe our Film Carrier MK1 and Pro Mount MK1 will encourage more users to and scan at home, quickly and easily.

Early Bird Ordering

We’re also happy to share that early bird ordering will be offered through our crowdfunding campaign! These reward tiers will offer the products at a reduced cost and with faster shipping to thank you for following along with our journey. We will let you know as soon as the campaign goes live, giving you opportunity to place your order in our early bird phase (we expect early bird orders to sell out quickly)!

Let’s talk about time.

This past weekend I spent some time scanning old negatives I haven’t looked at in years, and I couldn’t help but wonder why I’ve never seen some of the photographs. Then it hit me: I was spending so much time taking photos and traveling that I didn’t have time to scan strips in a flat bed, and I didn’t have money to spend on a professional scanner.

These negatives, of friends and family, sat developed (but unseen) for years because of an inefficient workflow and cost prohibitive tools. I was reminded once again of why we founded Negative Supply: to enable film photographers to create and share more work, and to do so affordably and efficiently.

Over the past 3 months we’ve received dozens of messages from photographers all over the world telling us how excited they are for our film carrier. Each and every message we receive is encouraging, but the ones that really resonate with us are those from film shooters that just can’t afford to spend hours with traditional scanners, and know that camera scanning is a future that will allow you to shoot more film. In fact, 58% of you told us it takes more than 30 minutes to digitize just one roll of film, and we think our MK1 will really revolutionize your workflow by scanning entire rolls in just 5 minutes. And for those of you worried about having a “nice digital camera” to scan with, almost all of the photos we’ve shared have been digitized with a $150 T2i.

As I sit here looking over the rolls finally scanned from years past, I’m now more sure than ever we are on the right path. In the coming weeks we launch our crowdfunding campaign, but I truly believe we are launching something else. Something bigger. It’s our goal for this campaign to spark interest throughout the film community in camera scanning, because we know that each and every tool that makes shooting film easier and more affordable helps sustain the industry as a result. Our aim is to increase accessibility and affordability of shooting film, and this is our first step towards that goal.

We are here to empower a generation of photographers. We are here to share our passion for film. We are here to help you bring your film to life.

Early Bird Ordering

I’m also happy to share that we will be offering early bird ordering through our crowdfunding campaign. These reward tiers will offer the products at a reduced cost and with faster shipping to thank you for following along with our journey. We will let you know as soon as the campaign goes live so that you have an opportunity to place an order as soon as possible (we expect early bird orders to sell out quickly).

The Wait is Almost Over.

While we’ve been busy planning the next steps of our company and finding our place in the film industry, you’ve been busy making photographs - and we can’t wait for you to scan your images on our MK1 unit. Over the past 3 months, our team has been hard at work creating what we think will become the very best option for scanning 35mm negative and positive film, as well as making plans for scanning 120 and large format film.

During the development phase, we’ve come to realize how important quality assurance is; and our testing has been non-stop. By utilizing the best manufacturing techniques available and the highest quality components, we’ve begun finalizing pricing and a timeline for the MK1. While we are still waiting on a few supplier quotes and not ready to share pricing, we have exciting news to share about availability. 

We are proud to announce that our crowdfunding campaign will launch July 1st, 2019, and we are looking to fulfill orders very quickly after the campaign ends. You’ll be able to reserve a MK1 unit at a reduced rate during this campaign, and the funds raised during this time will empower the development and production of the MK1, as well as fund further research and development of our 120 and large format scanning units.

We need your help.

We are looking for several beta testers, but we are also looking to gather information about the camera scanning community so that we can design the best product possible.

We would be honored if you would take 2 minutes to complete our camera scanning questionnaire. It includes key pieces of information about the workflow that you use to digitize your film - this is vital information we would love to consider as we finalize the finished product. If you’re still interested in testing a pre-release unit, please fill this out within the next 7 days.

---

Northeast Photographic

Through an extensive beta phase, the MK1 has seen successful implementation in their workflow allowing for greater speed and consistency. We encourage anyone looking for film processing and scanning to look into their amazing services. 

You can find out more about Northeast photographic by visiting their website at www.northeastphotographic.com.

---

Thank you for your continued support and taking the time to read this email. We should have an update in about 2 weeks, but are constantly sharing updates via our instagram @negative.supply. 

Press or Influencer? We would love to speak with you! We are looking to schedule hands on sessions and interviews in the coming weeks. Please reach out using the contact form for more information. 

-Saxon & AJ