Features
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Speed: roller film transport facilitates quicker image capture
Stability: sturdy rubber feet, steel construction, and retaining thumbscrews prevent the film holder from sliding
Leveling: more than 10mm fine threaded adjustment on leveling feet
Evenly lit scans: film is lifted 5cm from the light source to diffuse dust spots
Multi-format support: rollers are adjustable for almost any roll film format ever made
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.
Upgrade your at-home film scanning workflow with the VALOI 360 Advancer, part of the modular, expandable VALOI 360 system. A set of rubber rollers and knurled film advance knobs allow you to quickly and precisely transport the film through the VALOI 360 film holders (sold separately), rather than pulling the film through manually with your hands, for more efficient digital camera scanning.
This product requires a VALOI 360 Film Holder: the 35mm Holder , 120 Holder , 35mm Mounted Slide Holder, or Specialty Film Holders, which are sold separately.
Two included thumbscrews can be used to secure the film holder to the Advancer. Film format masks (6x4.5, 6x6, and 6x7 for 120; Half Frame for 35mm) sit in between the Advancer and the film holder. The Advancer raises the film off of the light source for more even illumination. Adjustable leveling feet ensure that your film is held completely level with your camera for sharp scans. Accessories such as the Duster and Light Adapter integrate seamlessly with the Advancer as a platform. VALOI Basic Bundles or VALOI Complete Bundles featuring the Advancer are also available.
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.
