M135
OUR KICKSTARTER IS LIVE! http://kck.st/3HKsitB
Shown: 3D rendering of our injection-molded M135 Film Holder. Back on Kickstarter for Early Access!
**At present, only our 3D-printed model is available for purchase.**
35MM FILM & SLIDE CARRIER
$31.00 USD (Free Shipping within Contiguous U.S.)
The "M" stands for Micro, because our most basic Film Carrier is diminutive in size—and small on the tall talk.
It just works.
The M135 offers uncompromising ease-of-use to streamline your workflow, without sacrificing tack-sharp scans.
KEY FEATURES
The M135 film holder accommodates 35mm film and standard 2x2" slides. (Works with both cut and uncut film!)
Keeps film flat and centered for ultra-sharp scans.
Low-friction ABS construction and pull-through design allow for smooth and efficient operation.
The simplest, most uncomplicated addition to your workflow.
“Little by little, a little becomes a lot.” We’ve designed the M135 to iron out the “little” nuisances that plague most run-of-the-mill carriers. In doing our homework, we’ve incorporated a few subtle—but important—design elements in the M135:
Keyhole Guiderails
The M135’s guiderails keep film centered and eliminate the risk of film catching on or slipping between the mating surfaces of the carrier.
Chamfered Aperture
Targets unwanted reflections and glare so that the carrier won’t reflect light back onto your negatives.
Integrated Slide Holder
No need to switch out masks or fiddle around with adapters while scanning. The M135 has a built-in holder for keeping slides centered and in place.
WHY DSLR SCAN?
DSLR (or mirrorless) film scanning offers convenience, sharpness, and control that put traditional Flatbeds and Lab Scans to shame. CCD sensors—such as those found in Fuji's SP-3000—were once the gold standard of machine vision, but have been phased out in favor of CMOS sensors. CMOS sensors are the de facto standard nowadays, in everything from cellphones to consumer DSLRs, and have advanced enough to even surpass CCDs (Noritsu even uses CMOS in their HS-1800, released in 2008).
Flatbed scanners, on the other hand, use CIS sensors that are compact and efficient, but not superstars when it comes down to preserving details and tones. For example, take the Epson V600. And, of course:
Flatbeds. Take. Forever.
In short: CMOS image sensors have leaped forward lightyears since 2008.
And capturing scans in RAW allows us to preserve—and manipulate—details and tones that are often lost to traditional Lab or Flatbed scans. Newer software, such as Negative Lab Pro, even puts the inversion process back in your hands.
WHY THE M135?
The biggest challenge with scanning film is keeping the negatives flat. There are quite a few good options out there, including the M135, that achieve this. However, there are also a few other issues that hadn't quite been ironed out...until now.
The first (and, to me, #1 issue other than flatness) is ease of use and simplicity. The entire process of shooting film is already labor intensive; digitizing shouldn't be another hassle of its own. For example, I love the results I get with Andrew Clifforth's EFH...but dealing with plastic studs, wingnuts, and multiple masks slowed me down too much. Sometimes, I'd have to finagle the film so it wouldn't "bump" the top mask and get stuck. I designed the M135 with these issues in mind, so that film would just slide in with little thought and no effort.
The second issue is value. You can spend a couple hundred dollars (or more) for a real nice set-up that ticks all the boxes. But, in reality, shooting film is expensive enough! You deserve a nice Film Carrier that is designed to perform well, is modular (more on that later!), and priced right. Mr. Clifforth nails it when he points out that most film holders are over-engineered or expensive. I like to think of the M135 as the AE-1 of film carriers: simple, affordable, uncomplicated.
HOW TO USE
Production and R&D
I've personally designed the M135 based on my experience shooting, developing, and scanning film. For those of you that already DSLR scan your film, you'll understand my frustration with many of today's Film Holders and Carriers. This is an ongoing project, open to feedback, with real-world usage putting the M135 to the test.
Our partners at Onset Engineering, an Irvine-based additive manufacturing specialist, handle production of the M135 in-house. You're receiving a precision-designed, precision-made product made by an ISO-9001-compliant, NAICS 332710 manufacturer—not some rando with a 3D printer in their garage!
As sales pickup for the M135, I would love to offer it in a much cleaner finish (and for less) if SLA prints or injection-molding become feasible. In the near future, we plan to offer a much more complete, modular workflow with holders for 120 film (645, 6x6, 6x7, 6x8, etc.)—all compatible with one another for ease-of-use.
Variations and blemishes in finish are normal and do not affect performance.
Questions? Feel free to ask! casierra936@gmail.com