Devices that digitize 35 mm negatives and slides are not new, AKA film scanners. However, if you are in the market for one that is 1) super affordable and 2) has little to not plastic for sake of sustainability, well then, look no further than the Kodak Mobile Film Scanner. For starter, it costs just $39.99, which in itself is quite a draw, and it is make almost entirely of cardboard. The Kodak Mobile Film Scanner is all that (i.e. affordability and kind of sustainable), plus it is totally foldable for ease of bringing it around.
It is powered by a pair of AA batteries and works in with your smartphone to turn 35 mm negatives and 35 mm slides into digital format. An LED backlight lights up the negative or slide, and your smartphone with the Kodak Mobile Film Scanner app installed will take it from there. In other words, Kodak Mobile Film Scanner is basically using your smartphone to take picture of the negative or the slide. Then again, that’s essentially the principle behind scanners, isn’t it?
Having said that, it may not be the best solution if super image quality is what you are after. I would imagine the results are only as good as your smartphone camera. However, it should be suffice for casual use where extreme quality isn’t necessary. Definitely not something to use if you archiving important analog images. It is not entirely without merits, though, and in this instance, you will have a choice of scanning options, as well as the ability to pull off basic post-processing like tweaking the exposure, contrast, vignetting and whatnot.
Kodak Mobile Film Scanner is available in the U.S. from Amazon for the aforementioned $39.99.
Images: Kodak.
Source: PetaPixel.
