Scanning with an iPhone (or other smart phone)

[ChrisR]

I have a relative who's just getting back into film photography, starting with a Minolta Autocord I've lent him. He usually has pretty much the best iPhone going, and these things are getting so capable these days, I wondered if there are any good options for scanning with an iPhone (other smart phones also available). I was pretty sure I'd seen some hardware intended to mount a phone above and parallel to a film held above a light source. I guess you could use a pixl-latr to hold the film, but the usual options for holding a Big Camera (DSLR, CSC etc), ie a copy stand or a tripod, seem overkill for a phone.

So, any ideas? I guess you could just bodge it up with the phone laid across a couple of bricks or two stacks of books, but I was hoping for something a tad more sophisticated than that!

 

[AndrewFlannigan]

There are lots of versions available. Just search for "iphone copy stand" and you'll get an alleged 50,000,000 results. Luckily, the first dozen or so are relevant...

 

[ChrisR]

There are lots of versions available. Just search for "iphone copy stand" and you'll get an alleged 50,000,000 results. Luckily, the first dozen or so are relevant...

View attachment 334213

Thanks Andrew. Those look mostly useful for scanning documents, ie much bigger objects than most film frames.

 

[AndrewFlannigan]

Thanks Andrew. Those look mostly useful for scanning documents, ie much bigger objects than most film frames.

Run the search and read the descriptions. I'm sure you'll find that at least some of the column based ones will go down quite close the baseboard. My full sized copy stand gets down to six inches. By the time you've put a light source under the negative or transparency, you'll be in the right range.

I also did a search for "iphone negative scanner" and came up with some gadgets designed for that specific purpose...

 

[RaglanSurf]

Lomo do a 35mm smart phone set up, I’m not sure if there’s a medium format version out there.

Smartphone Scanner Accessory – Microsite - Lomography

Count on the Lomography Smartphone Scanner accessory for a fast and easy way to instantly scan & share 35mm films. Works with all iPhones and Androids.

microsites.lomography.com