In October 2019, it was announced that some US airports would start using new Computer Tomography (CT) scanners. After a recent warning from Kodak, Fujifilm has also issued an advisory for its customers regarding these changes. The company warns photographers not to expose their unprocessed Instax and other film to new airport scanners. Along with the warning, Fuji also introduces some guidelines for handling film when boarding an airplane, because exposing it to CT and X-Ray scanners will destroy it.
Kodak posts advisory on how to travel with film through new airport CT scanners
A couple of months ago, it was announced that some airports across the US had switched over from the more traditional X-Ray machines to use Computer Tomography (CT) scanners to check passenger luggage. Unlike film, which can usually handle a few x-rays just fine if it’s low ISO, CT scans will destroy pretty much any film almost instantly.
With this technology set to expand to at least 145 airports in total, Kodak has posted an advisory to Facebook with some guidance on travelling with film. They actually did some testing with Portra 400 and the CT scanners in cooperation with the TSA to see exactly what kind of effect it had.
New airport hand luggage scanners will destroy your unprocessed film
Here comes a warning for film photographers flying through US airports. Some airports are using new hand luggage scanners that will destroy your unprocessed film in just one scan. They have already been unveiled in 17 airports across the US, and there are likely more to come.
These ethereal portraits were created using a flatbed scanner
I believe that quite a few of us have played with flatbed scanners and “took photos” with it. But Maitha Demithan took this to a whole new level. The Dubai-based artist creates dreamy portraits with a large format scanner. In her work, she has scanned people as well as animals to create beautiful, ethereal images.
How to use a scanner to create photography without a camera
The Koldunov Brothers are always coming up with strange ideas. Mostly they’re to replace photographic accessories with, let’s say, less conventional items. This time, it’s something a little different. They’re not just replacing camera accessories. They’re replacing the camera. With a flatbed scanner.
It’s actually not a bad idea for experimenting with. A flatbed scanner is essentially just a giant, slow, rolling shutter camera. Sure, it has an extremely close focus and a very limited depth of field. The lighting options are also quite limited, too. But it can produce some very neat results.
Calibrating your Epson v700 workflow with a $16,000 Hasselblad Flextight
I recently had a few prints made from some medium format negatives. The prints are for a specific purpose so I wanted them to be of the highest quality possible, this meant taking them to a local specialist where the film was scanned with a Hasselblad Flextight X1. The Flextight is about the best quality scan you can get, before moving up to dedicated drum scans that can be messy, time consuming, and expensive.
I realised I could use this as an opportunity to compare how good my Epson v700 scanner is to the Flextight scans, and also to try to improve the scans from my v700 by calibrating the workflow. You could also apply this to the v800 models of this scanner as they are effectively the same. Note that I’m not considering wet scanning, as I’m dealing with medium format film.
Build A DIY Slide Scanner For $10
Here’s a quick DIY project that can help you convert your collection of old slide film collection into digital images by Instructables user, barkergk. The project calls for PVC pipe, a smartphone, and a few other items that can be easily sourced and the project itself shouldn’t take up too much of your time making it a great rainy day activity. Let’s get to it![Read More…]
How To Make a Home Brew Smartphone Film Scanner
If you have been shooting for more than a few years there is a good chance that you have a few archiving albums (you’re neat) or shoe boxes (you’re human) filled with old films.
Digitizing film is a tedious task and we have shared a great comprehensive tutorial on it before, but sometimes you need something quick and dirty (but not as dirty as a TP roll)
Lomography has a clever smartphone film scanner which is perfect for the job. Instructables user ASCAS has a DIY version of it.[Read More…]
