Lomography brings analog into digital era

Film camera producer, Lomography, has released the first version of a 35mm film scanner powered by nothing less than a smartphone and two AA batteries. The new product is designed by a team of engineers, the same that builds its analog cameras and accessories.

A new Kickstarter project has been started by Lomography. Once more, the company is targeting film photographers in order to give them a chance to move into the digital era. The idea is to build a cheap way to turn film shots into digital images.

The way to do this consists of a special scanner, which can be used by anyone with the help of a smartphone. The rise of the digital era means that analog photographers have fewer ways to digitalize their 35mm film sheets, so this scanner will definitely be welcomed by the analog community.

Lomography introduces smartphone film scanner via Kickstarter

Lomography states that the scanner is a natural step up, giving its users the ability to bring and share their 35mm “analog” memories into the digital world. “Analog photography is our passion – and it’s this passion which drives us to want to capture every analog memory using the Smartphone Film Scanner”, the company claims.

The Smartphone Film Scanner is an attachment that allows to “photographically” scan a 35mm film, using a phone. It features a direct light panel powered by two AA batteries. The panel illuminates the film brightly enough for the camera phone to be able to photograph it.

This means that the scanned image resolution is directly proportional to the cellphone’s camera. The better camera your phone has, the better the end result will be. Be aware though that the end image will be cropped, as the phone’s camera also photographs the guide holes of the film.

In order to use the images, Lomography will also offer a free iPhone and Android application. The Lomoscanner App will be compatible with all iPhone models and most of Android-running smartphones. The app will allow the user to scan and edit color and black and white negative films.

Moreover, the app will also let the user stitch together scans or animate 35mm analogue movies shot using Lomography’s LomoKino camera. Because it’s a social inclined app, it also includes sharing functions. This means that Facebook, Twitter or other social networking sites are just a click away.

The Smartphone Film Scanner is small in size, thus easy to store and carry. Since it utilizes the user’s camera phone, it’s faster, cheaper and sometimes better than a normal film scanner. Prices and promotional offers are available on Lomography’s Kickstarter page. Estimated delivery date is March 2013.