toneCarrier Film Carrier for DSLR scanning 35 mm film (with sprockets!)

The easiest way to start camera scanning.

Do you have boxes of old negatives that you've been wanting to preserve but never got around to it? Are you tired of outdated, slow flatbed film scanners that take hours to scan a few rolls of film?

The toneCarrier Basic Film Carrier may be just what you need! If you already have a DSLR or mirrorless camera and a tripod, all you need is this quick 2 hour print, a couple of screws and you can start scanning full rolls in no time. Just print, assemble, push the film in and scan with none of the faff!

Description

The carrier features a specially engineered and proven film channel geometry that is guaranteed to keep your film flat and level. An extra wide wide film channel exposes sprocket holes by default, so you can scan almost the full width of the film strip!

It is also designed with film safety as the top priority - no part of the toneCarrier ever contacts your precious negatives apart from a small section at the very edge of the film. Generous clearance on all sides of the negative guarantees that your images stay safe and scratch-free.

There are dedicated spaces for 4x10 mm rubber pads that will keep the holder securely in place and stop it sliding around your table.

Key features

• S-curve film channel that keeps film straight and flat
• Generous clearance all around the negative makes scratches impossible
• Easy to source hardware, all you need are 4xM5 screws and nuts
• Dedicated pockets to stick rubber feet to prevent sliding
• Supports full frame and half frame 35 mm film
• Sprocket holes included in frame

Printed parts list:

1x Body side A
1x Body side B

Requires approx. 120 g of filament, sub 3 hour print.

Stock parts list:

4x M5x30 Socket Head Cap Screw
4x M5 Thin Square Nut (DIN 562) OR 4 M5x7.1 mm diameter brass inserts (like these ones)
4x 10 mm diameter rubber feet (optional)

Print settings:

• Material: PLA (Bambu Lab Matte Black PLA recommended)
• Layer height: 0.2 mm
• Walls: 3 or more
• Infill: 20% or more
• Infill pattern: Aligned rectilinear (do not use grid infill)
• Supports: off (important)

Print in the following orientation:

Backstory

In 2022 I began working on developing a film holder that could be easily 3D printed without compromising good mechanical design principles. During the past 2 years I have invested a lot of time and money into developing the best film holding system possible.

The toneCarrier Basic Film Holder is the result of hundreds of hours of work spent on my toneCarrier Film Scanning System condensed into a small, easy to print and inexpensive to make community version.

The full toneCarrier Film Scanning System

Note: this is a free community version of the paid toneCarrier version, which provides an even more comfortable scanning experience. Additional features of the full version include:

• Extremely smooth, belt driven film advance mechanism that allows scanning of full strips without handling the negative
• 120 film support with up to 6x9 frame sizes
• X-Pan scanning support
• Chimney / light hood which blocks stray light
• Automatic rewinding catch tray and easy loading tray that keeps film off the table while scanning
• Interchangeable frame masks for different frame formats (Full frame, half frame, X-Pan, 6x6, 6x7, 6x8, 645)
• Adapter plate for the CS-Lite light source
• Universal light adapter to use with any light (e.g. your phone or tablet as a low cost RGB light source)

Check out my website, where you can purchase STL files as well as fully assembled and tested holders.