We’re excited to launch our new service, offering full frame scans of medium format film (in 6×4.5, 6×6 and 6×7 formats). Here’s a little technical background information to explain the benefits!
Every brand of camera sizes frame formats slightly differently; for example, the size of a 6×4.5 frame from a Mamiya camera is a little different to that of a Contax. When film is scanned, we use masks that keep the film flat during the scan, and that isolate one frame from another and from the area outside of the image. To allow for these discrepancies in frame sizes between different brands of camera, mask manufacturers made their masks slightly smaller than the smallest frame so to ensure that the scan is borderless and excludes areas outside the frame that can sometimes interfere with the way the scanner interprets the image. For this reason, there is always a degree of cropping when film is scanned using the original manufacturer-made masks.
With this in mind, and you may have read this in our FAQ, we have always advised photographers not to place important elements of their image very close to a frame edge, to avoid them being cropped by the mask.
The great news is that we have sourced custom-made masks for the main medium formats (6×4.5, 6×6 and 6×7) that enable us through a fairly complex set-up process to scan beyond the edges of frames irrespective of their size. This means you can now get a scan of your entire frame, un-cropped, and showing the space around the edges of your frame too. This is perfect for if you like to see the full frame, or indeed, if you love the look of an image with real film borders.
Until we have updated our order form, simply write “full frame please!” in the notes section, and we’ll make it happen. Full frame scanning attracts a small supplement per roll to reflect that it’s more time-consuming to perfectly align frames in masks that have a larger aperture than the image. For now this service is only for medium format film, but we will monitor demand for this service on 35mm film!
Here are a few examples of what to expect from a full frame scan.
Photo by Erica (of Christian of CFL) shot on a Contax 645 using Kodak Portra 160
Below, a shot of Kane Valley Rd, BC, not too far from Canadian Film Lab HQ. Taken on Pentax 67ii using Kodak Portra 160.
Below, a shot taken in Hope by Erica, using a Rolleiflex 2.8F and Kodak Ektar.
