Photomyne is happy to offer a smart scanner app for digitizing and saving your old camera film negatives - using nothing but your smartphone. FilmBox makes it easy to view, capture, and save analog film negatives.
❣️ Tips for best scanning results
With the help of a light source, FilmBox turns your phone's camera into a smart film reader. It then inverts the negative colors into positive and enhances the image, resulting in a bright and beautiful photograph waiting to be revealed. With a push of a button, you can then capture the image which is then saved as a digital photo in the app.
The app itself is rather simple to use, but we'd like you to consider the following tips to achieve the best possible scanning results.
Tip #1: Use a dark or low-lit room
Since the app requires scanning film strips against a backlight source, it's best to ensure the room itself is dark or low-lit, with the backlight being the only light source in the room. This is to avoid glares and reflections in your scans. So turn off the lights :)
Tip #2: Set up a backlight source
The app's scanner requires a backlight source that will light up the actual image in the film you're scanning. You can easily open a white screen on a tablet or computer, or use the photomyne.com/backlight link provided in the app. Make sure the device you set up the backlight on is set to the highest brightness setting possible.
Create a backlight source to reveal the images in your negative strip
Tip #3: Start scanning in front of the light
Once you have the backlight source set up, grab a film strip and hold it (steady) in front of the light. We recommend holding the strip vertically while ensuring the strip's holes (perforated border) are included in your scanning screen.
Feel free to scan using the app's capture button or activate the voice control for an easy hands-free scanning action - just say "Go" and the app will take a scan shot for you (currently available only on iOS devices). Here's how to enable voice control for scanning.
Tip #4: Keep the right distance
Avoid holding the film strip too close to the screen of your light source. This is to avoid the appearance of a pixelated photo. A distance of about 2 inches (or 5 cm) should be fine.
Make sure to leave some space between the film strip and the backlight screen
Tip #5: Keep your device steady
A steady device means in-focus scanned images, so do your best to hold your phone as still as possible while scanning (that's why using voice control to activate scans is highly recommended here). If you need help with keeping your phone static, consider using a phone stand or a similar structure to keep your phone in place.
Tip #6: Use Photomyne Accessories
If getting the best possible scans is the goal, there are a handful of additional tools that can ensure you get the highest quality digital photos.
Light pad
If you're having trouble holding your negative steady between the backlight on your computer and your phone, a light pad allows you to lay the negative down flat and focus solely on holding your phone for scanning. That way, you can move swiftly while scanning each image and lay multiple negative strips on the light pad at once.
Macro lens
Want to take your scanning to the next level? A macro lens will give you the absolute best quality scanned images. From within the app, first enable Macro Lens Mode then attach the macro lens to your phone's camera. Place the lens as close to the negative as possible until it appears focused in the app. and capture the image. Just note, you might have to turn the lights off to avoid glare.
For the full collection of accessories, head to our Amazon store and take your scanning project to the next level.
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That's it. See how the app does it all on its own. It will detect the image in the negative film strip, rotate it, invert and enhance the colors, and then crop the image part from the negative's margins. Lastly, it will save the image as a digital photo in the app.
The first few film scans are free. If you wish to scan more, you're welcome to purchase a Membership (optional) which usually comes with a free trial period.
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Need help and/or have more questions? Contact our support team for further assistance.
This page was last updated in March 2022
