I know there are people who find dealing with negatives…whether that is process of developing film or scanning the negatives, as a pain in the butt. But no, not I ….I actually enjoy the ‘process’ and find it meditative. I am alone in the process and just mellow out during. But one thing I have found that I don’t currently have is a manner to view my negatives prior to scanning. I simply lack the ease I need.
There are times when I want to see the negative, quickly….once processed. Sure, I can hold them up to the window and figure it out. Or I hold them up to the computer monitor. But both options are not ideal and they don’t provide me with an opportunity to view upclose/enlarged.
So….I got online. I could have ordered in something ‘new’ from B&H or Amazon or Walmart….but I didn’t like the product. All of them are combination gadgets made for both slide and negatives and I am okay with that. But they also come with APP’s that allows one to view on ‘da phone’ , but no, not for me, I deliberately choose an analog process to stay away from that APP crap. No, I am not doing that crap. Another complaint I see is that when using one of these gadgets and the negative is fed thru the slot, the negative doesn’t just slide thru easily in all cases. If there is any curl to the negative (which often times there can be) and doesn’t lay flat, it won’t feed properly. Also, sometimes, especially with cheaper film, the negative has a slight tear or has a sprocket torn etc; it won’t feed in either.
Moving on from that, I began to Ebay this issue and was looking for a product from my days, my now-classified ‘vintage days’ Amazing, my life now extends into the vintage times. ….So what was done in those old days…the vintage times? That is what I want. People figured film out ‘back then’ as film was at it’s peak and the products sold back then for film photography, actually worked. Perusing Ebay II came up with several options but the one I selected has a feed for 35mm negatives or slides. The product also comes with a magnifier so I can 3x the negative to closely see what is on it. Sounds perfect….see below.
Appears brand new, but vintage. Made from metal…..has a magnifier and has no need to scan or app’s or whatever, that make them unworkable. All for $25. …. There are times, and there you go.