A 35 mm Shoot to Scan Tipster: Sprocket Rocket & the DigitaLIZA Max

Sprockets play a titular role in the panoramic 35 mm Sprocket Rocket film camera. Maximizing the film strip and highlighting the entire film negative, the images produced by the wide-lensed film camera extend beyond their sprockets and capture the expansive nature of a space. With full excitement about its capabilities, I grabbed a roll of Lomography Color Negative 35 mm ISO 400 film, loaded it on the Sprocket Rocket film camera, and took it with me one Saturday spent revisiting the local baseball and softball fields I grew up playing on.

Disclaimer: Scanned film photographs have been post-processed and edited on Adobe Lightroom and the Lomo DigitaLIZA Lab.

1:3 Aspect Ratio

It’s always refreshing to compose images in different sizes, frames, and aspect ratios you wouldn’t normally turn to. Allowing you to challenge your eye, key visual taste for things, and simultaneously push what you think you know about the placement of elements in a frame. In this case, with that weekend being my first time to take photographs on a panoramic film camera, the narrower frame (1:3 aspect ratio) led me to lean into more landscape-oriented photos (with the occasional vertical portraits!) of the Little League baseball and softball teams in action as they competed in their regular season games.

Panoramic Film Scans

The unspoken rule that goes with the use of the Sprocket Rocket film camera is to subsequently delve into the process of self-scanning.

As mentioned earlier, the camera’s unique feature is that it allows the exposed image to extend beyond its sprocket holes, which is a section of the film negative that most developing labs often crop out when sending back digital scans (as it’s usually due to these labs having a standard size of scanning masks that cover a certain part of the negative). Knowing all this creates a great opportunity to unlock a new dimension to your film photography practice, one where self-scanning comes into the picture.

Trial #1 with the DigitaLiza Max

Before using the Sprocket Rocket film camera, I had never scanned my film negatives and had been consistently delaying the procedure out of fear of the seemingly tedious task. However, after committing to the bit and fully trusting in the camera’s unique features that shine best when the full film strip is included in the scan, I’m happy to report that the very notion of self-scanning film negatives has proven my initial worries wrong. With the help of the DigitaLiza Max, the once intimidating task was made simple for a self-scanning rookie like me.

It only took five steps to bring the film negatives to life:

1. Set up the Scanner: Easy steps to follow straight from the package or the online manual
2. Prepare a Camera & Tripod: Can use a phone camera or an SLR (all depending on how crisp and sharp you want your scans to be!) to scan the film negatives
3. Choose a Developed 35 mm Film Roll: Load the roll inside the DigitaLiza Max
4. Scan & Photograph: Move along the developed film negative roll and take photographs of each exposed image
5. Import to Photo Editing Software: Upload the digital scans to a photo editing software to fine-tune and color your negatives (the Lomo DigitaLIZA lab is a good place to start!)

A standout feature of the DigitaLiza Max self-scanning unit is its ultra-portable design which allows you to feel like you're operating in a mobile scanning office anywhere, anytime, while also maintaining the tactile experience associated with varying analogue practices.

Scanning With & Without Sprockets

Let this Tipster serve as a solid visual documentation on the different ways you as a film photographer can scan, post-process, and work around your Sprocket Rocket photographs: with Sprockets and/or without.

See the comparison images side by side, with the Sprocket-filled scans being a self-scan using the DigitaLiza Max (with the Panoramic diffuser to limit light bleeding!) and a digital camera respectively, and the No-Sprockets scans coming from the scanner of a local film lab.

Takeaways from Photographing Panoramic Images

Overall, my main takeaway was how the Sprocket Rocket camera makes you think more about the photo you're taking – how best to fill the frame, what to keep in and what to lose. This is because unlike most cameras there is not so much editing you can do after with the sprocket holes, be it cropping or trying to straighten the composition.

The panoramic format gives you a lot of space to work in and I typically try to frame compositions so that every part of the scene is filled with something. Even if that “something” is open space it can help balance a composition.

A few other notes from the experience:

1. Vertical/Portrait Images: When working with 18 exposures, every image will stand out all the more. Despite the camera pushing for more horizontal orientation photos, consider tilting your camera upwards, and shifting your perspective in a portrait manner to capture a full expanse of the space, looking at things from the ground up to the sky.

2. Layer images with Multiple Exposures: The Sprocket Rocket’s infinite winding makes it possible to take more multiple exposure images and play around with your roll. Picture the film negative as having infinite possibilities and the camera as a tool to create images from your imagination. Fill your frame with faces using the reverse gear, the MX function, or both! Experiment with these features to maximize your camera's creative potential.

3. Sunlight is your best friend: With the Sprocket’s “Sunny” (f/16) and “cloudy” (f/10.8) apertures, the camera’s lens shines best when following the brightest light.

So who is the Sprocket Rocket 35 mm Panoramic Camera for? Anyone who wants to expand their world on film and explore the shoot-to-scan process that goes hand in hand with the practice of film photography.

Where have you taken your Sprocket Rocket 35 mm Panoramic Camera and DigitaLIZA Max to? What's your favorite part about self-scanning your film negatives?

See more tipsters on how to go about using the Sprocket Rocket over in our Magazine and at LomoSchool for the sprocket self-scanning process.

Learn more about the DigitaLIZA and view more of the products and tools that'll help you get started here.

written by macasaett on 2024-11-28 #gear #tutorials #sports #landscape #philippines #baseball #panorama #sprockets #35-mm #softball #digitaliza #sprocket-rocket #color-negative-400 #self-scanning #scenner