There still more to do, but I’ve made and tested the first functional prototype Epson V-series carrier for 4×5 film!
The focus is surprisingly pretty close for my scanner though I need to make the bottom half both a smidge taller and the inlay a smidge deeper. I have been looking for ways to adjust focus, one being nylon screws. I haven’t found a reasonable cost effective screw size for that yet and actually someone on Activity Pub pointed out that they simply use tape for their homemade carriers. Simple and effective such that I will probably test that approach for these.
At first I wasn’t happy with having to use a film inlay instead of posts like a conventional darkroom carrier, but having done it this way, I actually rather like it! To the point I wonder about perhaps using a similar design for some of the thicker negative carriers (like the Omega D2).
Even better still, using an inlay means it should be possible to use ANR glass on the topside. I don’t plan on making a full glass solution but having the glass on top will help press some curlier films down. Something that may prove very helpful for 120. And on the note of 120, one design option I am looking at is an edge to edge inlay. This means longer strips of film can be used than what the original Epson scanners could accommodate. I haven’t even started the 120 design yet so we’ll see how that shakes out once I get there.
Overall I’m really happy with the design so far! A few tweaks and I’ll at least be switching to this for me own scanning. The thumb notch for being able to easily pick the sheet up alone is a near game changer for me!
