Myriad Multi-Format Film Holder

Why Myriad Doesn't Need Film Masks

Many film holders incorporate interchangeable masks for the few image formats they support. These masks block light from around the film edges and through sprocket holes (where present), and typically, there's a different mask for each supported film size and image format - often sold as extra-cost add-ons.

By design, Myriad is a multi-format film holder enabling full-width digitising of a wide range of film sizes and image formats as standard. It doesn't incorporate masks - and if it did, it would need at least 17 of them to accommodate every major format!

Some online commenters argue that a film holder without masks cannot produce high-quality digitised images, claiming that stray light significantly affects contrast. While this may hold true for certain film holders, it does not apply to Myriad. At its core is a high-performance diffuser panel, made from a meticulously chosen and rigorously tested material with exceptional internal diffusion properties, further enhanced by a finely textured surface that provides an additional stage of diffusion. The result is soft, omnidirectional light that effectively minimizes glare and flare - even without a film mask.

However, even in a hypothetical situation where contrast might be reduced, it's essential to understand the role of post-processing in a film digitising workflow. The digital image captured by the camera is just a starting point. In post-processing, the darkest and brightest elements in the image are determined manually or automatically by software, black and white points for each channel are adjusted accordingly, and the histogram is stretched. This restores image contrast, ensuring that any minor contrast loss - if it occurs at all - is easily corrected without compromising image quality. It's no different than adjusting levels in any RAW image file.

The pre-production version of Myriad was beta tested for over a year before release, and the results speak for themselves: sharp, vibrant images, with no signs of tonal degradation.

With Myriad, the absence of film masks isn't a compromise - it's a deliberate design choice, made possible by superior materials.