This nifty device has been three times oversubscribed on Kickstarter so it is a go. What you do with it of course is simple, run your roll of film through this device with your iPhone or Android device and it will convert those images to digital.
What I like about this is that you don't have to get any other external device. Previously, the only way to do this sort of film scanning was on the iPhone with the use of the iPad. The iPad becomes your lightbox, the iPhone's camera then becomes the scanner. The conversion was super fast but if you look at the set up cost (you need both an iPad and iPhone), it will hurt your piggy bank.
The other way of course was to use a digital camera, lightbox and a computer program like Photoshop which converts film negatives into digital images. To do this successfully, you must also invest in a good macro lens for that digital camera. The set up cost could run in gazilions of dollars so let's not go down this path.
Lomo's film scanner on the other hand will be relatively cheap to build but don't expect super scanning quality from you smartphone device. There will be an app that you need to download in order to use with your Lomo film scanner though I can't fathom how this is going to prevent someone from getting the app, and using a lightbox with a 2x Loupe to scan images. Essentially, that's what you reall need. A good 2X film loupe and you'be scanning away with your iPhone or Android device. What you don't have is the conversion software needed to turn the negative into positive images. There are a few available on both mobile platforms so you need to look them up.
There is also the question of quality. Trusted that this Lomo gadget is going to be cheap so you could save a few bucks at the photo lab but heck, your iPhone is only 8 megapixels. And I doubt it will be in full resolution after scanning and cropping.
It would be quite safe to assume that your newly scanned images will be more like 5 to 6 megapixels as this is basically all you need to get a 4R or 8R print. For more on this pleae click here.
All this while, turning your old negs into digital was a hassle. You could do this in most photo labs and it doesn't really cost that much either. If you shoot regularly on film and need to convert this, like it or not you still need to send your undeveloped film to a photolab before you can get them back.
The only exception to this rule is when you are a chemical junkie or sorts who develop your own film at home, it would make good sense to scan your own film at home too.