Knokke
4,064 DPI. 48-bit colour.
A whole roll scanned, inverted and dust-free in
under three minutes.
Under 3 Minute Scan Time
Full-resolution 35mm roll scanning. Without the wait.
Knokke scans a full 36-exposure colour roll at full resolution - dust removal included - in under three minutes.
Knokke was engineered from the ground up with modern components. By combining high-speed image acquisition, precision transport control, and an optimised imaging pipeline in Korova, Knokke delivers professional-quality scans at speeds built for real-world workflows.
Whether you're scanning personal work or processing high volumes in a lab environment, Knokke dramatically reduces the time between film and final image.
A Knokke mid-scan, photographed on Kodak XX and scanned on Knokke.
Kodak Vision3 250D scanned on Knokke.
4064 DPI Optical Resolution
Exceptional detail reproduction.
Knokke delivers 4,064 DPI of sensor resolution, capturing the fine detail, grain structure, and tonal information present in 35mm film - a 22MP image.
Designed specifically for high-resolution film digitisation, the imaging system prioritises:
- True optical detail
- Consistent edge-to-edge sharpness
- Stable alignment
- Accurate rendering of film grain
- Clean tonal transitions
The result is scans that preserve the character and fidelity of the original negative without relying on artificial sharpening or exaggerated processing.
Custom Lens
Designed specifically for film scanning.
At the core of Knokke is a completely custom optical system engineered specifically for scanning photographic film.
Unlike generic camera lenses adapted for macro work, Knokke's lens was designed around the unique optical demands of film scanning:
- Extremely high resolving power
- Flat field performance
- Minimal distortion
- Consistent focus across the frame
- Long-term thermal and mechanical stability
Every part of the optical design was optimised for one task: extracting maximum detail from 35mm film with repeatable precision.
Knokke's custom lens assembly.
In remembrance of Snappy. Kodak XX scanned on Knokke (edited to simulate a lack of dynamic range).
High Dynamic Range Sensor
Built to capture the full tonal range of film.
Film contains an enormous amount of tonal information, especially in shadows and highlights. Knokke uses a high dynamic range imaging sensor capable of capturing subtle tonal detail across the full density range of photographic negatives.
This allows for:
- Improved highlight retention
- Cleaner shadows
- Reduced noise
- Better colour separation
- Smooth tonal transitions
From dense slide film to difficult colour negatives, Knokke is designed to preserve as much image information as possible from the original frame.
Solid Milled Aluminium Construction
Precision engineered. Built to last.
Knokke is constructed from precision-machined aluminium components designed for rigidity, stability, and long-term reliability.
Film scanning requires extremely consistent mechanical alignment. Even small amounts of flex or instability can impact scan consistency and focus accuracy.
Knokke is designed as a serious tool - not disposable consumer hardware.
CAD cross-section of Knokke.
Actual Korova source code, written in Rust.
Native Software Written in Rust
Lean, fast, and stable by design.
Knokke ships with native desktop software written in Rust for maximum performance and reliability.
- No Electron overhead
- No bloated background services
- No unstable legacy software
The software was designed alongside the hardware to provide:
- Instant startup
- Zero-lag panning of gigabyte-sized files
- Low system overhead
- Stable long-running performance
- Responsive UI
- Native cross-platform compatibility
The result is a scanning workflow that feels modern, efficient, and dependable - whether you're scanning one roll or hundreds.
Korova is the scanning software that ships with every Knokke. Built from scratch for macOS, Windows, and Linux - fast, native, and kept current automatically.
See it as it happens.
Open Korova, load your roll, and watch each frame arrive as the scanner moves through the film. There's no waiting until the end to start editing - you see it as it happens, frame by frame, in real time.
Your original, always intact.
Every grade and adjustment you make is stored separately from the scan. The file the scanner captured is always there, untouched, exactly as it came off the film. Come back a year from now and start over - nothing is lost.
Linter - clean scans, without the guesswork.
Every roll picks up a little of the world it travelled through. Linter removes imperfections precisely - without touching anything it shouldn't. It marks each impurity for you, then fills the gaps mathematically from the surrounding pixels. No generative AI, no invented detail. Grain stays. Character stays. The dust doesn't.
Soke Engineering is a small studio building tools for the film photography community. We believe in making technology that feels considered - built for people who care about the craft.
Soke Engineering Ltd
5 Jayne
Gardens
Peterborough, UK