What's the Best Film Scanning Software? Full Comparaison

[@paolociccone]

Good review, than you for making it. The title is a bit confusing, though. The software reviewed is not scanning software. That would be programs like Vuescan or Silver Fast. The programs that you tested are negative converters. Cheers.

[@HiddenLight]

Thanks! You're technically right :) I'll be more specific next time

[@paulperegrine2331]

Great Channel. Really enjoy watching. Keep the good work coming.

[@HiddenLight]

Thanks a lot!

[@ponder_osa]

Love saucy fisherman Matt!

[@terencemorrissey4413]

Great test, thanks.

[@HiddenLight]

Thank you!

[@edwllcxn]

I'd be interested to see a fourth comparison image showing the darkroom printed version. I feel like that would be the perfect comparison

[@edwllcxn]

The part at 26:40 made me think of this. "What the film is supposed to look like" is the darkroom printed version in my opinion

[@HiddenLight]

That's actually not a bad idea at all!

[@edwllcxn]

@@HiddenLightthanks! Also, to make sure the colors on the screen are accurate be sure to use a calibrator

[@devroombagchus7460]

I love photography, not editing. My Epson scanner with either Epson or Silverfast software works just fine for 120. For 135, I digitise with Valoi and convert with Filmlab. Works fine. For individual images, I can later use an editor. So what’s this video for?

[@thomaspopple2291]

Do I assume the negatives were scanned with a digital camera?

[@HiddenLight]

Yes

[@paulmcivor9994]

Any thoughts on Silverfast 9, Epson Scan and other flatbed software solutions?

[@Ybalrid]

If you do not want that blue in CineStill Tungsten film shot under daylight, try an 85C filter on your lens

[@HiddenLight]

Definitely worth trying! Thanks

[@oCorvus]

I definitely share your experience with NLP, sometimes it just gets a bit funky. That being said. I’ve tried it against every conversation software that I’m aware of on the market and NLP always wins on average. Also when I find NLP doing something goofy it’s really easy to correct with the built in controls. I usually find it has to do with the black/white point being wrong and creating too much contrast and saturation in an image that doesn’t necessarily have pure white/black. I’ll back off the black clip sometimes to -20 or so. Also set the clip algorithm to Linear when setting clipping to negative values. Weird color things happen when you do it with the “preserve color balance” clip setting.

[@frstesiste7670]

This was a super interesting video. I currently use NLP and haven't tried anything else yet, except from manual conversion in PS and letting scanner software do the job. Seems like continuing with NLP is the best current option based on your results. I'd love to see a version of NLP that could be used with Bridge/ACR/PS as I've only LR on my main PC. A completely stand alone version would of course be even better. Btw, from the title I expected a test of scanning software like VueScan, Silverfast and maybe Epson Scan and not negative conversion software.

[@joseerazevedo]

I thought these were for scanners, no cameras. I see camera shooting film more as a macro photo shoot than a scanning process - I use a dedicated film scanner, that's why I was attracted to this video. Thanks, anyway.

[@swift4567]

How do you think a film scanner works?

[@joseerazevedo]

@@swift4567 there are gremlins inside it photographing the negatives with a digital camera and a macro lens, isn't it?

[@joshmcdzz6925]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@hex_1733]

That's a very arbitrary and nitpicky way to look at camera scan vs film scanner.

[@chriscard6544]

You forgot Darktable and the module negadoctor

[@maltemalone5444]

And Grain2Pixel, free and better than all of these

[@kunstsein]

Have they finally fixed the negadoctor module? Last time i tried, nothing was working as intended and that's not that long ago.

[@monodistortion]

@@maltemalone5444 Doesn't Grain2Pixel require Photoshop?

[@MrSamwars123]

The Smart convert advantage is using the keyboard commands to do your editing in seconds.

[@HiddenLight]

That's right! Speeds up the process a lot.

[@rebours]

Filmlab also offers shortcuts, and I really dig the controls, with a special mention for the highlight/shadow density controls. It still needs some improvements, but for those looking for an alternative allowing them to keep away from Adobe, it's a no brainer.

[@F9FCJ429]

Thanks Matt, informative video as always. As one of the early adopters of camera scanning film, I’ve been using NLP since version 1.61 circa 2017. I still see a lot of resistance to camera scanning. My advice for what it’s worth: look at the results, without prejudice. You might be in for a shock. My Nikon LS-50 sits collecting dust now. I can’t go back to listening to stepper motors ever again. So: I had an LS-50. Why did I dive into camera scanning? Because in 2007 when I bought the LS-50, I could not justify the added cost for one of Nikon’s medium format scanners. And because the choices for new, high quality negative scanners that work with medium format film are pretty much gone now. Flatbeds? That’s a joke. None have the optical resolution needed to do film justice. The quality isn’t there. Dedicated scanners? The Prime Film 120 is slow, breaks a lot, and costs nearly $2000. The Plustek Optic film 120 has been a problem child since it came out in 2014. I wanted it to be good, but reports from users said stay away. A “pro” version is mentioned on the Plustek site but appears to be vaporware. No one has it in stock. But it will cost $2300 if they ever make any. That leaves all the circa early 2000s pro lab machines where you spend your cash and take your chances dealing with outdated interfaces, operating systems, lack of spare parts. Yep. Another dead end. I solve these problems all the time at my day job. I refuse to deal with antique computers as part of something I do for the sheer joy of watching developed film emerge from the tanks! That leaves what, drum scanners? Sorry. I can’t spend half a day for one single scan, not to mention all the hardware, spare parts, and software issues. Not that camera scanning is easy. There are plenty of traps. Mostly involving stray light control. Make sure the camera only sees light that has passed through the film. And watch out for reflections from the ceiling hitting the film, it will trip you up hard. But also know you can make your own light source/copy table with some mail order acrylic sheet, Home Depot led bulbs, some generic Arca Swiss sliders and some scrap engineered laminated wood commonly sold to make bookshelves. You probably already have a camera “good enough” to get started. Don’t be afraid to experiment. Is camera scanning good enough? Well, it’s good enough for me and that is what matters. I can resolve grain in Velvia 50 120 with an A7Riv and Sony 90 macro. And the capture takes seconds rather than minutes. If I want more, I can use my GFX100S and adapted 645 Mamiya 120 macro, but once you start resolving grain, going in deeper is kinda pointless. At least for my work, which includes printing to a Canon Pro 2000 at 24 inches on the short side, I’m hard pressed to see a difference between Sony and Fuji camera scans. Matt, keep abreast of the upcoming NLP 3.1, Nate is doing some interesting things regarding color accuracy, even for positives like slides! He has the basics down, his fixes take care of some weird edge cases. Check his forums for more info. Like you, I tried the newest alternatives and found NLP is still the best, although Smart Convert is useful on some difficult negatives that I grossly over-developed when experimenting with a water rinse between developer and bleach/fix. (Bottom line don’t do the water bath between developer and bleach or blix, North Texas alkali tap water does not stop C41, ask me how I know)

[@tubecorr]

I have the equipment to scan with a digital camera or dedicated film scanner and I almost always gravitate to the film scanner. The resolution may not be as high but the accuracy and consistency is so much better. Yes, it's slower but it can also scan an entire roll in one go unattended. Cleans up all the dust and scratches too.

[@TomNorthenscold]

I tried the Film Lab app. It does an awful job on B&W conversions, clipping the highlights badly unless you go in to every single frame and tweak the settings. I convert in batch. I need my scanning software to provide decent scans in batch mode with no clipping. With NLP I get that. I fine tune photos in LR and only on photos that I rate 3 stars or higher. I really wanted to like Film Lab, because I am a LR user, not LRC, but I just couldn’t live with the results. So I will have to keep going into LRC for my negative conversions. It’s a minor annoyance.

[@joshmcdzz6925]

This isn't called scanning but copying.. BTW, yall should stop shooting film if you still have the digital mindset.. the only difference between your film output and an equivalent digital version is your mind tells you it was taken on film. If yall goin' to shoot film stop all that automation if you cannot do ra-4 print. Invert it manually or use an app to invert without no preset.. the NLP basic preset is still a preset. You should have chosen "none" in all the options.. I will these film shots i see from you young folks these days pseudo film

[@joshmcdzz6925]

Color is subjective.. if i shoot a tungsten balanced film I will love it to retain it's reason for being used ( cool tone).. your NLP conversion did a bad job

[@mariokil71]

@@joshmcdzz6925 Color is the spectral composition of electromagnetic radiation and its intensity. In this sense, color can be determined objectively. Another issue is how colors are processed by the human eye and, above all, the brain. The perception of color by a specific person is subjective and depends on many factors such as context, individual characteristics, health, well-being and experience. The same person can therefore perceive the same color differently in different circumstances.

[@VitorFonseca]

Taking photos of a negative is not scanning. The title is misleading since the workflow is done on a negative image taken with a digital camera. Taking that out of the way, nice comparison and thank you for sharing.

[@joseerazevedo]

Agree. That's macro shooting

[@swift4567]

I’m curious what you think is inside a film scanner

[@joseerazevedo]

​@@swift4567 HAHAHAHAHAHA! Funny guy... Certainly not your digital camera. The fact there's a lens and a digital sensor there does not make it a camera. Cars and planes share engines, tyres, seats, windows, but this doesn't make them the same thing. No problem doing macr photography on 35mm or any other format. But that's not scanning film, no matter how much you want to pretend it is.

[@oCorvus]

@@joseerazevedoI think you will be surprised to find out what is under the hood of an imacon then haha

[@swift4567]

@@joseerazevedo What's your definition of a camera and a film scanner then? A camera is simply a light tight device with a lens and an image recording system at the other end. I'm afraid all you'll find under the hood of a frontier, noritsu, or literally any other type of film scanner other than a flatbed (not a film scanner) is a lens and a CCD sensor, the only difference is these are enclosed inside a housing that says scanner.