There's a frequent debate on photography forums about whether Negative Lab Pro is worth the investment. Here's my take on it.

To really grasp the value of Negative Lab Pro, it helps to understand the typical process of digital negative conversion. We'll skip the granular details to focus on what really matters.

Let's review the negative inversion process in general terms, step by step, to better comprehend the value the discussed tools bring in. The walkthrough below is based on what one would do in Adobe Photoshop.

First up, the color negative is photographed with a digital camera in RAW mode. Once the RAW image is imported into an image processor like Photoshop, it's crucial to set the gamma to 1 instead of the more common 2.2. This preserves the linearity of the RAW capture and optimizes the sensor's linear response—crucial for rendering the darks effectively in your final image, a step often glossed over in most guides.

Next, we normalize the luminance range for each color channel. This involves adjusting the curves so the darkest pixels map to values between 0-3 and the brightest between 253-255, proportionally adjusting all values in between. In Photoshop, this means finding the darkest and brightest spots (avoiding specular highlights) and tweaking the curves channel by channel. What you end up with is a normalized RGB image of the negative.

Applying an inversion layer brings us to the positive image, which initially appears flat with subdued colors. Adjusting the gamma curve at this stage enhances the image's richness and contrast. Although the image may not yet be perfect, processing in 16-bit mode should prevent banding, and further corrections can neutralize grays among other refinements.

Regardless of the software used, the steps are generally consistent—the main differences lie in the time spent and the specific enhancements each program applies to optimize the final image. Software tools ideally exclude the rebate and edge areas to avoid skewing the conversion due to internal reflections from the original film camera or the film holder during scanning.

In Photoshop, this entire process can be done manually or automated with actions. However, tools like the very good Grain2pixel Photoshop plugin (https://grain2pixel.com/download/) , which is free and supports batch processing, simplify these steps immensely.

An older, yet still useful tool is the Negafix script, which employs the Image Magick open-source library. It's quite transparent, allowing users to see all conversion steps and parameters used, producing surprisingly decent results.

When I sought ChatGPT’s assistance for conversion, it provided a Python script that works quite effectively, available here: https://github.com/vsaddr-github/neg2pos and very short demo video is available here: https://youtu.be/vczMHo_2wiM

Turning to Negative Lab Pro, it essentially performs similar normalization and conversion processes within Lightroom. Its inner workings remain proprietary, but it’s clear that NLP offers more than just basic conversions, supporting various aesthetic looks like cinematic or flat. Its simplicity, efficiency, and the high-quality results it produces make it a favorite, despite the initial cost.

The choice to invest in NLP should consider your volume of film work. For those processing and digitizing a couple of rolls per year, the traditional lab route might be more economical and hassle-free. However, for anyone digitizing two or more rolls per month, setting up a home digitizing workflow becomes justifiable.

Suppose your personal labor costs are $20 per hour, and NLP saves you about three minutes per frame; that's roughly $1 saved per frame. After just three rolls of film, NLP pays for itself.

While there’s a learning curve involved in mastering exposure, choosing the right backlight, and applying finishing touches, the time and quality efficiency of NLP likely makes it a worthy addition to your film digitization toolkit.

adobe.com

Lightroom and Photoshop are arguably the most widely used tools for image processing among photographers. Of course, you should be able to shell out $30 each month to enjoy the luxury. GIMP is considered very good (and free!) alternative to Photoshop. 

https://www.darktable.org/

Darktable is a free, open-source photography application software and raw developer. It acts primarily as a raw developer, similar to Adobe Lightroom, allowing photographers to process and develop their raw images. Darktable offers a non-destructive editing workflow, meaning all changes and adjustments made to a photo are stored separately from the original file, allowing for flexible editing without altering the original raw file.

One of the key features of Darktable is its ability to handle a vast range of camera raw formats, thanks to its comprehensive support for different camera profiles. It also provides a suite of tools for detailed image editing, including color correction, exposure adjustment, and complex filtering tasks. Moreover, Darktable includes capabilities for managing digital negatives in a database, executing complex searches, and keeping track of image history, making it a powerful tool for both amateur and professional photographers looking to manage and process their photos efficiently. (AI Generated Summary, developers are welcome to send corrections)

https://filmulator.org/?source=post_page-----b348ca6c05a4--------------------------------

Filmulator is an open-source raw photo editing application designed to simplify and streamline the process of editing digital photos. The software is inspired by the development processes of film photography and aims to achieve a similar aesthetic with less effort. Filmulator emphasizes simplicity, focusing on essential tools and automating many of the more complicated processes found in other photo editing software.

Its core feature is a unique film-like algorithm that enhances colors and dynamic range by simulating the development process of film, specifically the “agitation” process that helps achieve an organic and pleasing look. This results in images with naturally enhanced colors and a quick, intuitive editing process that appeals to both amateurs and professionals seeking a film-style output from their digital photos.

(AI-generated summary based on website, developers are welcome to send corrections)

https://www.filmomat.eu/shop/smartconvert

Filmomat is a brand known for its high-quality analog photography equipment, manufactured in Germany. Their products include the “Filmomat Classic,” a compact, fully automatic film processor suitable for various film types, including 135/120 and 4x5”/5x7” formats, as well as 8/16mm motion picture films.

They also offer “Filmomat Light,” a more affordable and manual alternative for film processing, and other innovative tools like “SmartConvert” for digital film negative conversion and “PhotoPlug,” a shutter speed tester for smartphones. For more detailed information, you can visit their website at Filmomat.

https://lomography.tools/digitaliza/

Lomo DigitaLIZA Lab is a web-based tool developed by Lomography that allows film photographers to convert and fine-tune their film scans with ease. This free tool works with any device and supports both negative and positive film scans. Users can upload their film scans, whether they are black and white or color, and use the tool to invert colors, make corrections, and enhance their images before sharing them online. The DigitaLIZA Lab is designed to work with common image file types and simplifies the post-processing workflow, making it an accessible and valuable resource for photographers who want to digitize and edit their film images efficiently.

The Lomo DigitaLIZA Lab does not explicitly mention support for raw format images. It is primarily designed to work with common image file types such as JPEG, which are typically used for film scans. If you require tools to handle raw images directly, you may need to consider more robust software solutions that specifically cater to raw processing.(AI-generated summary based on website, developers are welcome to send corrections)

https://grain2pixel.com/

Grain2Pixel is a Photoshop plugin designed to facilitate the conversion of digital camera scans of film negatives into positive images. It allows users to process these scans either in batch mode or file-by-file. The plugin is compatible with both Windows and Mac operating systems and is aimed at simplifying the conversion process by automating the tasks typically involved in turning a negative image into a viewable positive one. This can be particularly useful for photographers who work with film and need an efficient way to digitize and process their negatives.

This indeed one of the best tools on the market and the only real drawback is that one needs to have Adobe Photoshop license to be able to use plugin. I highly recommend downloading and using this plugin and not forget to buy coffee ;-) to the developer.

https://negmaster.com/product/negmaster-full-version/

Negmaster is a software tool designed for converting scanned negative film to positive images in Adobe Photoshop. It offers a variety of conversion techniques that aim to accurately interpret tonal values while retaining maximum color fidelity. The software provides ten unique conversion options, with seven dedicated to maintaining color hues and two specifically designed for creating distinct looks such as the “miniLab” and “RA-4” converters. Negmaster is particularly noted for its ability to produce color-accurate conversions, making it a valuable tool for both amateur and professional photographers working with film negatives.

Negmaster is currently supported by its developer. My onl;y gripe with it is that it has somewhat overcomplicated licensing model and sometimes makes Photoshop non-operable until you remove plugin usinmg Adobe tools.

https://www.filmlabapp.com/desktop

FilmLab is an app designed for viewing and digitizing film negatives. Available for macOS, Windows, iOS, and Android, FilmLab simplifies the process of converting digital captures of film negatives into high-quality color or black-and-white images. It uses a custom processing engine designed to reproduce authentic color and tones similar to those achieved in a traditional darkroom. Users can quickly view negatives, create proof sheets, and capture images to share on social media. The app is particularly user-friendly, supporting various file types and not requiring any other software to function. It’s an accessible tool for both amateur and professional photographers who are interested in digitizing their film archives.

(AI-generated summary based on website, developers are welcome to send corrections)

RawDigger is a software tool designed for inspecting and analyzing raw image files captured by digital cameras. It serves photographers, image quality testers, and developers by providing detailed information about the raw data before it’s processed into a final image. This allows users to examine how their camera records data in different shooting conditions and evaluate the true information that the sensor captures.

The software offers a range of features including the ability to view the raw histogram, per-channel analysis, and exposure statistics that are not affected by in-camera processing or picture style settings. RawDigger is especially useful for technical analysis, calibration, and ensuring that exposure and color balance are set correctly in-camera. It’s a valuable tool for those looking to understand and optimize their digital imaging process.

RawDigger is indispensable tool if one needs to research how sensor captures data across RGBG channels and to see if camera can actually y take more data then histogram in viewfinder shows.

This software is “must have” if you are building your own backlight.

Each camera manufacturer typically provides its own branded software designed to facilitate the transfer of files from the camera to the computer. This software often includes tools for converting RAW files into TIFF or JPEG formats. However, the quality and reliability of these tools can vary significantly between manufacturers.

From personal experience with Canon’s software, there are mixed feelings. The remote shooting utility provided by Canon is quite satisfactory, offering useful functionality for controlling the camera remotely. However, the RAW conversion tool has proven to be problematic. Issues have arisen such as software crashes that not only stop the tool from working but also make it impossible to reinstall or uninstall the software.