Adding Analog/Negative FILM Conversion Features
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What problem do you see this solving?
Analog photography is back and we need comprehensive tools for editing
As analog/negative film becomes (again) part of many photographers workflows and producing repro/macro shots of negative film with digital cameras becomes more prominent, I would really love to see an option for CaptureOne Pro that would allow native conversion of negative film from RAW.
A hidden feature?
This feature is already available, but only for CaptureOne CH (Cultural Heritage) users. There are work arounds, but tools like Negative Lab Pro became very popular for a reason. Unfortunately this plug-in is only available for Adobe Lightroom. As far as I understand, plug-in architecture of CaptureOne does not allow the tight integration a tool like Negative Lab Pro requires. So we are kind of stuck here. I am aware of the fact that you can invert the curves, but this is not a very convenient neither very consistent approach with reproducible results across multiple shoots and film brands. So why not opening the already present CH feature to all of us? It would be an initial step to cover this market. From there on more (current) film brands could be implemented.
When was the last time you were affected by this lack of functionality, or specific tool?
Any time I would take a macro shot of an analog film with my mirrorless I would have to jump through hoops to create a positive, editable image in my C1 library.
Are you using any workarounds or other solutions to achieve your goals in Capture One?
For Mac users a tool called "Analogue Toolbox" by Michael Wilmes is available (see below). His workaround does an excellent job, but unfortunately it is hampered by technical limitations within C1. He is very knowledgeable and helpful, but it is upon the C1 engineers to take the next step.
Are you happy to be contacted further about this suggestion or request?
YES
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Official comment
Moved from the archive on 15.05.23.
Hi,
Thank you for your feedback. I have forwarded your request for adding Analog/Negative film conversion features to Capture One Pro internally to our developers.
Best regards,
Jakob, Capture One -
Absolutely. Would love to see this. Until then check out "Analogue Toolbox for Capture One": https://www.facebook.com/groups/141662290513120/
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Walter - I am a member of The Photo Managers [thephotomanagers.com] which has several hundred professional members worldwide who help consumers, small business, and institutions digitize and organize photos. We are at an inflection point where the need for high volume efficient scanning is pressing these (mostly) solo operators to seek out better solutions than the traditional flatbed and negative scanners. In just the last 4 years that solution has become camera scanning which can capture as much as 800 images per hour. This industry is growing and has caught the attention of software and hardware companies that recognize a need for new capture and DAM solutions that are accessible and affordable for small studios and solo businesspeople. To date, the software of choice has been Lightroom Classic, for lack of a better solution, but key parts of that solution depend on 3rd party plug-ins or supporting apps. LrC also has a steep learning curve and some basic limitations with image handling.
Because Capture One has well integrated camera tethering, it is well suited to camera scanning and is potentially a more straightforward solution than LrC. Since Capture One already has a negative conversion feature in its Heritage version, it seems like that would be an easy and cost effective edition to C1. Not only that, but it is likely that the Heritage edition also features better handling of metadata than the public C1 and might outshine LrC in multiple ways. Perhaps this requires nothing more than making the Heritage edition software available to all. It seems like a simple way for Capture One to launch a whole new revenue stream in a growth market with very little development time or expense.
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Only time will tell if the CaptureOne team takes this demand serious. We can only ask and push for a better analogue conversion integration. However, I am not intending to subscribe to LR and buy NLP just for the comparatively few film scans I do. In the meantime I can really recommend Analog Toolbox. Yes, it is a Facebook group. Nevertheless the app created by Michael works surprisingly well for a "workaround". Much better than what I have seen from the Heritage solution and certainly quicker and more convenient than manual conversions in Affinity or PS.
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A negative conversion tool inside C1 would be on the very top of my wishlist.
High end lab scans are expensive, traditional film scanners are cumbersome. I tried Analog Toolbox and while I really appreciate the effort, its results are nowhere close to what NLP delivers. I don't want to go back to LR.
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I just keep Lightroom because of Negative Lab Pro. I would love to see a feature like that on Capture one
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I just joined to add my voice in support. I love C1, and I love Negative Lab Pro; they should work together! I hate Lightroom and the only reason I have it is to use Negative Lab Pro. If the C1 team reached out to Nate and worked with him to bring Negative Lab Pro to C1, I suspect they would pull over a lot of Lightroom holdout users like me. Or even if they developed their own conversion tools.
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I've published an article with a script to invert the negative directly into Capture One: https://medium.com/@benjamin.bezine/scanning-film-negatives-with-capture-one-e707d52c9b7a
Maybe that can help you in your quest!
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Adding an expert negative film conversion tool would make Capture One an attractive option for the Photo Management and conversion community. Lightroom dominates for lack of a viable alternative.
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I bought Capture One specifically for DSLR scanning with a Sony digital camera for my color negatives. I've followed the Cultural Heritage stuff and viewed the webinar and read the docs. I was hoping for something like that in Capture One. Instead I feel like I'm trying to ride a bucking bronco in a rodeo. I find that I can get "in the neighborhood" through inverting, etc. But I have to take a tiff to PS to really dial in the colors because the casts are too much in C1. Which sorta defeats the point of using C1. I'm thinking about shelling out for Negative Lab Pro plug-in and moving to Lightroom because there should be a way to do this without the histrionics. The DSLR scanning process for film is very happening these days. I bought a Sony camera just for this since I don't shoot digitally. But man, C1 doesn't make it easy.
Too bad Analogue Toolbox is a FB group. Back to the drawing board.
Thanks.
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Your silence on this topic is deafening. Please incorporate NLP (or equivalent) into your next update. Or make a post detailing why this isn't a feature you will be adding and everyone's opinion here doesn't matter.
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By the way, I emailed the plugins team since Negative Lab Pro could work with Capture One if they were offered the same SDK access they get with Adobe. Capture One behaves like a government protecting state secrets which is bizarre for a software company. I like the software but tired of contemptuous communication routine. Of course, when they want to sell me something they're more than happy to spam me to death, but unwilling to share details until the release date. It's the equivalent of telling them there's something exciting behind the curtain so give us money now without us know what. Considering the lame nature of 21, I'm glad I didn't get suckered in.
All they have to do to get my money is either give me negative handling features or work with NLP. I'd be happy to hand over cash for a new version just for that update.
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@John Clark
The Cultural Heritage software is a solution for museums and the like which can afford the $$$ price tag. This thread has gone silent probably because so many of us film shooters have given up and moved to LR with Negative Lab Pro. I preferred C1 but all they do is add features that are more oriented towards fashion or product photography. I guess they figure the pro market is their market and the hell with the artists. I don't really use C1 anymore, but my sub to this thread is there in case something good happens to bring me back.
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Technically, the only feature we need is “negative film curve” as base characteristics. Auto Level tool is something we have already.
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Yes, my voice too. That would be a great function. I tried to work with LR + NLP, but I can't adapt me to the interface and workflow of LR...
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Piling my name into this request list! Capture One either needs a plugin developed by a third party (like NLP) so we can achieve this, or Capture One should natively support this functionality. It's clear the functionality exists already for their extremely high-end software solution, but with the rising popularity of film this seems like a no-brainer.
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+1 for NLP or equivalent in C1 21
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Adding my voice too. Cultural heritage is a very high end tool not accessible for everybody or every use. But some of it tools would benefit in C1.
Plug-ins need an update too and more open sdk for developers, honestly this plug-in section is desperately empty as it’s too difficult to develop plugs in.3 -
Yes, I also add a +1 for this request!
I'm looking for some time for a solution to manage at home all the development + scanning procedure for film photography. I'm trying in these days Negative Lab Pro for Lightroom and seems a fantastic tool!
Doing some research online for an equivalent tool in Capture One Pro I've found this post. I didn't know the existence of Capture One for Heritage, would be awesome if they could add that features to the main Pro software.
Let's keep our fingers crossed!!
A.
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There are now thousands of photographers using digital cameras for negative copying. So come on Phase we need a fast quality method of inverting our colour and monochrome negative scans. Many will choose Lightroom simply because of this feature.
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Thanks very much Paul for your insightful information. Hopefully Capture One will take this into consideration.
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Thanks Edwardsson ! - I'm the author of the page you mention. Glad you liked it, but I would still much prefer if it were a feature of Capture One... please C1 people, if you hear us...
In the meantime, feel free to share any suggestion for improvement!
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I can't recommend NLP enough, really great tool and the only tool that keeps me having LR. Unfortunately it is also impossible to port into CO due to lack of plug in options.
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@Wayan: While we both eagerly wait for something to be implemented into C1 by PhaseOne - is there something I can help you with the toolbox to get the results you expect? Let me know if you're open for some in-depth look into your conversions. I'd be happy to help: mwtemp0001@gmx-topmail.de
Kind regards and let us keep fingers crossed for this feature request.
Michael
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If you've seen the DT Cultural Heritage site, you would know that Capture/Phase has plenty of experience with conversion tools. The DTDCH version has many things we'd like to see in our version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=4r7VJrs25m8&feature=emb_logo
I recently purchased the 4x5 film holder from DT to use to hold my negatives on my light table. I've been getting up to speed on C1 in general and haven't been working with negatives yet. Now that I'm getting back into it, I'm back to looking at Lightroom specifically for this and using Negative Lab Pro. Now I'm at the point of deciding whether to work in two software packages or just give up on C1 and go all in on Adobe.
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My workflow goes through lightroom - NLP - C1
I hate how lightroom handles my fuji's rafs and I'm thinking of buying a little sony for scanning.Certainly adding direct conversion in C1 would greatly simplify my flow
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Yes! Please add support soon! I’d love to have this additional functionality and was very surprised to find its not already included. The lack of it is preventing me from dusting off my old Fujifilm 645. I’ve been feeling inspired to shoot film again but there’s no point if I can’t use Capture One.
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Just adding my voice here, yes, this would be great to get in a (version) update!
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Just another voice in the choir hoping C1 Pro can update to include the Base Characteristic film negative mode. Please!!!
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Adding my voice to echo this request!
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