Film Scan Converter integration into ART

Software ART
1

Hello!

I was looking for ways to improve my workflow and took the time to sit down and integrate the FOSS Negative Lab Pro alternative Film Scan Converter into ART. The PR just got approved so now it’s part of the main FSC project with integration scripts and instructions on how to install.

I did a short video (my apologies for the soft audio) showing off the install process and the integration itself.

Anyway, help someone else finds this useful.

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Nice. How does it compare with other open options like darktable’s negadoctor and the spectral film sim project?

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I’ve not used Negadoctor but from what I’m reading about it FSC is trying to take a more hands off automated approach. It generally does a good job of inverting and colour correcting a colour neg, and have found it extremely good at colour correcting colour positive. You can make it really shine if you have a good workflow and it becomes almost a single click operation. My workflow is:

  1. Lock exposure and white balance in your camera/scanner
  2. Scan your film, make sure the image fills the entire output (no rebate, no sprocket holes, no holder border)
  3. For colour neg, take an additional photo of just the base for FSC to correct with.
  4. Load into FSC, select the base for correction and export

There is usually a step 4.5 for me which is slight colour balance tweaks, but I’m also not expecting it to produce me a final image, after export I move into ART and start doing my final edits and corrections.

As for the Spectral Film Sim project they’re not comparable projects. That is for emulating a film process on your digital photos while FSC is for correcting your scanned negatives. I do love and use the AGX for my digital work, it’s a phenomenal undertaking and such a unique process.

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Thanks.

As for FSC, I did read that you can skip the first step and use a negative as the input for the second step, so it can be used for the same thing.

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Ah yeah, I can see the appeal of using AGX in that way. It would be amazing if they could do a cibachrome profile, but I imagine that’s a dark art (and datasheets) lost to the annuls of history. For my film work I’m quite happy for that to speak for itself, it already has that less harsh look, but I should give it a go to see what it produces.

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Hi,
I made GIMP3 plug-in to use your Film Scan Converter from GIMP. Please see the following post.

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That’s awesome. Just to clarify Film Scan Converter isn’t my project, I’m just a contributer. Glad my changes have been useful!

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