Can anyone suggest a good 35mm film scanning software?

Hello,

I am wandering if software makes any difference (quality wise) in film scanning, or it’s just down to the scanner quality and my workflow — would a good software give me better quality than if I import from photoshop (File/import from device) and invert the negative my self?

And...

Can film be scanned in a RAW format? — Would ‘the software’ do that or it’s that down to the scanner capability?

Replies4

  • And.... If you don’t mind, I will get in touch (or tag you on here if you prefer) if I’ll have a few more questions regarding the analog process.
  • @Akosua Viktoria Adu-Sanyah
    Hi,

    Thank you very much for your answer and those programs you’ve maintained, I’ll look into those.

    I’ll definitely check out your YouTube channel — it sounds great!
  • Hey there, you cannot invert (color) negatives with Photoshop, because they have an orange mask that must be removed by particular software. You definitely need a specialized software to do so, but it's a one-time investment.
    Scanning in "RAW" is possible with each negative scanner that I know of and is selected in the software.
    Hope I could help. If you have any more questions regarding the analog workflow feel free to let me know (or stop by my YouTube Channel Ava Silvery), as I solely photograph on film.
    Enjoy the process :)
  • I've been through a variety of set-ups over the years and currently prefer Negative Lab Pro, a Lightroom Plugin that lets you convert and edit both color and b/w negatives. I use Silverfast to scan the negatives as positive raws/dngs and then head over to LR. You could also use the default scanner driver, no need for an extra additional software but I used SF before, so I keep it.

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