*Post Your Film Shots*

A couple of images from this past weekend on Tmax 400 with the Hexar Af. I metered them at 320 and developed normally.

This is a photo I just scanned of my future wife in the center with her mom on the left as you look at the photo and her older sister on the right. This was probably taken around 1960, so about 61 years ago.

I scanned the negative as a positive in Silverfast 9 as a 48 bit HDR RAW file. I opened the negative in LR Classic and using the Negative Lab Pro plugin, converted it to a positive image. I love the colors and tones created this way. I finished editing in PS by removing dust and adding the black border.

So far, I'm very pleased with the results I'm getting from this plugin.

That's alright , I live in northern Australia and my closet supplier is at least 1600 kilometers ( 1000 miles ) away . Now , where's that horse and cart

Your town is bigger than my town!

"...this calls for BUD." Love that old add, but we might see it hanging above a different type of business these days.

Not sure what scanner you're using, but have you judged side by side an image converted by your scanner versus one converted by NLP?


I plan on downloading the trial of Negative Lab Pro. An extra 100 bucks is tight right now but spending all this cash on film, chemicals, scanner, etc..., it seems like a no brainer if it' gives the results people say. It might be worth it based on the difference in results I've seen on youtube. I use an Epson V600, I watched a video yesterday where someone compared the scanner software scan, lab scan, & then the scan converted in NLP. The quality improved in that order.

Now, about the lab box. I want it. It is very expensive but I stopped doing 120 at home because I completely destroyed my last roll trying to get it on that damn spool. If it's 120, E6, or an important 35mm I send it to the lab. I haven't worked up the nerve yet to process something that is important to me. If I'm getting paid, I'm shooting digital.

For some reason 120 film is much easier for me to spool than 35. I’ve spent hours trying to spool a roll of 35, ends up kinked, torn sprocket holes, etc. But I still would like to try a lab box. Pulling film onto a reel has got to be easier than pushing it on.

I purchased Negative Lab Pro a few months ago and while I occasionally am able to get good results, I also have to same issue as many of the reviews I read stated. It's just not consistent enough in my opinion. Sometimes one image looks fine and then the very next frame is just off. I've used NLP and then compared it to the same image edited my normal way and it's about 50/50. Half of the time I like the NLP image and half of the time I don't. I've actually stopped using it and now I just use the film profiles in the Silverfast software that came with my Plustek scanner. If I could do it all over again, I probably wouldn't have bought NLP. It may work better for others so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

I also had trouble with 35mm, but worked out a trick that helps me. Instead of tearing apart the canister I moisten the end of an used roll & use it to pull out the leader. I cut it so that I have a straight piece & pull out just enough film that I can load it past the metal balls, then put it in the dark bag. The weight of the canister helps keep everything straight, I just pull the canister down to release about 6 inches of film at a time then roll it on until the canister is at my thumbs, then pull down to release more film. This is the method that has worked best for me.

I also looked at Silverfast, half the cost of NLP & many people like it. It also has a free trial to download, I'll probably try it also.

Pigpen101 wrote in post #19228435
I also looked at Silverfast, half the cost of NLP & many people like it. It also has a free trial to download, I'll probably try it also.

I assume you know that you can download Silvefast SE for free with your purchase of the Epson v600? Version 9 is the newest iteration of that software. I find it much easier to work with than Epson Scan.

Here's where to download the free version of Silverfast SE. You just need the scanners serial number found on the back. It looks like version 8 is the latest available for free.

https://www.silverfast​.com/show/bundle-epson/en.html

Pigpen101 wrote in post #19228432
I also had trouble with 35mm, but worked out a trick that helps me. Instead of tearing apart the canister I moisten the end of an used roll & use it to pull out the leader. I cut it so that I have a straight piece & pull out just enough film that I can load it past the metal balls, then put it in the dark bag. The weight of the canister helps keep everything straight, I just pull the canister down to release about 6 inches of film at a time then roll it on until the canister is at my thumbs, then pull down to release more film. This is the method that has worked best for me.

Based on my experience, first with using Epson Scan that came with my Epson V600 scanner, then using Silverfast SE and now NLP in conjunction with Silverfast, there's no comparison. I assume you know that you can download Silvefast SE for free with your purchase of the Epson v600? Version 9 is the newest iteration of that software. I find it much easier to work with than Epson Scan.

Here's where to download the free version of Silverfast SE. You just need the scanner's serial number found on the back. It looks like version 8 is the latest available for free.

https://www.silverfast​.com/show/bundle-epson/en.html

There are two methods for using NLP in Lightroom, the best being scanned as a 48 bit HDR RAW .dng file or as a 48 bit HDR RAW .tif file. The advantage to scanning as a .tif is that noise recuction can be run during the scan whereas you can't as a .dng file. Still, if you only have minor to modest dust that can be removed in post, .dng is the favored method.

I believe Vuescan RAW files can also be converted using NLP but I haven't used Vuescan much and to me, it is not very user friendly.

It's been years since I had my own darkroom at home, complete with a color enlarger and nowadays, with the advent of digital darkrooms such as Lightroom and Photoshop, all I wanted was a simple method of developing 120 black and white film. I have no interest in shooting 35mm film so I only got the 120 module for Lab-Box. I'm still undecided about shooting and developing color film too but between using my sous-vide cooker to control color chemical temps and now NLP, I just might give that a try in 120 as well.

Thank you for this! I was under the impression Silverfast came with my scanner, but after getting it & not finding a CD, I thought it was no longer included. Makes it even easier to try knowing it's free if I like it.

The Flint Hills in eastern Kansas, United States, May 1986. From a film scan of a 35mm negative.

Photo from fotoi's gallery.
Image hosted by forum (1083975)

Love the rolling hills, looks very much like here in western PA. A great year too, my second year of college! Too much fun.

Pigpen101 wrote in post #19228558
Love the rolling hills, looks very much like here in western PA. A great year too, my second year of college! Too much fun.

Thank you, yes very beautiful in it’s own way.