Can LR (either classic or cloud) process jpg of black and white film negative?

[Charles Lo]

Lightroom Version Number

Lightroom Classic version 11.0.1

Operating System

1. Windows 10

Hello - I am thinking of scanning (using either flat bed or slide copier) black and white film negatives. I realise that producing a scanned image from 35mm involves loss of quality but that's not the current issue. Assuming I can produce a jpg scan, is LR classic able to process the negative image and turn it into a positive one?

Thank you
PS, I am assuming that Classic is most appropriate LR version to use - is this right?

 

[Bernard]

Yes it is possible with LR, classic or Cloud, to convert a negative into a positive. Black and white is much easier than color negatives.
Have a look here :
https://www.lightroomqueen.com/invert-negative-scan/
Bernard

 

[Y.K]

You can check out Peter Krogh’s book on the subject:

https://www.damuseful.com/products/digitizing-your-photographs-pdf

Although he uses a camera instead of a scanner everything else is relevant and you might find it useful.

You can download his negative conversion presets from:

https://thedambook.com/dyp/presets/

But recently, Peter stopped using this Curves method that he described on his own book, in favor of the Negative Lab Pro plug-in as he describes on this blog post:

https://thedambook.com/negative-lab-pro-a-slam-dunk-for-negative-conversion/

 

[Johan Elzenga]

It’s much easier to let the scanner software turn the negatives into positives if you decide to use a scanner. Processing negatives with ‘inverted curves’ or other options is mainly useful for people who use a digital camera as ‘scanner’, so in case you go for the slide copier option.

 

[Charles Lo]

Yes it is possible with LR, classic or Cloud, to convert a negative into a positive. Black and white is much easier than color negatives.
Have a look here :
https://www.lightroomqueen.com/invert-negative-scan/
Bernard

Thank you Bernard - that's very helpful

 

[Charles Lo]

You can check out Peter Krogh’s book on the subject:

https://www.damuseful.com/products/digitizing-your-photographs-pdf

Although he uses a camera instead of a scanner everything else is relevant and you might find it useful.

You can download his negative conversion presets from:

https://thedambook.com/dyp/presets/

But recently, Peter stopped using this Curves method that he described on his own book, in favor of the Negative Lab Pro plug-in as he describes on this blog post:

https://thedambook.com/negative-lab-pro-a-slam-dunk-for-negative-conversion/

Thank you YK - I've looked at the Negative Pro app but $99 isn't worth paying because of the occasional use I'd have.

 

[Charles Lo]

It’s much easier to let the scanner software turn the negatives into positives if you decide to use a scanner. Processing negatives with ‘inverted curves’ or other options is mainly useful for people who use a digital camera as ‘scanner’, so in case you go for the slide copier option.

Thank you John and, agreed, it would be easier to let scanner software handle the job but, following your input, I've found that my Canon scanner does not have it built in . Because, as I've now discovered, the LiDE 400 is not suitable for scanning negatives. Thank you for leading me to conclude that flat bed scanning isn't going to work. I still have option of using a slide copier on camera although that's much slower.

 

[Paul_DS256]

Hello - I am thinking of scanning (using either flat bed or slide copier) black and white film negatives. I realise that producing a scanned image from 35mm involves loss of quality but that's not the current issue. Assuming I can produce a jpg scan, is LR classic able to process the negative image and turn it into a positive one?

Thank you
PS, I am assuming that Classic is most appropriate LR version to use - is this right?

As @Johan Elzenga stated, it's easier to let the scanning software invert the image. That's what I do with the Epson Scanning software for my Epson V-500 scanner. However, there are several things to consider:

• There are other scanning software, like VUESCAN, that can work with scanners and offer additional capabilities.
• You are not forced to scan only to JPG. With EPSON SW I can scan to TIFF as well.
• As mentioned, there are two schools of thought for scanning you will need to research; scanners and cameras.
• As @Charles Lo suggested, there are good books out there.

You may want to try and set the metadata to show the actual date the picture, rather than the scan was done. I also include information about the film and scanner settings in User Comment.

Have fun

 

[Paul_DS256]

I've now discovered, the LiDE 400 is not suitable for scanning negatives

I think your bigger problem is that the LiDE 400

• Does not appear to have a scanning bulb in the lid for scanning transparent film
• It does not come with holders to position and automatically recognize slides or film

This also means you don't have specialized software features like Epson ICE for removing spots of dirt.

It looks like you need a different piece of equipment to do the scanning.

 

[kelvinjouhar]

As Paul says, unfortunately you don’t have a suitable scanner. If you haven’t scanned BW negs before, it’s a good idea to work out a suitable workflow (once you get a scanner) and I can tell you what I did to scan approx 35,000 BW negatives.
I bought a flat LED light panel and sandwiched the acetate negative pages between the LED panel and another sheet of Perspex. Then I mounted my camera above the panel on a tripod, looking down and one-by-one I photographed the sheets like a contact-sheet using RAW. Then I used John Ellis’ excellent plugin called “Any Crop” to cut all the images into groups of 3. then I was able to decide which of the negatives warranted a proper scan and I used my Epson V-700 flatbed scanner with Vuescan software and scanned them as TIFFS. Best of luck with your project,

 

[Paul_DS256]

I was able to decide which of the negatives warranted a proper scan and I used my Epson V-700 flatbed scanner with Vuescan software and scanned them as TIFFS.

Since @kelvinjouhar mentioned it, I also have a two step process driven by:

• Time it takes to scan. I use an Epson V-500
• Unable to effectively scan slides/negatives till you see them scanned. This is also an advantage with the scanner. The software, which has already separated out the individual slides or negatives, can let you see a full size version. You can select to scan or not scan a specific image.

I scan 'thumbnails' first which the scanner does quickly. Through experimentation, the following allow me to review the images effectively in LrC.

• 24 bit color (even for B&W. I read an article where the color scans can bring out more shades of grey)
• 600 dpi (This is for the size I need. I'd use a much larger DPI for final scans)
• Auto Exposure
• Unsharp Mask

I don't use any time consuming features like ICE for the thumbnails.