Filmomat Smart Convert

[albireo]

he results are not really far off from any other conversions I've done with other software, manual or otherwise.

Interesting,I have only run a few preliminary tests with SmartConvert, but the results I'm getting (using Vuescan raw linear files as an input) are quite different from those I get with Colorperfect or even vanilla Vuescan, and *profoundly* different from those I get with Nikonscan 4.0.3.

I will do some more tests before discussing with Lukas. Might be I'm not using the tool correctly.

 

[Romanko]

I’m always open for feedback and improvements.

Linux version?

 

[Filmomat]

There's no options to specify this when outputting from SmartConvert. However, Bridge tells me its a 16bit file.

To be honest I don't know what the histogram of an upsampled image would look like. I attached a screenshot of the histogram of one of the TIFFs as per Photoshop. What do you think?

Yes, TIFFs are exported as full 16-bit files. This histogram indeed looks like the highlights are clipped significantly. I guess that this also is the reason why you can't properly edit the images afterward. It would help if I could take a look at the raw file of this particular image.

Hi Lukas. Great to see you on this forum. Could you please have a look at your GUI on low-resolution displays? See my post #32. I can send you screenshots if you are interested.

Currently, the App has a fixed-size GUI, which can lead to problems on low-res displays. The best workaround is to either choose a higher screen resolution (if available) or reduce screen magnification in the display settings.

Linux version?

I'm afraid a Linux version probably won't be available any time soon.

 

[cobb]

I purchased this software and I really like how it works. Much better than NLP at least for how I like to do things. My only complaint is that the files from it sharpen strangely. They have that wormy-ness like a fuji raw file being sharpened in lightroom. Maybe just relevant when pixel-peeping, but I have a hard time not pixel peeping lol.

 

[Romanko]

They have that wormy-ness like a fuji raw file being sharpened in lightroom.

Can you post an example?

 

[cobb]

Can you post an example?

Attached. Please be aware though that this is extreme pixel peeping and no normal person is viewing peoples' photos like this. I'm only doing it since I've been trying to figure out the optimal way to digitize 35mm for the equipment I have. Left is smart convert, right is grain2pixel. For this comparison I didn't put any effort into color correction, just showing the sharpening. Sharpening is at 40 in lightroom.

 

[Romanko]

I assume these are 100% crops of the full image.
How did you scan the negative? Is this film grain or scanning artifacts?

The difference is more evident if you convert the images to monochrome.
It is possible that Smart Convert and Grain2pixel use different demosaicing algorithms.

Personally, I would prefer a negative conversion software to apply a bare minimum of image processing. White balance, exposure compensation, contrast and sharpening should be left to the photographer.

 

[cobb]

I assume these are 100% crops of the full image.
How did you scan the negative? Is this film grain or scanning artifacts?

The difference is more evident if you convert the images to monochrome.
It is possible that Smart Convert and Grain2pixel use different demosaicing algorithms.

Personally, I would prefer a negative conversion software to apply a bare minimum of image processing. White balance, exposure compensation, contrast and sharpening should be left to the photographer.

Crops are around 200%. Scanned with an X-T5 with 7artisans 60mm mk2. I'm assuming it's from different demosaicing algorithms. I like the way grain2pixel handles it better, but grain2pixel doesn't really give much control the user. Smart Convert has straightforward controls for contrast/saturation/density, r/g/b. I want the demosaicing from grain2pixel and the control over color from smart convert. Obviously, my equipment isn't perfect either, I think the 7artisans lens may be another weak point but man, this is an expensive process to optimize.