what software program should I use to do the raw conversion?

[howardhenner]

I am new to the digital world and am trying to convert my color 35mm negs to digital.  After I shot a neg (using the medium size option on my Canon D5), I used adobe photoshop elements 2 to convert/invert image to digital.  The result was a very blue picture. 

I was told that the film base is orange, and should be countered by a blue or cyan filter.   Is the right place to do this step (countered by a blue or cyan filter) in the raw conversion, rather than in photoshop after raw conversion - if so, what software program should I use to do the raw conversion???

Thank you in advance.  Howie

[Ken]

Howie,

You might want to see if a program like VueScan could help you out.  Its primarily a scanning program, but I believe it can work on RAW files.  It may be worth a look.  Another option you might want to consider is Lightroom.  If all of your images are on the same film stock, you could create a preset to correct for the mask and apply it to all of your images.  I am sure there are other solutions that will work for you, but none that are immediately coming to mind.

Good luck,


--Ken

[peterkrogh]

Howard,
I'd suggest that you want to be able to do as good a correction to the raw file as possible.  For color negs, I suggest;

1. Counter the orange film base with blue/cyan filters on your lights (or behind the film stage).
2. Flip the curve in the raw conversion.

Unfortunately, Lightroom does not give you access to the point curve for flipping, unless you have it saved as a preset. I could post a preset that will do this, and you could import it into Lightroom.

I'm not sure what Elements offers - my understanding is that it has the full version of Camera Raw, but I'd still think Lightroom would be better for this, if you don't have the ful version of Photoshop.

Peter

[howardhenner]

Hi Peter, thanks for the information.  I'll take you up on your offer to post a preset for Lightroom that will do the "point curve for flipping".  I'll import it into Lightroom from your post .   

In order to do this right, I'll need to buy a light source.  What would you recommend as the best light source, if most of my work will be on 35mm color negs?  I was using a household table lamp.

FYI: My hardware set-up today consists of a Canon D5 attached to a Nikon Micro 55mm lens thru a Nikon lens adapter/converter - all anchored by a standard factory Nikon PB-5 set-up (bellows focusing attachment on rail).  The entire rig is screwed into a 8 1/2" x 11" x 1 1/2" heavy granite slab which I have on a desk.

Howie

[peterkrogh]

Howie,
I assume you don't have lighting equipment like a softbox.

You might want to try a small color-corrected lightbox.  The tungsten blue of your table lamp is contributing to the blue - the film base is orange, and the light source is orange. 

You'll also want to get some kind of blue filter.  If you have any kind of color-correction gels, and want to buy one, I'd try 40 Cyan as a good starting point.

Ideally, the light source would be such that when the camera is set to daylight balance, and the image is flipped to positive, neutral colors (gray) would look gray.  Once you see that, you'll know you have the light balance in the right neighborhood.

Not knowing your experience, or equipment on hand, I can't get a lot more specific at the present time.

Also keep in mind, that color negs are the hardest film-type to get looking right.

Peter

Peter
Peter