Choose a negative conversion method

Before you start

Check input settings, CCM, and Calibration Area first. When comparing methods, leave other settings unchanged and look at several frames from the roll—not just which result is brighter or more saturated.

Steps

1. Return to the Contact Sheet and check Convert

   These algorithm instructions concern color negatives. From the Viewer, use the upper-left arrow to return to the Contact Sheet and locate Convert and the adjacent Algorithm dropdown in its top toolbar. The Viewer does not show these roll controls. A negative with Convert OFF is normal. Enable it and wait; algorithm selection may be unavailable while it is off. B&W uses Invert without these color algorithms; reversal does not use negative conversion.

2. Without a chart, start with dmin+dmax

   If the roll has no chart, start with dmin+dmax, a classic, reliable roll method based on low- and high-density references. The high reference is not the film’s physical maximum. Curve estimates channel responses from the roll and can improve color and tonal continuity across densities, but it may also change the film’s original characteristic-curve relationships. Keep other settings unchanged and compare bright, dark, and colorful frames. If both methods look clearly wrong, check input settings and analysis areas first.

   

   Pause switchingdmin+dmaxCurvePer-frame (not recommended)

   Switches every 2.8 seconds. Inspect bright, dark, and low-contrast photographs together, checking shadows, highlights, neutrals, and consistency between frames rather than the most vivid single result. All captures show HAO-1 and Standard. Window sizes differ slightly, so this is not a pixel-aligned comparison. Pause and choose a method manually.

   

3. Use Color Chart with a valid in-roll reference

   If the original roll contains a suitable chart with usable exposure, sharpness, and alignment, mark it as described in Use a chart reference within a roll before choosing Color Chart. This reference was recorded on the film; it is not the separate transmission chart used for device CCM. Having a CCM alone does not meet this requirement.

4. Avoid Per-frame for routine conversion

   Per-frame estimates a conversion from one photograph at a time and is not recommended for routine roll demasking. One image often lacks enough density range or neutral colors, so estimates may be less accurate and neighboring frames may look inconsistent. If only a few frames look wrong, first check their analysis areas, capture clipping, and suitability for roll analysis. Try Per-frame when no useful matching roll information is available, and inspect each result.

5. Separate Per-frame from Per-frame AE

   Per-frame is a conversion method. Per-frame AE under Settings → Conversion adjusts each frame’s exposure after shared roll conversion. They are not the same option. Establish a suitable conversion before deciding whether exposure balancing is needed.

   

   Pause switchingAE offAE on

   Switches every 2.8 seconds. Inspect exposure across the portraits, especially brighter and darker frames. AE need not make every photograph equally bright and cannot recover detail clipped during digitization. The photographer confirmed the on/off states. Pause or choose a state manually.

   

6. Exclude unsuitable frames from roll analysis

   Correct or separate photographs with light leaks, severe capture clipping, a different film type, or different capture conditions. To keep one in the project without using it for roll estimation, right-click it in the Contact Sheet and choose Exclude from Roll Calibration, then wait for recalculation. Use Include in Roll Calibration to restore it. Exclusion does not delete the original or prevent export. Do not exclude every frame or leave only one as the roll reference. Check several photographs before making frame edits. The Curve method, Density Curve, and Film curve are separate features.