How to Implement IT8 Color Management When Scanning Film with a Digital Camera?

Digital Camera Scanning
1

Both SilverFast and VueScan support IT8 color management for traditional scanner workflows.

However, I would like to implement IT8 color management when scanning film using a digital camera instead of a dedicated film scanner.

Does anyone here have experience with this?

1. Proposed Workflow

This is how I understand the process of implementing color management when scanning film with a digital camera.

The workflow should function almost identically to using the ColorChecker Passport Photo 2 from Calibrite in:

  • Adobe Lightroom Classic

  • Adobe Bridge (Camera Raw)

  • Adobe Photoshop

  • and other compatible software

The key difference is that instead of using a ColorChecker target, you use an IT8.7 Scanner Calibration Target together with software from:

Alternatively, you can use:

Does anyone have practical experience with this type of workflow?

2. IT8 in SilverFast

SilverFast provides IT8 color calibration as described here:

3. IT8 in VueScan

VueScan also supports IT8 color calibration:

4. Suggested Implementation Steps

Here is the proposed method for implementing IT8 color management in a digital camera scanning workflow:

a)

Photograph an IT8.7 Scanner Calibration Target, for example from:

http://www.targets.coloraid.de, SilverFast, or another IT8 manufacturer.

b)

Convert the image to Adobe DNG format.

c)

Using ArgyllCMS or Lumariver, generate a profile in .dcp format.

Example: fujichrome-sensia.dcp

d)

On macOS, save the file in the following folder:

/Users/[username]/Library/Application Support/Adobe/CameraRaw/CameraProfiles

Example:

/Users/[username]/Library/Application Support/Adobe/CameraRaw/CameraProfiles/fujichrome-sensia.dcp

e)

If Lightroom, Adobe Camera Raw, or Photoshop is open, restart the application(s) so the new profile loads properly.

You should now have implemented color management in Adobe products in essentially the same way as when using the Calibrite ColorChecker Passport workflow.

The only difference is that you are using an IT8.7 Scanner Calibration Target instead of a ColorChecker target.

5. Compatible Software

This workflow should work with:

  • Adobe Camera Raw

  • Adobe Lightroom

  • Adobe Lightroom Classic

  • DxO PhotoLab

  • Skylum Luminar

  • RawTherapee

I would greatly appreciate any feedback, corrections, or real-world experience with this approach.

2

Welcome to the forum. I think that you’ve got it right but for most people, including myself, having to use Lumariver or ArgyllCMS to create your own colour profiles with an IT8 target is a step too far. If you do this yourself it would be great if you could go through the process.

Another point of view might be that it isn’t in any case worth the erffort and that instead simply using modern software techniques to make the best of the slide might be a better option. Linear profiles can help a lot here which is why NLP can be so useful for slides as well as negatives.

Have you seen this thread?

3

…and maybe this one: