Hello, I am new to NLP and have just tested it so digitize Kodachrome slides from the 1960 s. Which Color Model, which Tone Profile and which WB is proposed for these. I have tested with the LINEAR Tone profile to get as much information in the scan as possible and chose Kodak for WB.
One of my main concern with this is the white balance that has to be chosen in Llightroom before the conversion in NLP. (and the WB chosen later in NLP) I want to reproduce the look of the original Slide as closly as possible and do not want to “improve” or neutralize the original color look. I don´t have a neutral part of the film I could I could check with the color picker. So I tried two ways: 1) I used Auto WB in LR, 2) I used an IT.8.7 transmissive target and set the WB according to this. In my point of view 2) should produce results that are fare more accurate. Which is better for NLP as a start?
In both cases my Kodachrome Scans lost some of their original warmth and depth. Can you help me find a good solution to get the original look?
Is there a possibility to include a setting /light specific target created color profile in NLP and how would that colaborate with the preset profiles there?
My usual approach is to try to get close to the desired look and do the rest with the tools of NLP and/or Lightroom Classic. I never try to get colours “correct” in a scientific sense, but to make them look like I either remember or want.
Kodachrome (and to a lesser extent) Ektachrome were not formulated to deliver true-to-life colours and tonality, but to have a look that might please customers (saturated colours?) or meet a situation (night sky?) or requirement (fine grain) etc. There was nothing “objective” in these slides.
A preset created by optimising a single slide or several slides of one film might help to get close to target, but then again, it might not. NLP is made to adapt to the images it converts, which means that a change of tonality or colour cast or a different balance of colours and tones can make converted images look different. Old slides (and negatives) tent to emphasise such differences.
Try to select the settings that suit you best or create a self-made preset, bearing in mind that such presets work, but not in all cases. My preferred way to explore a technically difficult photo (negative or positive) is to use virtual copies to which I apply e.g different colour models vs. different pre-saturation values. One example of such a systematic approach can be seen here.
In Lightroom, set the WB to the color temp of your light table (e.g. 5500k) on all of the scans.
First, convert the IT.8.7 transmissive target slide (set to “Type: Positive”).
Go to “Roll > Create New Roll” and set the source to “single frame”. Name this “IT.8.7 Target”
Now, convert the remaining images. Go to “roll” and select the “IT.8.7 Target” as the analysis. You can play with the “roll process” which will change how the dynamic range is interpretted.
Make any adjustments to get the current selected image looking as you wish, then sync the settings to the rest of the images in the edit tab by hitting “sync.”
I would be happy if you could help a little further with this.
ad converting the IT 8.7. target as a roll first: which NLP Tone Profile would you chose? Linear (best details?) Which White Balance Settings in NLP? I suppose none, as we don´t want to change anything from the original capture. Which other settings in advanced? Auto Curve Points and no other I suppose.
This leads me to another question, and I am not sure wheter I understand completey how NLP works in terms of color management. I am used to apply a target based material and/or setting specific color profile eighter in lightroom (when digitizing with camera) or in a scan programm (vuescan f.ex.) when using a sanner. (The profile created f.ex. with X Rite, coca icc, …) Am I correct, when I assume, that, NLP does not create a new color profile when I capture the target but applies its fixed profiles? When I convert, do these profile settings “overrule” the original color corrected capture /lightroom profile or are they applied upon them? How could I include a color profile I created? Or dies NLP use Camera specific Profiles?