This is brilliant news! I was searching the exact thing, so I’ll definately buy when possible. Also Ui looks way more pleasing than LR.
I second this! I would love to get started with whatever you have already. I have been demoing a few other standalone options recently, and while I have faith that the new NLP will beat them all, I’m itching to make a change.
I too would be very interested in a standalone version, but preferably wihtout any subscription based pricing model. I’d rather pay for a full version and decide (when major updates are due) whether I want to upgrade
I would also love to beta test. as a user of your software professionally since the early days. i’m ecstatic to test it out. also there is really no good rgb conversion at the moment so id be very curious to try out your system. I have jack’s light but have had very little success with it to the point that I just prefer to use nlp like i’ve always used it with a white light. thanks for all your hard work nate. I am so excited.
@nate Thanks for the great updates and options.
1- So excited for Flat Field Correction / Lens Cast Correction to help overcome a lot of the lighting & lens challenges. At best its a fiddly feature in Lightroom for single images and batching is… challenging and often doesn’t work. In CaptureOne it is possible to batch and is easier but lacks a lot of the NLP features. It is the number one feature I am most excited for!
Dream feature?:
2- Is the ability to utilize Digital ICE (IR layer) images possible? Now or in the future? I am considering a setup with an IR light along with the proper camera and lens that takes 2 images, a color and an IR image.
EDIT: or R+G+B+IR… thats possible in the future, too, i guess.
Most people don’t need this on fresh film, but those of us working with big, old archives it could be a huge time saver on necessary images. I did find a tangential Digital ICE discussion also in the Feature Request section from 2021-2024, but it wasn’t via separate raw/dng files made during camera scanning but from dedicated film scanners.
I am eagerly awaiting a standalone, I would love to ditch lightroom entirely. Thanks as always. Cheers!
Add me to the list of folks who would love perpetual license. Thanks Nate!
I for one would really appreciate it too if the standalone NLP would run on Intel/Monterey, and would make the switch from Lightroom to standalone in a heartbeat.
Running a legacy iMac right now with Monterey under OpenCore - it’s the latest version I can run, and using OpenCore does limit using software that rely on GPU acceleration. I have run into many problems with modern visual editing software that can’t run on my system. I hope, like Lightroom, standalone NLP will be able to run on CPU rather than GPU if it needs to.
I know my situation isn’t a typical one, and perhaps too specific for modern software specs to be built around, but maybe you have already considered these factors - perhaps I am not the only one to work on an older system who would like to use the standalone version.
Of course, any testing that I can help with, I would love to do that.
Best of luck.
Hi Friends,
Two quick things…
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If anyone has Flat Field correction Raw Sets and/or R/G/B light table raws that you’d be willing to share, could you please email a link to me at nate@natephotographic.com? They would only be used for testing this feature and ensuring compatibility across various situations.
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Also, I’ve added a “multishot stitch” feature built specifically for camera scans. It’s significantly better than Lightroom’s pano merge for merging together multiple camera scans of the same negative. If you have any multi-shot raw scans you’d be willing to share, again, just email me at nate@natephotographic.com and it will help me ensure compatibility. You can have 2 to 6 scans and they should have about 20% overlap between shots.
Here’s a quick demo of it in action:
Hi Nate,
Just to say — great to hear that you’re continuing to develop this wonderful piece of software, which opened up a whole new world of archiving for me after 50 years of photography (40 of them with film!).
Even though I was a fairly early adopter back in 2018, I doubt I have enough tomorrows to archive them all! But those that I do always bring a smile to my face — so thank you.
And best of British with the standalone. I’m convinced it’ll be a hit with all the non-Adobe users, as well as maybe being just the nudge others need to finally quit their subscriptions!
Take care of yourself and, once again, thank you.
BTW: Love the 3.1 version for positives. I’ve just worked on some almost 40-year-old 6x6 slides taken in Egypt, and I’ve never seen them look so sharp and vibrant. I’m also using a camera now rather than a beat-up old flatbed, so that definitely helps! ![]()
Original: Mamiya C330 PRO TLR with 80mm lens
Film: Kodak Ektachrome 100 Professional (EPN), ISO 100, E-6
Camera scan: Fuji X-Pro2 with TTArtisan 40mm Macro at f/8
YEAR: MAY 1988
Quite a journey for an image — from a Mamiya TLR in Egypt in the 1980s to a Fuji digital camera and NLP nearly 40 years later!
The last example is an old school selfie! Kodak Kodacolor Gold 100 — GA 100 / 5095 — 35mm, ISO 100, C-41, using NLP Negative Conversion. ![]()
Now, where did I park the DeLorean? ![]()
Hi Nate,
what do you mean with Flat Field correction Raw sets, is this something very specific or just some RAW shots of just backlight to use for flatfield correction? If it is just some RAW shots, I have a couple, not really a set, but just 5. They are not all with same camera or backlight if that matters
I mean a raw which captures a blank frame from your exact session setup, followed by real frames from that same session. The blank frame is used to calibrate the lens, light bleed, light table unevenness, shadows, etc from your exact session. Then, your following frames from that same exact setup can use this “flat field” correction to remove any issues.
So…
- Set everything up for capture (light table, tripod, film holder, camera, etc).
- Before capturing the first actual frame, capture a blank frame.
- Then without changing anything in your setup, capture the rest of the roll
I guess you mean to capture that blank with exactly same exposure the rest of shots will be captured, right?
Hi Nate, thanks for doing this! NLP is really the only option and to have it unteethered from LC is just amazing. Would it be possible to get on an update or notification list when you are ready to release? And of course I would love to join the beta test also!
Cheers Jens
Ah, I see. I have a couple of rolls done with a frame with just backlight for flatfield and some other shots from testing different backlights etc, but those are not whole rolls, just a shot of backlight and then a couple of frames of a negative, just to test some stuff. If you could use them I’d be happy to send them. Some of the whole rolls had negatives in pretty bad state if I rememder correctly, dont know if that makes them unsuitable, but have to check to be sure
Adding to the chorus of users here, I have NLP but finally canceled creative suite and said goodbye to Adobe (hopefully forever), just really want to be able to keep using NLP!
I’ve been off Adobe for many years but just downloaded lightroom to test out NLP. Adobe wants admin privileges on my computer? For what? This is crazy. I didn’t do it. Anyway, can’t wait to try the stand alone app.
PS. When you cancel the lightroom installation process it asks you for feedback. One of the options is “I don’t feel comfortable granting admin privileges.” This is fishy as hell.
I just payed for NLP a few months ago, didn’t know a stand alone version was coming out
. Is there a chance to get it free of charge once it’s release? I just got rid of adobe products so no longer using NLP. Lightroom was crashing often on me, it’s why I left. Now using the clone lightcraft.
I personally am getting antsy regarding the promised standalone version. I have been using NLP for 6 years at this point, back from when it was one of the few options available. It’s a bit disappointing that the last update was over 2 years ago. In the just the last year many standalone film conversion applications have surpassed NLP in functionality and features, with more coming to market almost monthly. The new version will certainly need the promised full suite of added tools + an improved raw pipeline to compete. Unfortunately, it’s still unclear what all the new tools may be or when the software is going to appear for beta. Not to mention how much “upgrading” may cost.
That being said, I still think NLP gives the most predictable results across a large sample set after testing five other programs in the past week. Predictable does not necessarily mean better here, just what I am accustomed to and generally happy with. NLP has the unenviable position of being a class-leading software that all the others are trying to top. Some are already doing it, and for less than I’ve already paid for NLP.
I’m cautiously optimistic that the standalone will indeed meet expectations, but I’d love a timing/feature update. In-app tethering (at least on mac), connectivity to narrowband RGB lights, tone curves, manual D-min and max, levels, and hue/luma vs saturation should absolutely be included if it truly wants to be a “pro” software.
Nate has stated that the standalone will have a catalog and be fully functional for managing your whole collection with non-destructive edits. The alternatives so far have not been able to do that. NegPy is going that way, but it’s become such an ugly mess, I don’t consider it usable anymore. Having to export a full res tiff to use in C1 or LR, etc is a giant waste of space and very inefficient.
But yeah, @nate , can we get an update? I just had a big printing project and could have really used a better conversion tool.
I can think of four programs besides negpy that allow persistent, non-destructive edits organized by session or folder. Using LR does make browsing through folders extremely efficient, but it’s yet to be seen how the NLP standalone would handle this catalog UI.
My biggest issue in this regard would be having over 60,000 negatives tied to a program I’m no longer using. If NLP could read the cache and transfer that information into the standalone that would be huge for users with a lot of work tied up in LR.






