Filmomat SmartConvert
Converting negatives made easy.
For color, B/W, negatives and slides.
A standalone tool - no additional software required.
No subscription. Buy once, use forever. Updates included.
NEW: SMARTCONVERT-LIVE for the Smartphone
Experience real-time conversion of your negatives with unmatched quality. SmartConvert Live allows you to preview your negatives instantly, using your iPhone camera. Capture snapshots and create beautiful contact sheets for sharing and archiving!
SmartConvert Desktop Version
Download SmartConvert for Desktop
Current Desktop Version: V2.02. Now with native Apple Silicon support!
MacOS 11+ / Windows 8+ required. Demo version shows a watermark on the preview and exported image.
Please note: SmartConvert for Desktop and SmartConvert-Live for Mobile are two separate applications. Purchase of one App does not include the other.
The Workflow
Inspired by the efficiency of industrial film scanners like the Fuji Frontier, SmartConvert is designed for simplicity and power. Effortlessly transfer your (DSLR-) scanned negatives into stunning positives. Clever keyboard shortcuts and the lack of unnecessary gimmicks enable a quick workflow. SmartConvert focuses on the essentials, delivering a seamless experience that mirrors the precision of professional film scanning.
The Algorithm
SmartConvert will process all common RAW file types as well as TIFF images - color and monochrome. The processing algorithm is designed to preserve the essence of film, by explicitly avoiding any artificial altering of the image. No LUTs, no effects, no trying to emulate a certain “Look”. Just a powerful tool to convert your negatives (or slides) easy and fast.
AutoCrop
No more manual cropping! The AutoCrop tool automatically detects the film frame and applies a corresponding crop and tilt to the image. Of course you can also adjust the crop manually.
Flat Field Correction
All camera lenses show a more or less pronounced vignetting towards the edges. This can disturb camera scanning, especially in the shadow areas of negatives. With SmartConverts built-in flat field correction feature, you can easily remove this effect. Simply load a plain picture of your light source (without film) and SmartConvert will use it to remove vignetting from your scanned images.
Intuitive White balancing
With SmartConvert you have three intuitive ways of adjusting the colors of your image: Apply automatic white balance (default), adjust colors using the CMY buttons - or simply click on a grey area in the image to set the white balance!
Hot-Folder Feature
Specify a hot-folder, and all images saved to that folder will be automatically imported into SmartConvert. You can use this feature to directly tether a camera to SmartConvert! Simply use a tethering software of your choice to capture frames from the camera to the hot folder.
Speed up your workflow with smart shortcuts.
Almost every feature of SmartConvert can be adjusted using convenient keyboard shortcuts. This significantly enhances workflow efficiency, enabling users to swiftly process a multitude of images in a remarkably short timeframe. Additionally, we created the SmartConvert Control Panel, a custom made hardware keyboard for SmartConvert. It allows you to control all functions of SmartConvert by a physical keyboard - just like a professional film scanner!
quick start guide:
Click “Add Images” and select negatives you want to convert. All common RAW files as well as TIFF files are supported (NO JPG!). You can also drag&drop your images, or specify a Hot-Folder for automatic import.
The images are automatically processed, which usually takes between 1-3sec per image.
The images are displayed sequentially on the screen. On the left, all images are shown as thumbnails. For performance reasons, the displayed preview image has a low resolution. In the Demo App, a watermark is displayed on the image. Adjust the image according to your liking, using the buttons for Density, Contrast and Saturation. Adjust the white balance using the Auto-WB function, by clicking on a neutral/gray area on the image, or by using the manual CMY buttons. By clicking on the values, you can make fine adjustments, or enter a value via the keyboard.
You can recalculate the image colors based on the current manual crop by using the “Recalc.” button. This is useful if SmartConvert has difficulties to find the correct image border by itself. Make sure to properly crop the image before using this function. All image border needs to be removed before recalculating.
Click “X” on the keyboard to show clipped areas in the image. Clipped areas will appear white. Under normal circumstances, SmartConvert will preserve shadows and highlights to a high level without clipping.
Use the “AutoCrop” tool (C) to automatically crop the image. If you want to adjust the crop manually, click on “Edit Crop”. Use the slider below the image to tilt the image. You can lock the aspect ratio of the crop if you like.
For b/w images, make sure to select the “Grayscale” button, which converts the image to a true grayscale image.
Click on “Next Image” (Enter / Ctrl + RightKey) or “Previous Image” (Ctrl + LeftKey) to move between images. You can also click on the thumbnails on the left, or click on the image counter and enter a specific image number, to jump to a specific image.
Use Ctrl+C / Ctrl+V to Copy/Paste settings from one image to another. You can select which settings you want to copy.
In the thumbnail window, you can select multiple images, and edit them at the same time. You can also paste copied settings to multiple images at once.
Click the “Skip Image” Button, to mark images that should be excluded from export. Images marked with “SKIP” will not be exported.
Click on “Export All” to export the image files. Use “Export Selection” to only export the images which are currently selected. You can choose if you want to export TIFFs or JPGs. You can resize the images on export by entering a pixel number. JPGs are exported with AdobeRGB profile embedded. TIFFs are exported at full 16bit.
Click on “Settings” -> “Advanced Settings” to get into the SmartConvert Settings menu. Here you can specify the HotFolder path, the Flat-Field correction, the appearance of the App and many more settings.
PRO TIP: Set the correct monitor profile
Setting the monitor profile will ensure that the exported images will look exactly like you edited them in SmartConvert. Otherwise, there might be (very subtle) differences, depending on your monitor. This procedure has only to be done once - SmartConvert will remember the monitor profile you choose.
On the Mac:
Move into the Settings app. On the left, select “Displays”. Check which Color-Profile is currently selected. Usually this is called “Color LCD” or “iMac”. If you are using an external monitor, it might be a different name. In SmartConvert, use the dropdown menu “Monitor Profiles” to select the correct profile. Done!
On WINDOWS:
On Windows, search for the “Color Management” App (“Farbverwaltung”). Check which Color-Profile is currently selected for the monitor you are using:
In SmartConvert, use the dropdown menu “Monitor Profiles” to select the correct profile. Done!
Troubleshooting
Here are some SOLUTIONS to frequently asked questions/ISSUES:
I see a pattern of dots and lines overlaying the image: This can happen when processing Fuji files (.RAF). Go to Settings -> Advances Settings and select the first checkbox.
Weird pixel patterns are displayed, instead of an image: Happens when the RAW file format is not supported, for example when your camera is very new. In this case, please convert your RAW files into DNG before importing to SmartConvert. You can use the free AdobeDNG converter for that purpose. The conversion to DNG is lossless and does not loose any image information.
The image appears washed out and without contrast: Usually happens when the base correction of the image fails, for example when you scan frames with the sprockets visible. Solution: manually crop the frame, so there is no border around, then click “Recalc.” to redo the base correction of the frame. After that, you can expand the crop again, if you want to have a scan incl. the sprockets.
When exporting TIFFs, a “TIFF” folder is created, but no images are exported: Happens when there is an issue with the export path. Usually, exporting to a “standard” path like /Pictures resolves this.