VueScan Adds Support for Over 1,200 Digital Camera Raw Formats - Perfect for Film/Slide Digitization
We’re excited to announce an expansion of VueScan’s capabilities: support for raw files from over 1,200 digital cameras. This update dramatically expands the options for photographers looking to digitize their film archives using digital cameras.
While VueScan has long been the go-to software for getting the most out of film scanners, many photographers are now using digital cameras to digitize their slides and negatives. This approach can offer significant benefits. With this update, VueScan now bridges these two worlds, bringing our powerful film processing capabilities to photographers using digital cameras for film digitization.
The new camera support covers most major camera manufacturers and models through our integration with LibRaw, with a comprehensive list available here. Whether you’re using a recent mirrorless camera or an older DSLR, chances are your camera’s raw format is now supported.
This update is particularly valuable for photographers with large archives of slides or negatives to digitize. Using a digital camera can be an efficient way to digitize your slides and negatives, and now you can process these captures using the same VueScan tools you’re familiar with for getting optimal results from film.
Why use a digital camera for film digitization?
- Speed: Digital cameras can capture slides and negatives very quickly.
- Resolution: Digital cameras can capture very high resolution images.
- Cost: You may already have a digital camera and other equipment that you can use for film digitization.
- Film Sizes Ability to capture larger format film than some scanners can handle
Why a scanner might be better than a digital camera:
- Dust and scratches: Scanners can scan using infrared to find dust and scratches, which digital cameras can’t do.
- Built-in film holders: Scanners provide more reliable film flatness.
- Batch Scanning: Scanners can scan multiple images at once, which digital cameras can’t do.
- Automatic Cropping and Color Correction: Scanners can automatically detect the media type (slides, negatives, etc.), crop the image, and apply color correction.
The workflow is straightforward:
- Photograph your slides or negatives using your digital camera’s raw format. A light table and/or slide/film mount are recommended
- Import the raw files into VueScan
- Use VueScan’s established film processing tools to optimize your results
- Save in your preferred format for archiving or further editing
You may want to use a light table or a slide/film mount to ensure your images are flat and the lighting is even. Here is an example of a mount you can buy on Amazon but many other options are available.
Whether you’re an individual photographer with a personal archive to preserve, or a professional digitization service looking to optimize your workflow, VueScan now offers you more flexibility in how you approach film digitization.