I downloaded the tools today and tested them out on a roll of Ektar 100 that I shot at Kew Gardens in 2019 with my all time favourite camera, the Hasselblad 500.
I laid the negatives out on my slimline light tile and took digital photos of them with my Canon R5 and the RF 100-500mm f4.5-7.1 USM lens. The imported into Lightroom and started to use the tools.
I found I needed to instructions to start with, these tools may live in with your presets but they aren't a one-click solution. They do however give you an insane amount of control over your negative conversion. After a steep learning curve I got the hang of things and fell instantly in love.
Previously I've and Epson 120 film scanner (that broke and I couldn't justify buying a new one) and I've used Negative Lab Pro but I had to keep an old version of Lightroom Classic installed on my Mac just to run that so bringing the work flow into Lightroom CC is a big bonus for me.
Having used both I have to say that I prefer Cinestills tools for the quality and deep level of control it gives.
Just messing about with it this afternoon for an hour has rekindled my love of 120 film, spurred me on to send off my Hasselblad for repair and has saved me selling my 100-500mm lens on mpb. I haven't used the lens in ages and I was doubting I need it but it's been great to use for photographing negatives so it's not leaving my side now!
I'm going to be using these free tools on some slides from the 1960s soon and I look forward to sharing more!
