GuidesConvert negatives into photos

How to convert negatives on a Mac without Lightroom

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Lightroom Classic plugins, such as Negative Lab Pro, only run inside Lightroom Classic, which comes with an Adobe subscription. Without it, a Mac gives you four ways to convert negatives: a standalone converter, the negative tools now built into Capture One, ON1 Photo RAW and DxO FilmPack, a free editor such as darktable or RawTherapee, or a manual conversion in Photoshop, Affinity or GIMP.

Disclosure: this site makes Monobath, one of the standalone apps below.

What to look for

Whatever you pick, check these five points in the free trial:

  • It reads the RAW files from your camera, or the TIFFs from your scanner.
  • It removes the orange mask and sets black and white points for each colour channel. If these words are new to you, read how to convert film negatives into photos first.
  • It copies settings across a whole roll.
  • It exports 16-bit TIFFs for your edits.
  • It runs natively on your Mac.

Standalone apps

These apps need no other software.

Monobath

A native Mac app, not a plugin. It converts colour negative, black and white negative and slide scans. It reads the camera RAW files that macOS supports, TIFFs, JPEGs and whole folders. It is in beta, and it will be a one-time purchase.

FilmLab

FilmLab has a desktop version for Mac and Windows and a mobile version for iOS and Android. Its site says it needs no additional software and loads RAW files from hundreds of cameras. It converts to colour or black and white. One licence covers all your devices. You pay by monthly or yearly subscription, or once for a lifetime licence.

SmartConvert

SmartConvert from filmomat is “a standalone tool”. It needs macOS 11 or later and runs natively on Apple silicon. It handles colour and black and white, negatives and slides. It reads common RAW files and TIFFs, but not JPEGs. It is a one-time purchase.

SilverFast HDR Studio

SilverFast HDR Studio is for people who scan with a film scanner and SilverFast. It edits SilverFast’s HDR raw scans and includes NegaFix for negative to positive conversion. It does not open proprietary camera RAW formats, so it is not the first choice for camera scans. It supports Intel and Apple silicon Macs.

Built into other editors

If you already edit in one of these, try its negative tool first.

Capture One

Capture One added negative film conversion in March 2026. You get a dedicated film negative mode and a Convert Negative button. Capture One’s own explanation says it white balances the film base in a linear working space, inverts the picture, and then sets the black and white points with Levels. Settings from one frame apply across the roll. You can also shoot tethered, so each frame goes straight into Capture One. Capture One Pro is sold as a subscription or as a one-time licence. Check on its pricing page which plan includes negative conversion for you.

ON1 Photo RAW

Since the 2026 version, ON1 Photo RAW has a Negative Mode with two settings: Color Negative and Monochrome Negative. It inverts the picture and removes the orange mask. After that, all the normal editing tools work as they do on a digital RAW file. Photo RAW runs as a standalone app on Mac and Windows. You can buy it once or take a subscription.

DxO FilmPack

DxO FilmPack 8 added a Scanned Film Optimization panel. With one click, it inverts colour or black and white negatives. It also has more than 10 tone curve presets for common problems. FilmPack runs as a standalone app on Mac and Windows, or as a plugin for DxO PhotoLab, Photoshop and Lightroom Classic. It is sold as a perpetual licence.

Free options

darktable (negadoctor)

darktable is a free, open-source raw editor. Its negadoctor module works for colour and black and white negatives. You sample the film base, set the density range of the negative, and then set a virtual paper grade and gloss. The official Mac builds are for Apple silicon only (macOS 13.5 or later). There is no official build for Intel Macs.

RawTherapee (Film Negative)

RawTherapee is also free and open source, and the current release has a macOS build. Its Film Negative tool arrived in version 5.7. You pick a light and a dark neutral spot once per roll, then copy the settings to the other frames. It works with raw files from Bayer and X-Trans sensors and with non-raw files.

NegPy

NegPy is free and open source. It has colour negative, black and white and slide modes, and it models real darkroom papers. The Mac builds are not signed, so the first time you open the app you must run a Terminal command, as its README explains.

If you have Photoshop but not Lightroom

  • Grain2Pixel is a free Photoshop plugin for Photoshop CC 2019 and later. Its installers page asks for an optional donation. On a Mac, it needs some manual settings before it can read and write files.
  • CineStill’s CS Negative+ Convert Tools are free presets. They work in Adobe Camera Raw (in Photoshop or Bridge) and in the Lightroom apps. They include colour models and a SILVER model for black and white.
  • You can also convert by hand with layers. See how to invert colour negatives in Photoshop.

The manual way, with no extra software

The same layer method works in Affinity, which is free for individuals and runs natively on Apple silicon and Intel Macs, and in GIMP, which is also free. Both have an invert command, a Divide blend mode and Levels for each channel.

The manual way is fine for a few frames, and it teaches you what every converter does. For a full roll, a converter saves a lot of time and keeps the frames consistent.

Why I built Monobath. I used to convert my negatives with a plugin in Lightroom. When I cancelled my Adobe subscription, I could not find a decent option at an affordable price: the free or cheap tools I tried did not give me results I liked, and the alternative was another expensive editor, from Adobe or Capture One. So I built the app I wanted: easy, fast and efficient, with no subscription.

Which one to choose

Your situation Start with
You want one Mac app, with no host and no subscription Monobath (beta), SmartConvert, or FilmLab with a lifetime licence
You already edit in Capture One, ON1 or DxO The negative tool in that app
You scan with a film scanner and SilverFast SilverFast HDR Studio
You want to spend nothing and are happy to learn darktable, RawTherapee or NegPy
You have Photoshop Grain2Pixel, the CineStill presets, or the manual method

Test two or three of them on the same frames from one roll before you pay. Use a daylight frame, a frame under artificial light, and an underexposed frame. Then compare the greys, the skin tones and the shadows.

Sources

Each tool was checked on its maker’s site in October 2026.

MONOBATH FOR MAC

From negative to photo, on your Mac.

Monobath converts camera scans of colour negatives, black and white film and slides. Join the beta to try it on your own negatives.

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