Film Negative Converter

More than inverting the colors

A C-41 color negative is more than a photo with flipped colors. Colored couplers in the emulsion give unexposed film its familiar orange-brown mask, and each of the three dye layers responds to light differently. If you simply invert a negative in a standard photo editor, that orange tint turns into a heavy cyan-blue cast. Our guide to the orange mask explains where it comes from.

This converter works in film density rather than simple RGB inversion. It estimates the film base color, measures each dye layer’s optical density above that base, and sets per-channel black and white points before mapping tones back to a positive image, clearing the orange cast without washing out your colors.

Automatic, with controls when you need them

Automatic conversion gives you a balanced starting point as soon as your file opens. The analyzer ignores dark film holders and bright backlight around sprocket holes so borders do not skew the colors, and it caps per-channel correction so a warm sunset stays golden and foliage stays green instead of turning gray.

When a tricky frame needs a hand, click or tap an unexposed strip of film to lock the base color, sample something neutral gray to set white balance, or dial back Auto color strength. You can also crop out borders, rotate 90°, flip mirrored scans, and fine-tune exposure, contrast, temperature, tint, and saturation with live preview.

Private by design

Every step runs locally in your browser. There is no upload queue and no account to create: this is a static site with no backend server to receive or store your images.

Tips for better conversions

• Light the negative evenly from behind with a light table, a tablet, or a phone showing a plain white screen, and keep room light off the film to avoid reflections.
• Fill the frame with the negative and keep the camera parallel to it. A little of the unexposed film border in the shot helps the converter find the base color.
• Save the capture as a JPEG or TIFF at the highest quality your camera or scanner offers. A 16-bit TIFF from a scanner keeps the most detail.
• If the colors look off, click “Pick film base” on an unexposed film border (such as the strip between frames or along the sprocket holes), or crop tightly so surrounding light stays out of the color balance.
• Turn off any automatic “negative” or color-correction mode in your scanner software, so the converter gets the untouched negative.

Frequently asked questions

Which film formats and stocks does this converter work with?

Any scanned or photographed negative frame, including 35mm, 120 medium format, 110, APS, and large-format sheets, in standard C-41 color negative or black-and-white. Frames are converted one at a time. Positive slide (reversal) film and camera RAW files are not supported yet.

Why do my color negatives look orange?

C-41 color negative film uses colored couplers in its emulsion layers (along with a lightly tinted base) to offset unwanted light absorption in the cyan and magenta dyes during optical printing. When you invert a negative digitally, that orange-brown mask has to be neutralized first; otherwise, the positive comes out with a heavy cyan-blue cast.

Are my photos uploaded anywhere?

No. All processing happens locally in your browser, and your image data is never sent over the network. Nothing remains once you close or reload the tab.

Which file types can I use?

JPEG, PNG, WebP, and 8-bit or 16-bit TIFF files from film scanners. Camera RAW files and HEIC photos are not supported yet, so export those as JPEG or TIFF first.

Can I convert negatives I photographed with my phone?

Yes. Photograph the negative against an even white backlight in a dim room, fill the camera frame, and open the shot here. Selecting a photo from your library on an iPhone usually converts it to JPEG automatically; if you transfer .heic files to a computer first, export them as JPEG or PNG before opening. For the full setup, see how to digitize negatives with a phone.

Does it work with black-and-white negatives?

Yes. Switch the film type to “Black & white” and the converter inverts the tones without applying any color correction, so the result is a neutral grayscale image.

The colors still look wrong. What can I do?

Try “Pick film base” and click an unexposed part of the film, such as the border between frames. Then use “Pick neutral gray” on something that should be gray or white. Cropping to the picture area and lowering the “Auto color” slider can also help with unusual scenes.

Is it free? Is there a watermark or a size limit?

It is completely free, with no sign-up and no watermark. Exports keep your original resolution; on phones with strict browser memory limits, oversized files are resized to the largest dimensions the device supports, and an on-screen notice shows the final pixel size.