Is there a way to open FilmPack6 standalone program directly from PhotoLab6? Similar to how you would open FilmPack 6 as a plug-in from Photoshop.
I know there is a way to use Filmpack within PhotoLab BUT there is a delay in rendering that doesn’t exist within the standalone program. Plus working within the standalone program has a few other advantages.
My preferred workflow would be to make all my raw changes in PhotoLab, open FilmPack from Photolab to dial in the film look, and then back in to PhotoLab for finishing touches. Preferably keeping this all within the same Raw file.
Impossible. The problem you will have is that the standalone version doesn’t work with RAW files, so you would need to export to TIFF from PL6 in order to make any changes, which then means you would not be able to make any RAW-type adjustments to the exported TIFF afterwards.
Activate FilmPack in PhotoLab and you can do the lot without leaving PhotoLab.
Apply the film emulations using the color rendering tool. Switch the category and select your film
You might prefer standalone FilmPack’s GUI, but it comes with a media break as noted above by @Joanna.
But yes, Joanna, it is possible!
FilmPack accepts raw in standalone version well and processes them without problem. Of course, the service is minimal, but there are at least the essentials: Light, contrast (including fine contrast, logical!), HSL, Tone Curve, and optical corrections.
Obviously for a PhotoLab user, the standalone version is far below the question of setting possibilities.
That being said, I hardly see a significant difference in render time for a raw between PL and FilmPack. I’m talking about display rendering, not output rendering.
You can do all but the last part, as Mark said. In PhotoLab, make your initial edits - then use “Export to Application” to send a high-quality non-RAW file to FilmPack 6 for further editing. When FP6 saves its edits, you can continue working on that exported file in PL6 if you wish.
I haven’t tried this myself, but don’t see why it wouldn’t work. Personally, I’ll stick with the inferior user interface of PL6 for my FilmPack edits - but I do wish it was better.
Just to visualise with words directly from the user guide.
DxO FilmPack comes in three versions:
As a standalone application, DxO FilmPack is autonomous.
As a plugin, DxO FilmPack can be used with the following applications:
64-bit versions of Adobe Photoshop
64-bit versions of Adobe Photoshop Elements
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 and higher, Lighroom Classic
As a plugin for DxO PhotoLab, DxO FilmPack is completely integrated in the DxO PhotoLab workflow, and appears as a palette in the Customize tab.
Supported file formats
DxO FilmPack supports the following file formats, depending on the mode used:
In standalone application mode: RAW, DNG*, JPEG, and TIFF (8- and 16-bit RGB).
In plugin mode for Photoshop, Photoshop Elements and Lightroom Classic: JPEG and TIFF (8- and 16-bit RGB).
In plugin mode for DxO PhotoLab: RAW, DNG, JPEG, and TIFF (8- and 16-bit RGB).
Technically speaking FilmPack does not have a plugin mode for PhotoLab. All of the FilmPack features are already built-in to PhotoLab. A license for FilmPack only unlocks and unhides the FilmPack features that are already there.
