My Review of Dehancer
Dehancer video examples
As someone who loves the timeless look of traditional film, Dehancer is quickly becoming a go-to tool in my creative workflow. This software helps me bring that classic film vibe to my digital photos and videos, making my work feel more cohesive no matter what format I'm shooting.
How Dehancer Works
Dehancer works as a film emulation plugin that plugs right into my favorite editing software, like Final cut pro, Lightroom, Adobe Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, and Photoshop plus a standalone Iphone app! It uses some pretty smart corections to mimic the look of various film stocks, which is perfect for giving my digital images and videos that rich, analog feel.
Key Features and Capabilities
Film Profiles: Dehancer has a great selection of film profiles that replicate classic film stocks. I often find myself using Kodak and Fuji profiles to match the mood of my projects. Each profile adds a unique touch that makes my images feel more rich and give them depth.
Grain Simulation: The grain simulation in Dehancer is super realistic. Unlike digital noise, it adds a natural texture to my images. I can tweak the size, intensity, and distribution of the grain to get just the right look, whether I want something subtle or more pronounced.
Color Grading Tools: Dehancer’s color grading tools are really handy. I use them to adjust color balance, contrast, exposure, and saturation. These tools help me fine-tune my visuals so they perfectly match my creative vision.
Halation and Bloom: I love the opton of having halation and bloom effects in Dehancer. They add a nice glow around highlights and create a slight light bleed, which emulates the way film handles bright areas. These effects add a layer of realism to film simulations that apps like lightroom often lack.
Film Breathing and Gate Weave: Dehancer also simulates film breathing and gate weave on video, adding those little imperfections that make digital images look more organic and alive.
Achieving Film-Like Looks in My Workflow
Since I love shooting on film, keeping a consistent aesthetic across both film and digital formats is important to me. Dehancer helps me match the unique qualities of my film work in my digital projects. Here’s how I use it:
Subtlety is Key: I’ve found that a subtle touch often works best. I start with choosing a neutral film stock like Kodak portra 400 and make light adjustments to the white balance to keep the colours feeling natural but warm and rich, I choose a light grain, add a little halation, and bloom, and then tweak them gradually. Too much can look overdone, so I try to keep it all balanced.
Experiment with Film Profiles: Each project has its own vibe. By trying out different film profiles, I find the one that best matches my creative vision. Kodak profiles work well for warm, nostalgic looks, while Fuji profiles are great for vibrant scenes.
Refine with Color Grading: Dehancer’s color grading tools help me fine-tune each image or frame. Adjusting the color balance and contrast enhances the mood and tone of my projects, giving them a polished feel.
Drawbacks and Areas for Improvement
While I love Dehancer, some of the default presets can be a bit strong if you’re not careful can really overcook your images. It takes some tweaking to get them just right, a bit more granular and subtle levels on each slider might help dial things in and refine them more easily.
A feature i’d like to see is RAW processing. Dehancer can’t process RAW images directly. I have to convert them to sRGB first, which strips out a lot of colour information and gives me less control over the image. For photographers who like working with RAW files, this can be a bit of a hassle.
Also, while the video version lets you tailor profiles to each camera’s color science, this feature isn’t available in the stills version. It would be awesome if they could add this feature to the stills side too so that each camera profile is fine tuned.
Compatibility
Dehancer works with a range of software, making it versatile for both stills and video editing. It integrates smoothly with:
Adobe Premiere Pro: Perfect for video editing, letting me easily add filmic qualities.
DaVinci Resolve: Pairs well with Resolve’s powerful color grading tools.
Final Cut Pro: Great for Mac users looking for superior film emulation.
Adobe Photoshop: Adds that film-like touch to my still images.
Adobe Lightroom: Good for bactch processing images taken in similar lighting conditions.
Phone app: The standalone app lets me edit my images on the go when i can’t access a laptop.
Conclusion
Dehancer (ironically) has really enhanced my editing workflow, helping me achieve beautiful, film-like results. Even though there are some minour limitations its benefits far outweigh the downsides. By using Dehancer’s effects subtly, I can create consistently high-quality work that blends the charm of analog with the convenience of digital. Whether I’m shooting video or stills, Dehancer helps me keep a cohesive aesthetic across my work that stands out.
