This is my review of the Dehancer plugin for Lightroom Classic. Dehancer creates a full set of plugins for photo- and video enthousiasts. The video plug-ins are available for DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut Pro and Adobe After Effects or Premiere Pro. It offers film effects, grading, LUTS and many more options I don’t have knowledge about. But they also offer a plug-in for Lightroom Classic (and Capture One and Affinity Photo), which this review is about.
For this review I’ve installed the plugin on my Mac Studio with M1 Max processor and 32GB of RAM. I’m using a fully updated version of Lightroom Classic v.13.5.
If you are more in to mobile editing I’ve also got some great news for you. Dehancer also offers a great mobile app that is available for iOS, you can find it in the App Store.
In this review I’ve added some samples of what you can do with Dehancer. I can just give you a small sample, you can tinker with it as much as you like. But of course it is always best to see for your self. Dehancer offers a free trial on their website: here. If you are convinced this is the tool for you use my discount code: RICKSREVIEWS10 and you’ll get a 10% discount.
Dehancer Film Emulation
What Dehancer offers is Film Emulation, essentially these are digital filters that recreate the look of classical film types. This is something that has become very popular in the last years. I myself like the images I make for myself to be as clean and pure as possible. I’ve invested a lot of money in camera’s and lenses to achieve that and pixel peep the hell out of my images.
But when doing shoots for other people they ask for ‘that classic photo look’ more and more. And I can understand that. It’s a kind of nostalgic feeling with more character than the clean, modern images that come out of a modern camera. In the past I would see them destroy my carefully created and edited images by dumping some terrible Instagram filter over them. So since then I’ve been editing that look in to my images myself if people ask for it. But now my life just got a whole easier with the Dehancer plugin for Lightroom Classic.
It’s a pity Dehancer isn’t available for my preferred editor DXO Photolab yet. I hope that they might add that in the future as wel. But I can understand if DXO isn’t too happy to help Dehancer with this since they also offer the very extensive Film pack 7 that offers a somewhat comparable functionality. For now I don’t mind booting up Lightroom from time to time to use Dehancer.
Installing Dehancer
Installing Dehancer is a bit more work than some other film editors. This might be a point where they can improve. Luckily Dehancer offers a good description of the steps you have to take that will lead you through the process. It might feel like a challenge when you aren’t too tech-savvy but you shouldn’t let that hold you back. With the instructions it is easy enough for everyone to get it done.
In short for MacOS you can download the DMG file, open it and follow the installation process like you are used to with other MacOS programs. After that you run Lightroom and go in to the preferences. There you can add Dehancer as an external editor. In the instructions there is a detailed description of the settings you have to check or edit. The most complex part of this step is guiding Lightroom to install path. If you haven’t changed the settings during setup you can just follow the instructions to the letter. No problem.
After the installation and adding Dehancer as a plugin for Lightroom you can choose any photo in your Lightroom catalog and choose ‘Edit in’ and choose Dehancer to get started. After the first time opening Dehancer you will have to activate the plugin and update it.
Speed and interface
One thing that impressed me about Dehancer is the speed. I’m used to the loading speed of DXO’s Nik Collection. While it doesn’t bother me it is definitely slower than Dehancer. Both in opening the app and showing the adjustments you make in the preview. No problem for the occasional user, but when you edit a lot of images daily this might be a big plus for you.
The other thing that impressed was the clean and high quality interface of Dehancer. Opening the plug-in you’ll find an interface that offers more than enough options to tinker with your image. But is does that without overwhelming you with buttons and sliders.
And I love the huge histogram at the bottom of the screen helping you to get your editing just right.
Editing your images
When using the plug-in you have the option to choose between ‘films’ and ‘presets’. In the films section you will find an enormous collection of well known film emulsions. The options range from modern to real classics. There is a total of more than 60 films to choose from in both color and black and white. Of course you can see a small preview of each film type to help you choose.
The films section offers well known film types from my youth. Films like the Fujichrome (Provia, Velvia), Fuijcolor, Agfacolor, Kodak Ektar and Gold. But also black and white classics like FujiFilm Neopan Acros, Illford HP and XP and Rollei Ortho. And of course the more modern options like Lomochrome and FujiFilm Instax.
In presets there are a lot of presets where a film is combined with additional settings. Those extra settings are combined on the right hand side of the screen. You can also add new presets you’ve made yourself. But the included presets are a great starting point to find your preferred style.
Adjustments
Choosing a film type is just the beginning. You can pick one and leave it a that. But the real fun begins when you start editing the film and creating your own presets. There are way too many options the discuss them all, but there are some that I need to share with you.
Of course you can do the basic editing like exposure, temperature compensation, defringing, contrast and others. But you can go all in with settings like film compression that lowers highlights and compresses your dynamic range. As with all settings you can choose the level of the setting in great detail.
In the print option you have the option to choose from different paper types that will impact your colours and white balance. You can choose paper from Fujifilm, Kodak Cineon or choose the Linear option. The last one will be the most neutral and the Cineon will give you a very low contrast, almost grey look. Something that doesn’t work for color in my opinion but can be fantastic for some black and white options. And this is also just the starting point and you can adjust it the way you like it the best.
Classic looks with Dehancer
Further down in the adjustments you will find the options that will add the more old film look. You have the option to add film grain. I’m very impressed with the grain options you have, since they are very lifelike. You can add presets for ISO 50, 250 or 500. And you can choose the type of film, ranging from 8mm to 65mm medium format. ISO500 on 8mm film is very pronounced and harsh. ISO50 on 65mm will give you a very subtle effect. And if the presets don’t suit you you can also go for a custom setting. In custom you can adjust everything about the grain, from size and amount to resolution and where it is most pronounced.
Halation and Bloom are two effects that will work very good with images with local high-lights. They add glow and make the highlights pop. It is a little like the new HDF filter in the Ricoh GR3 HDF. I love this in darker, high contrast images. Vignette is also present, and while good this is something you can also easily add in your favourite photo editor.
The last options you have are a little to kitsch for me. But if that’s your thing you can add film damage (very wel done) and overscanning. While fun to play with this isn’t a look I’d use for my (professional) work myself.
Using Dehancer
As you can probably read in this review I’ve had a lot of fun using Dehancer. The option to add just a little bit of extra oomph to your image or go completely overboard is great. And the film options and included presets are great starting points for your editing.
I’ve already fallen in love with the Neopan Acros 100 for portraits in black and white. And Kodak Supra 100 is a lovely starting point for soft and characterful color portraits or warm images. For street and architecture I enjoy the Illford HP5 for that hard contrasty look.
Conclusion
If you are looking for a high quality plug-in that will make your life easier Dehancer is a very good option. The plugin works fast and has a very nice interface. The installation is a little more complicated, but the included instructions are very clear and easy to follow. The results are fantastic. Dehancer offers very good presets and offers you the chance to create your own styles you can easily re-use. Therefore it is a fantastic tool for anyone, but amateur and professional, looking to add something extra to their images.
I’d say give Dehancer a try and see for yourself, they offer a free trial to get started. If you are convinced, you can use my discount code RICKSREVIEWS10 to get a 10% discount. Easy money! Oh, and it works on all Dehancer plugins, also those for video-editing!