ScanStudio is a free, open-source film-scanning app for Apple Silicon (M-series, arm64) Macs running macOS 14 (Sonoma) or newer. Its supported Beta workflow is C-41 color-roll scanning with the Nikon SUPER COOLSCAN 5000 ED (LS-5000): preview the film, choose frames, scan, and review saved images.
- Open GitHub Releases
and choose a published Apple Silicon Beta:
ScanStudio-<version>-macOS-arm64.dmg. - Open the DMG, copy ScanStudio to Applications, and launch it.
- Connect your LS-5000 over USB and select the real scanner in the app. Being listed is discovery evidence; a successful connection and preview are separate steps.
The release workflow Developer ID-signs, notarizes, and staples both the app and DMG. The app includes the hardware bridge, Python runtime, libusb, license notices, and corresponding GPL source. The supported color-roll workflow and software eject use direct USB: no Homebrew, SANE, or Nikon driver is required. The separate legacy plain-scan path needs a compatible system SANE backend; SANE may also be used for discovery when available.
Intel Macs, Windows, and Linux are retired ScanStudio platforms, with no current builds, updates, or port support. NegPy offers an independent nkscan-backed Coolscan workflow. Consult NegPy downloads and upstream setup and compatibility guidance for those systems. Check your scanner, holder, and OS against upstream guidance; a download alone is not proof of compatibility. Older ScanStudio assets retain only the support and evidence recorded at their release dates.
- Create or open a roll and choose a writable save folder with enough free space for the selected frames and formats. Confirm the real device and holder.
- Preview the film. Check frame count, order, and boundaries before capture. Detection can retry with wider limits and offer manual placement; recovered or manually placed frames require your approval. Panoramic frames beyond the 38.7 mm single-pass capture window are refused rather than cropped.
- Choose frames and outputs. Set the film stock, recipe, orientation, naming, and resolution. Retain a Master TIFF, positive TIFF/JPEG, or both. Optional raw negative exports include Linear DNG and linear TIFF with infrared options.
- Scan and stay nearby while film moves. Follow the app's progress and any readiness or review prompts.
- Review saved files. In the inspector's Saved roll section, use Show Roll Folder in Finder or Frame N Saved Files to reveal a recorded output. Missing or moved files are reported explicitly. Completion counts follow saved receipts; inspect the images as well as the count.
Scanner preview establishes frame placement. Capture reads the selected film at scan resolution. Positive TIFF/JPEG and generated Preview files are processed exports; the optional Master TIFF retains the archival capture. Settings apply to future scans: changing a recipe, color style, or crop does not rewrite existing files or make the scanner preview a live color proof. Keep a master if you will need it for later rendering work.
The optional Full Capture Package adds available settings, receipts, checksums, and capture evidence alongside the master. Missing evidence is identified; capture files are not rewritten. See the app guide and color guide for output and rendering details.
- Press Stop after frame once and wait for the current frame to finish safely and the batch to report stopped. Eject is unavailable during capture.
- Preserve the saved roll, completed images, receipts, and attempt journals. For a failure or lost connection, save the technical details or choose Save Diagnostic Bundle… before following the app's recovery instructions.
- Reopen the same roll when safe. A stopped batch needs a fresh preview; refeed first if the app reports shifted or interrupted film. Reconnection alone does not restore film position.
- Resolve the current readiness and approval prompts, then use Resume Batch (N remaining) when enabled. It reads pending frames from the saved project and omits completed and excluded frames. Resolve a disabled action's reason instead of restarting the whole roll or deleting receipts.
Launching the app does not move film. Preview, Scan, and Eject are explicit physical operations. Follow Mac acceptance and recovery for attended operation, diagnostics, and the final full-roll acceptance record. Simulator stop/reopen/interruption/resume checks do not prove real transport, focus, framing, color, or dust-removal quality.
| Scanner | Current scope |
|---|---|
| LS-5000 / SUPER COOLSCAN 5000 ED, USB | C-41 color-roll workflow in Beta; retained real preview/capture evidence from one Apple Silicon Mac and one scanner configuration. |
| LS-40 / Coolscan IV ED and LS-50 / Coolscan V ED, USB | Recognized but unverified; bundled CoolscanPy 0.7.11 provides explicit opt-in with exact USB identity binding. No capture evidence. |
| LS-4000, LS-8000, LS-9000, FireWire | Discovery and a motion-free driver probe through ASFireWire; unsupported for scanning. See FireWire guidance. |
The hardware evidence matrix separates package, discovery, preview, and capture results. Final attended full-roll hardware acceptance for beta.16 is NOT RUN. Real black-and-white fine scanning remains blocked; infrared ICE is unsuitable for traditional silver B&W film. The clearly labeled simulator is for software exploration, not hardware evidence.
See build, test, and packaging instructions and
release notes and policy. CoolscanPy is also available for
scripting as pip install coolscanpy; see its driver guide.
The release pipeline checks the bundled driver against the authenticated PyPI
source, allowing only explicitly reviewed, hash-pinned differences.
Report problems in GitHub Issues with the app version, Mac/macOS, scanner/holder, failed step, and typed error. Review diagnostic bundles before sharing; keep film images, private paths, serial numbers, and raw capture journals out of public reports.
The app, engine, and documentation are MIT unless a file says otherwise.
The separate scanstudio-bridge process and CoolscanPy are GPL-3.0-only.
A bundle containing them is a mixed-license distribution: preserve its
licenses, corresponding source, and dependency notices.
NegPy is independent upstream software. ScanStudio's nkscan references are documentation-only cleanroom references to identity and behavioral facts; no nkscan implementation code or profiles are copied. ASFireWire is likewise an interface reference, with no source vendored. See third-party notices.
ScanStudio is not affiliated with Nikon. Nikon, Coolscan, SUPER COOLSCAN, Nikon Scan, and Digital ICE belong to their respective trademark owners.