Node Mill’s new LensNode plugin for DaVinci Resolve offers a powerful and technically advanced way to digitally emulate real lens characteristics in post. With data-driven profiles of vintage and modern glass, it brings the nuanced optical imperfections of classic lenses to contemporary workflows – without the cost or complexity of sourcing rare cine lenses. While there are plenty of film emulation and diffusion-style plugins on the market, LensNode from Node Mill sets itself apart by replicating the look of actual lenses – not film stocks or general softness, but pixel-accurate optical behaviors derived from measured data. Developed over the past year by Australian filmmakers Elliott Nieves and Jarrad Russell, LensNode is now available in Early Access for DaVinci Resolve on macOS and Windows. Real lens data, real optical behavior At the core of LensNode is a library of lens profiles based on detailed image captures in a variety of lighting conditions. These are not approximations or simulations tuned by eye—they are built from optical measurements of real lenses. Users can apply these profiles to their footage and even mix characteristics from different lenses, creating “impossible” glass combinations. Want the unique distortion of a LOMO Illumina S35, the chromatic aberration of a Cooke S4, and the bloom of a 14mm Cooke prime, all with the color cast of a Voigtländer Nokton? LensNode makes that not only possible but easily adjustable through an intuitive OpenFX interface inside Resolve’s color page. Emulations of various lens characteristics Each lens profile includes emulation of: Comatic aberration (coma): One...
Published By: CineD - Today