Develop and Fix updates FilmLab 2

GaryPageau

Develop and Fix updated its FilmLab 2 film negative scanning app for iOS. FilmLab begin as a Kickstarter project launched by founder, Abe Fettig, in 2017, as a simple way to view and scan film using mobile phone cameras. The project was successfully funded and launched on the iOS and Android app stores as paid app for $5.99 USD.

In 2019, Develop and Fix, Inc. was formed and, the following year, the company released FilmLab for macOS and Windows. This desktop app allows people to take the raw files from their camera scans and convert them to positives, using custom image processing engine to simulate the chemical processes used in photo labs, to give results that look like darkroom prints.

With FilmLab 2 for iOS, we’re taking everything we’ve learned from our previous apps and making something new. There are two things about this release that we think are really exciting:

FilmLab on mobile, now free, can be used to preview negatives as positives, make proof sheets, and capture quick scans. But now, instead of only saving the processed image, the app can save the original negatives. The non-destructive editor allows the user u to quickly change processing settings at any time, and our new folder view shows you a beautiful gallery of all your scans.

RAW film scan processing is now on mobile as part of the optional FilmLab Pro add-on. With Pro, you can import high-resolution RAW files from camera scans and process negatives right on your phone or tablet.

FilmLab Pro on mobile is included in cross-platform licensing; existing customers who purchased the desktop apps get it for free. And new users who purchase the Pro upgrade on mobile will be able to download and use our desktop apps under the same license.

The company says many updates are coming this fall:

  • FilmLab 2.1 for iOS, with features that have been requested by our beta testers, including a new crop/perspective tool and undo/redo
  • Filmlab 2.1 for Android
  • A new release of our desktop app will allow users to share and sync their edits between mobile and desktop