# Film Lab 35 — Accurate Film Emulation

> Physically-informed simulation of real film photochemistry for mobile photography. (iPhone/iPad app by Arjun Gupte.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/film-lab-35/id6762418907 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Arjun Gupte](https://appshunter.io/developer/1894098625)
- Category: Photo & Video, Graphics & Design
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Rating: 4.70/5 from 11 App Store ratings · 5 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 17.0 · 8 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2026-04-19
- Data updated: 2026-08-22
- Monetization: free with in-app purchases
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/film-lab-35/id6762418907/reviews.md

## What is Film Lab 35?

Film Lab 35 is a darkroom in your pocket. This is not a filter app, this is a physically-informed simulation of real film photochemistry, built from analyzing over 1,500 real film scans.

Select a film stock. Watch your photo develop. Save your frame to your own local Lightbox.

15 ICONIC FILM STOCKS

Color Negative
- Kodak Portra 400 - The gold standard for portraits
- Kodak Gold 200 - Warm, nostalgic, everyday magic
- Kodak Ektar 100 - Vivid saturation, fine grain
- Fujifilm 400 - Clean, cool, natural
- Fujifilm disposable 400 - That summer camera look

Slide Film
- Fujichrome Velvia 50 - Landscape legend, electric greens and blues
- Kodak Ektachrome E100 - Clean slide color, cool neutrals

Cinema
- CineStill 800T - Signature red halation, tungsten balance
- Kodak Vision3 250D - Hollywood's daylight stock, shot as stills

Black and White
- Kodak Tri-X 400 - Iconic punchy contrast
- Ilford HP5 Plus - Soft, nuanced, open shadows
- Ilford Delta 3200 - Huge grain, glowing highlights, the night stock

Instant
- Polaroid 600 - Warm, faded, dreamy
- Fujifilm Instax Mini - Clean instant snapshots

Experimental
- LomoChrome Metropolis - Desaturated, moody, cinematic

REAL PHOTOCHEMISTRY

Every stock is built on a 13-stage rendering pipeline that simulates actual film behavior:

1. Linearization of your input
2. Log exposure mapping
3. Film density curve (Hurter-Driffield)
4. Emulsion layer cross-talk
5. Decode back to linear light
6. Two-layer grain synthesis
7. Per-channel characteristic curves
8. Color chemistry simulation
9. Scanner simulation
10. Print stage (paper contrast and crossover)
11. Halation glow
12. Output encoding
13. Optical finish (bloom, vignette, softness)

Learn more about the process in the in app Science tab.

THE DEVELOPING RITUAL

Watch your photo develop through every stage. No instant filters. A tactile, intentional experience that honors the craft.

DATA-DRIVEN AUTHENTICITY

Each stock profile was developed by analyzing over 1,500 real film photographs where we measured shadow color, highlight behavior, saturation, contrast, grain texture, and color temperature across multiple exposure conditions. Every parameter is informed by real measurements, not aesthetic guesses.

ALL LOCAL, ALL PRIVATE

Your photos never leave your device. No cloud processing, no data collection, no tracking. Everything runs on-device. No cloud, ever.

GENTLE POST-PROCESSING

Once your photo is developed, optional fine-tuning lets you adjust brightness, contrast, warmth, saturation, and grain from clean to a pushed-negative 400 percent. The Darkroom section adds real lab controls: push and pull development, printer lights, highlight compression, and a film format dial. These adjustments sit on top of the "photochemical" render and they don't break the emulation.

YOUR LIGHTBOX

Every developed frame is saved to your personal local Lightbox: a collage of your film work, arranged like prints on a table.

WHAT YOU GET FREE

Start with three iconic stocks:
- Kodak Gold 200 (warm everyday)
- Kodak Tri-X 400 (classic B&W)
- Fujifilm Disposable 400 (summer vibes)

Unlock individual stocks for $0.99 each, or get all 15 plus future additions with the Full Lab bundle.

Film stock names referenced in this app are trademarks of their respective owners. Film Lab 35 is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or licensed by any of these companies. Our emulations are original artistic interpretations.

## Key features

- Physically-informed film emulation
- 12 iconic film stocks
- Simulates real photo development stages
- Data-driven authenticity
- Local, private processing
- Gentle post-processing adjustments
- Personal local Lightbox

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Vision3 250D | $0.99 | one-time |
| Delta 3200 | $0.99 | one-time |
| Ektachrome E100 | $0.99 | one-time |
| Portra 400 | $0.99 | one-time |
| Ilford HP5 Plus | $0.99 | one-time |
| Kodak Ektar 100 | $0.99 | one-time |
| Fujifilm 400 | $0.99 | one-time |
| Fujichrome Velvia 50 | $0.99 | one-time |
| Polaroid 600 Color | $0.99 | one-time |
| CineStill 800T | $0.99 | one-time |
| Fujifilm Instax Mini | $0.99 | one-time |
| Full Lab | $4.99 | one-time |
| LomoChrome Metropolis | $0.99 | one-time |


## Recent user reviews (5 of 5)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/film-lab-35/id6762418907/reviews.md

### 5/5 — Film lab at your fingertips!

*2026-04-28*

This app is awesome! I love being able to take pictures I have and give them an additional dimension. It’s super straightforward and user friendly. I enjoy getting to “develop” my pics and see how they turn out! I do film photography and you really get a taste of the intentionality you have with film. Highly recommend to photographers, folks wanting to up level their photo game, or just the average joe who wants to have some fun.

### 5/5 — awesome quick editing

*2026-04-25*

very fast and good looking results, that really simulate that classic look. I was impressed by the accuracy of of the filters.

### 5/5 — Finally a true mobile emulator

*2026-04-20*

as a filmmaker that does a lot of film emulation extensively in Davinci — but also just likes taking and editing pictures on his phone, this is genuinely the first app that doesn’t feel like it just slaps on a filter. dang!!

### 5/5 — Beginner friendly

*2026-04-19*

I was pleasantly surprised to find this app in the store. As a lover of film but generally a little overwhelmed by the lack of accessibility, this app caught my eye. I love that it is not only scientifically accurate with plenty of film options, but also provides a ton of context as to the actual science for the lovely imperfections that occur in film. Looking forward to exploring more!

### 5/5 — Cool film app!

*2026-04-19*

Really cool film app!! I love all the different stocks, and I loved learning about the science behind how film develops. Really cool!! I would definitely recommend if you want to turn your basic photos into something shot by film. Great to step up your photography game

## Frequently asked questions about Film Lab 35

### What is Film Lab 35?

Film Lab 35 is a mobile application that provides a physically-informed simulation of real film photochemistry. It allows users to select film stocks and observe their photos develop through a detailed, multi-stage process, mimicking a traditional darkroom experience.

### How does Film Lab 35 emulate film stocks?

Each film stock in Film Lab 35 is built on a 10-stage rendering pipeline that simulates actual film behavior, including linearization, log exposure mapping, emulsion cross-talk, color chemistry, and grain synthesis. This process is informed by analyzing over 1,500 real film scans.

### What film stocks are available in Film Lab 35?

Film Lab 35 offers 12 iconic film stocks, including color negative films like Kodak Portra 400 and Fujifilm 400, slide films like Fujichrome Velvia 50, tungsten/cinema films like CineStill 800T, black and white films like Kodak Tri-X 400, instant films like Polaroid 600, and experimental options like LomoChrome Metropolis.

### Can I purchase additional film stocks in Film Lab 35?

Yes, you can unlock individual film stocks for $0.99 each. Alternatively, you can purchase the Full Lab bundle, which includes all 12 stocks and future additions.

### Is Film Lab 35 private and secure?

Film Lab 35 prioritizes user privacy by processing all photos locally on your device. There is no cloud processing, data collection, or tracking involved, ensuring your images never leave your device.

### What are the free film stocks in Film Lab 35?

You can start using Film Lab 35 for free with three iconic stocks: Kodak Gold 200 for everyday warmth, Kodak Tri-X 400 for classic black and white, and Fujifilm Disposable 400 for summer vibes.

### What devices does Film Lab 35 support?

Film Lab 35 is currently supported on iPhone devices. It was released on April 19, 2026, with the latest version being 1.1.5, last updated on June 25, 2026.

### What is the age rating for Film Lab 35?

Film Lab 35 has an age rating of 4+, making it suitable for a wide range of users interested in photo editing and film emulation.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 1.2.1 — 2026-07-23

SHARE THE DEVELOP
- Export frames: a clean darkroom print border, or a full 35mm negative strip with sprockets and edge print
- Quartz date stamp, straight off a 90s point and shoot
- Before and after export: the photo you started with next to the film it became
- Light leaks: orange blooms burned in before development, so the film chemistry shapes them. Reroll until you like the accident

IN THE LAB
- Velvia 50 holds its highlights harder, the way slide film really clips
- Tri-X and HP5 shadow tones re-matched to the datasheets
- Portra grain slightly finer, Gold slightly coarser, matching their published grain indexes

### 1.2.0 — 2026-07-03

The biggest update yet.

THREE NEW FILM STOCKS
- Ilford Delta 3200: huge silver grain, glowing highlights, the night stock
- Kodak Vision3 250D: Hollywood's daylight motion picture film, shot as stills
- Kodak Ektachrome E100: the clean slide film, neutral color, brilliant whites

THE DARKROOM
A new section in Adjust with real lab controls: push or pull development, printer lights (color correction the way labs actually do it), highlight compression, and a film format dial from 120 to half-frame.

GRAIN, REBUILT
The grain slider now runs 0 to 400 percent. Below 100 it fades the real developed grain; above 100 the stock's own grain builds, and past 150 bright silver specks grow in, up to a true pushed-negative look.

FASTER EVERYTHING
The develop engine now runs on the GPU. Full-quality renders finish in a fraction of a second, sliders respond instantly, and saving and sharing are quicker.

PLUS
- Richer, truer color on Portra 400, Fujifilm 400, and Disposable
- Tap or swipe down to close the Adjust panel
- Updated Science pages covering all the new controls
- Many small fixes

### 1.1.5 — 2026-06-25

A big film-look update:

- Every film stock retuned for more authentic color, contrast, and skin tones.
- CineStill 800T now reads with its true tungsten-cool tone and signature halation glow.
- Richer, more consistent grain on every stock.
- Truer blacks and whites, more natural greens, and warmer, creamier skin.

### 1.1.4 — 2026-06-14

This update focuses on reliability and polish:

- Saving to Photos is now dependable, with a clear message if Photos access is turned off.
- The film stock you choose by hand is never overridden by the auto suggestion.
- The Lightbox is smoother and lighter on memory with large libraries.
- Fixed a rare case where the Lab screen could get stuck on "Loading."
- Small fixes throughout, including the Science tab pipeline order.

### 1.1.3 — 2026-06-05

v1.1.3
• All 12 film stocks retuned for more authentic color, more film-like highlight compression, and richer shadows.
• New: pinch-to-zoom in the Lightbox. Examine your developed photos up close.
• Smoother live preview when adjusting brightness, contrast, warmth, and saturation.
• Several stability fixes.

## More apps by Arjun Gupte

- [Exalt: Meditation Leveling](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/exalt-meditation-leveling/id6775079783)
- [Mastery Timer](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mastery-timer/id6782785941)

All apps by Arjun Gupte: https://appshunter.io/developer/1894098625

## Related topics

[film lab 35](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/film-lab-35) · [film lab](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/film-lab)

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-22.*