Your phone takes pictures. FocalWell takes photographs.
FocalWell 66 is a camera app that brings the working method of classic 6×6 medium format cameras to iPhone. The frame is composed not on the screen but in a waist-level finder: square format, ground glass, focusing aids and, optionally, the laterally reversed image of a real camera.
THE FILM IS CHOSEN BEFORE THE SHOT
FocalWell applies no filters. Sixty-three film stocks — colour negatives, slides, black-and-whites and the app's own blends — each with its own character. The film is loaded before shooting; the frame is formed with that film's colour, contrast and grain.
NOT A FILTER — AN EMULSION
Grain follows exposure: strongest in the midtones, thinning out in blown highlights and blocked shadows — what silver actually does. Halation is separate from bloom; only genuinely bright areas scatter, and because the red channel spreads wider it leaves a warm fringe. Every roll is a batch: two rolls of the same stock are never identical, and the colour balance shifts a notch. The batch code appears in the film picker and on each frame's info panel.
SEVEN LENSES
Normal, wide, portrait, soft focus, tilt-shift, fisheye and a single-element antique meniscus. Each has its own rendering, edge behaviour and distortion; none corrects the frame or the faces in it.
TWELVE FRAMES PER ROLL
As on 120 film. When the counter reaches twelve, the roll is wound on and a new one loaded. Every frame is recorded with its roll and frame number; the gallery is a contact sheet, not an endless list.
DEVELOPMENT TIME
A frame does not appear immediately. It waits in the tank for the chosen time: pre-soak, developer, stop, fix, wash, dry. A notification is sent when the film is ready. With the time set to zero, the frame appears at once. Development can be pushed or pulled, from minus two to plus two stops. Pushing raises contrast and grain and blocks up the shadows; pulling softens and refines. The finder shows the chosen value. The decision is stored per frame and cannot be undone — film develops once.
MANUAL CONTROLS
Shutter speed, ISO and aperture dials. In bulb mode the shutter is opened and closed with the release, or timed exposures of 2, 4 and 8 seconds are used; holding the release and sliding up locks it open. Double exposure lays a new frame over a base frame. Flash works continuously or at the moment of exposure. Optional RAW capture, on supported models, processes the frame without Apple's sharpening and tone mapping.
DARKROOM
Every frame can be enlarged, re-developed with a different film, adjusted for light and tone, saved to Photos or shared. Frames stay on the device: no account, no ads, no analytics.
FOCALWELL PRO
The app is free: two films and the unfiltered digital look, two lenses, and a limited number of long and double exposures. The free tier gives each film one roll — 12 frames on the free films, 24 on the unfiltered digital look. Pro unlocks all sixty-three films, seven lenses, unlimited bulb and double exposure, and a film stock that keeps growing; new films and lenses arrive without an app update. Pro is offered two ways: a monthly or yearly subscription — the yearly plan starts with a free trial; cancel before the trial ends and nothing is charged — or a one-time lifetime purchase that never renews. The subscription renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the period, and is managed from the App Store account.
Privacy: https://focalwell.github.io/gizlilik.html
Terms: https://focalwell.github.io/kosullar.html
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