First available exclusively on the iPhone, Kodak brand-licensee Alaris has just brought the Kodak Professional Film App to Android and expanded its iOS support to include the iPad.
The app is designed to help both photographers who already shoot Kodak film as well as those new to film photography. As detailed by The Phoblographer, it offers descriptions and sample images of various Kodak film types and formats, including recommendations on what film is best for a given situation.
It is also useful for traveling, providing information on nearby retailers that stock Kodak film and photo labs where it can be developed. It even includes a sunlight calculator with sunset/sunrise times for locations around the world. And for the truly adventurous, the app includes everything you need to know about setting up a DIY black-and-white darkroom at home.
Despite the continued challenges in working with film, it remains a passion of many photographers, both hobbyists and professionals. The success of The Impossible Project, which brought back instant film for Polaroid cameras, is evidence of this. Fujifilm has also done well with its Instax line of instant cameras and film. But instant film is much less involved than 35mm or medium format, and that’s where the Kodak Professional Film App hopes to help. It aims to support that small niche of the population, and to modernize film photography by making it more approachable to younger users.
Kodak’s slow demise is often blamed on the company’s failure to adapt to changing technology. It declared bankruptcy in 2012, but the beloved name lives on through its licensees. Kodak Alaris hopes to keep the heart of the Kodak brand alive by continuing to support its film business, and the Kodak Professional Film App looks like a step in the right direction.
