Introduction
Is buying a set of film presets worth the money and will it improve your images? A question raised many times and just recently it became a topic again on social media. Basically I am very restrictive with presets for two reasons: First, I don‘t want to copy another photographers work and second, often presets are very unprecise and don‘t work the way I want. A preset is never a one trick pony. I consider a preset a starting point, a small push into the right direction and a baseline for a cohesive look when editing a series of images. When the London based art & technology company RNI, which stands for “Really Nice Images”, asked me if I want to check out their freshly released RNI All Films 5 presets, I knew already that it would be at least interesting and enjoyable to do so. But in the end, it was even more, I was quite impressed by the quality and potential of these film simulation presets.
Film vs digital in general
Well, we all love film, that's for sure. The traditional medium for photography never really lost its appeal, we could even say that the appeal of analog film still supersedes the look of a digital capture. Surely, film emulation presets are not for every photographer and I am convinced that neither product can compete with the pleasure of shooting real analog film, but there are tools available which can help us to make a digital file look more natural or maybe a bit analog. After spending quite some time with the RNI presets in Adobe Lightroom I have to say that it is really possible to pleasingly emulate the vintage look of color and black and white film with this tool. The presets target more towards creating mood and atmosphere than precisely matching colors or tones to an existing film scan. And this good, as it makes this product special and sets it apart from competitors.
I know RNI from their previous “All Films 4” product and the biggest change that was introduced in the newly released version is the profile based approach to editing. Each preset that is included assigns a color profile (basically a look up table) that can be adjusted in strength and value. It is super easy to reduce or increase the effect by simply moving the strength slider in the profile tab of Lightroom. Another benefit is that it leaves all Lightroom sliders for creative edits. You have the full power of highlight recovery, contrast and shadow lifting.
Kodak 70s v2
Kodak Ultramax 400 v2
What you get
The product can be purchased in two versions, a Lite and a Pro version, which contains different amount of film presets in various variations as well as a toolkit. Please check the RNI website for further details, especially about which film preset is contained in the set.
How it works
According to RNI the presets are designed to work like a good film scanner: “It is designed to provide you with the best possible level of tonal detail for each emulsion at 100% of the profile strength.” Is what Olly from RNI told me. So you can basically choose your desired film type within the subcategories and apply the preset. After that you adjust strength, tonal values and color balance. Once you you applied the desired film presets and made your personal tweaks and edits, additional actions from the toolkit can be chosen, including some quite unique editing techniques that give the digital file a final analog touch up.
With all these little adjustments of the presets in the toolkit, you can simply push the whole image to a new level. It is possible to add some contrast, without overdoing it, you can add just the right amount of grain, that suits the requirements of the resolution of your sensor or you add a bit of softness to mimic the look of old film and lenses. It’s all up to you. The toolkit is a welcome addition to the film profile. In my opinion the toolkit is more than just a way of refining the film look, it simply completes it.
Analog feel
So now I need to answer the question whether the film presets succeed in providing a real analog image impression and I do whole heartedly say yes, they do! I mean you could probably find people who will see a difference and won't be convinced, especially if you do a before and after comparisons. But in the end the final image must convince the viewer and I never doubted that these presets when processed in a good way, by someone who knows what to do, can really deliver the feeling of real analog film!
KODAK Ektar 100 cool fade
KODAK Portra 800 v2
Highlight Compression
A major benefit of negative film is its highlight compression. It will hold all the details in the highlights and enables a scanner to bring out the beautiful transitions from mid-tones to the brightest tones of an image. This is now also possible in Lightroom. Honestly, this is not an easy task and it feels like RNI has done a nice job here to really make this look right. In my tests the highlight rolloff was very smooth and pleasant. It added to the film like appeal to the image.
Agfa Colors 50s Grainy (image by Jesse Struyvelt)
Kodak Gold 200 (image by Jesse Struyvelt)
Mood
Once you start working with this tool it is obvious that it was designed for creatives and that it is a set of presets to create mood and character. It never works by one click. You start applying a preset but than you need to make further adjustments. With the toolkit it helps you to make good adjustments into the right direction. However it is essential to have a vision of the final image in your mind. Gradually and step by step work your way towards your envisioned style.
Fuji Pro 160 ns (image by Jesse Struyvelt)
Black and White
The black and white range of film starts with old AGFA Scala a true analog classic. This b&w positive film is not produced anymore and only rarely available those days. The black and white presets really sing when used with grain in my opinion. My favorite preset is Ilford Delta 800 (grainy). It is possible to create a powerful b&w image that really has the appeal of an analog darkroom print. Ansel Adams probably would not like this approach but he who knows and maybe he would even enjoy playing around with this set of tools as it would enable him to make his vision of the final image to come true.
Ilford Delta 800
Ilford FP4 faded
Color
Much of my personal work on film is in color and I always appreciate and enjoyed the look of color negative film especially Kodak Portra. I am very picky on that. At the first look I was a bit overwhelmed by the many options and choices and it took me a bit to find out what to do. But after a while I was really happy with what the RNI presets deliver. By working with the presets I found that I can really make the digital files to look the way I want. It alway required some tweaking, including changing the strengths the profile, lifting shadows and adjusting contrast and white balance. This is really important. Once you applied a preset only the initial step is completed. You need to adjust the image now in order get the look you like. Remember as the preset assigns a profile rather than achieving the look by simply moving sliders, you have all the tools at full strength to control the final output.
KODAK E100 G
Comparing to Mastin Labs
I am a big fan of the Mastin Lab presets. They are really good and give me the opportunity to closely match my digital files to the look of scans from my lab. The Mastin Lab presets are based on scans from the legendary Fuji Frontier scanner. This is where they shine. But film is a bit more than that. Not everyone scans their negatives or slides on the Fuij machine. People even used to print color film in the darkroom (RA4 process) and still do. The All Films 5 presets are based on a variety of media. They use reference tables on both film and digital as well as real life slides and prints submitted by customers to achieve the look of the vintage presets. So the All Films 5 set is a film inspired simulation that leaves a lot of room for personal interpretation. It has not been designed to closely match film and analog material. The variety of film stock is impressive and you can really make your images look like they were shot in the 1970s or earlier.
Conclusion
The RNI All Films 5 presets are a fantastic tool for photographers who want to create a moody, old fashioned vintage film style look in their images. By providing profiles instead of simple presets we have so much more options available and more freedom when editing our photographs. I also have the impression the color and tones can be manipulated in a more precise and subtle manner. This feature is the main benefit over the previous version. All Films 5 add a lot of vintage film stock to your portfolio that is largely not available anymore. I know that RNI has put a lot of work into their new product but I also think the price tag is a bit steep. If this is your product and you could imagine using the presets a lot, the money is well worth spent. The preset can make your creative life much easier and maybe allow you to fine tune your personal style. Maybe not every included film preset is according to your taste, but I am sure within all the options there are plenty of creative presets to work with and make your imagery even better. I personally had a lot of fun using the presets and will absolutely use the product for my personal and creative work in the future. As other companies moved out of the film preset business, RNI is really stepping in and filling the gap! A product to look out for!