myphotoyear
MobiStarter
- Device
- iPhone 11
RNI Films is a must have app if you like vintage or retro inspired filters that are based on real film stock.
What is RNI Films?
RNI Films is an app for iPhone and iPad to bring analog film looks to your photos. Also known as Really Nice Images, the app is based on their high-end desktop Lightroom presets, the app has real film emulation with useful editing tools and RAW support.
How much does RNI Films cost?
Free to download I believe with a limited number of free presets, with the rest available as an in-app purchase. A great option for those of us that don’t like subscriptions. There are film packs spread across Vintage, Negative, Slide, Instant and BW categories to add more filters, in the UK £3.99 for each pack, this is good value overall, though this can be debatable of course and it adds up if you want them all. These work across both iPhone and iPad, you buy them once and then you can restore purchases on other devices.
What does RNI Films do well?
RNI Films is quick to use, with an elegant but straightforward interface, even for newcomers who perhaps don’t venture into editing apps usually. You can edit and apply the same look to multiple photos during the same session, as each time you open a new photo the app will ask whether to use last edits. The app produces high quality JPEGs, often bigger files than most apps I have noticed. The app includes good iPad support with landscape support if you have a keyboard attached. The films packs generally work well across all types of photos, the black and white film packs in particular, I think are some of the best I have come across, in any app. You get moody film grain as an option.
Could RNI Films do anything better?
An option to select favourite presets would be good, so you’d don’t have to find them each time. A custom preset option would be great, so you can have a preset with your edits already applied, which syncs between iPad and iPhone. The app is maintained with regular updates but there hasn’t been many new features over the last year. I’d like a histogram option so you can be more precise with edits. Some save options might be good too, so you can choose the format and other settings.
You have to find the best preset as some of them may not be a good fit and that’s why it would be nice to be able to manage presets as mentioned above, otherwise it’s just a long list of similar presets, with not much between them sometimes, for example in the Negative category there is over 50 presets, if you have them all. One final thought, it would be nice if the app gave you some information about these films, a bit of history or where they came from, with what makes them standout.
What alternative are there for RNI Films?
VSCO would be the closest match, there are plenty of other film inspired apps but not in the same league as RNI Films or VSCO. VSCO is subscription based and costs £19.99 annually in the UK. VSCO is incredibly popular with around 4 million paying users and offers more varied features like video editing. VSCO is available for Android too, which could be a big advantage, as RNI Films is not. Hipstamatic as a side note, have said before they are not into film emulation, in the same way RNI and VSCO are going for.
Samples
Fuji Fortia SP
Fuji Provia 100F
Ilford HP5
What is RNI Films?
RNI Films is an app for iPhone and iPad to bring analog film looks to your photos. Also known as Really Nice Images, the app is based on their high-end desktop Lightroom presets, the app has real film emulation with useful editing tools and RAW support.
How much does RNI Films cost?
Free to download I believe with a limited number of free presets, with the rest available as an in-app purchase. A great option for those of us that don’t like subscriptions. There are film packs spread across Vintage, Negative, Slide, Instant and BW categories to add more filters, in the UK £3.99 for each pack, this is good value overall, though this can be debatable of course and it adds up if you want them all. These work across both iPhone and iPad, you buy them once and then you can restore purchases on other devices.
What does RNI Films do well?
RNI Films is quick to use, with an elegant but straightforward interface, even for newcomers who perhaps don’t venture into editing apps usually. You can edit and apply the same look to multiple photos during the same session, as each time you open a new photo the app will ask whether to use last edits. The app produces high quality JPEGs, often bigger files than most apps I have noticed. The app includes good iPad support with landscape support if you have a keyboard attached. The films packs generally work well across all types of photos, the black and white film packs in particular, I think are some of the best I have come across, in any app. You get moody film grain as an option.
Could RNI Films do anything better?
An option to select favourite presets would be good, so you’d don’t have to find them each time. A custom preset option would be great, so you can have a preset with your edits already applied, which syncs between iPad and iPhone. The app is maintained with regular updates but there hasn’t been many new features over the last year. I’d like a histogram option so you can be more precise with edits. Some save options might be good too, so you can choose the format and other settings.
You have to find the best preset as some of them may not be a good fit and that’s why it would be nice to be able to manage presets as mentioned above, otherwise it’s just a long list of similar presets, with not much between them sometimes, for example in the Negative category there is over 50 presets, if you have them all. One final thought, it would be nice if the app gave you some information about these films, a bit of history or where they came from, with what makes them standout.
What alternative are there for RNI Films?
VSCO would be the closest match, there are plenty of other film inspired apps but not in the same league as RNI Films or VSCO. VSCO is subscription based and costs £19.99 annually in the UK. VSCO is incredibly popular with around 4 million paying users and offers more varied features like video editing. VSCO is available for Android too, which could be a big advantage, as RNI Films is not. Hipstamatic as a side note, have said before they are not into film emulation, in the same way RNI and VSCO are going for.
Samples
Fuji Fortia SP
Fuji Provia 100F
Ilford HP5
Could you introduce yourself here: 
, just a fan of RNI, I have posted a review of one of their other apps too. I do use other apps, Darkroom, Pixelmator Photos, Mextures, Distressed FX, Afterlight to name a few!