Start shooting.
Keep learning.
Four guided workflows. Follow them with your camera and iPhone at hand.
01 / Your first photograph
Build your camera profile
Open the gear menu → Cameras & lenses. Add a camera and select its real shutter speeds and Bulb capability. Add a compatible lens with its aperture range.
Load a roll
Open Film rolls, add a roll with its stock and frame count, then load it into your camera. Check the working ISO.
Meter and shoot
Return to metering. Tap your aperture, aim the iPhone at the scene and read the suggested time. Set aperture and time on the analog camera, then take the photograph.
Keep a record
Tap the central record button once. Check that the film counter advances by one. Enable snapshots in Settings if you want a visual reference.
02 / Place shadows and highlights
Start in monochrome
Enable the black-and-white Zone System in Settings and choose monochrome preview. Move the first circle to an important shadow.
Place the shadow
Drag its zone label to III if you want a dark area with detail. The exact choice is yours; this is a useful starting example.
Compare the highlight
Double-tap the circle to add a second point. The view freezes. Move that point to the bright area and choose VII. All points now use local readings.
Read one shared time
Choose your aperture and read the shared time. The app weighs both points equally in EV. Their target zones cannot change the scene’s brightness difference. For priority on one area, use only that point. Take and log the photograph.
03 / Finish the roll and learn from it
Remove the finished roll
Open Film rolls and remove it from the camera. Your camera is ready for a new roll and the finished roll is listed as Exposed.
Track development
Move the roll to In development, then Developed when processing is complete.
Export the PDF
Open the roll and choose PDF export. Use the iPhone share menu to save or share it. The PDF includes available exposure data and snapshots; GPS appears only when it was enabled and available.
Compare with the film
Match each frame to its log. Compare shadow detail, highlights and your chosen exposure. Individual target zones are not separately included in the current PDF. Keep your exported PDF safe: there is no app cloud restore.
04 / Calibrate Negativicer
Prepare the comparison
Use a trusted reference light meter and an evenly lit, matte surface in stable light. Set the app and reference meter to the same ISO. Compare reflected-light readings; for a Gossen meter, use it without the diffuser dome. An incident reading with the dome is not an equivalent comparison.
Use a neutral reading
Disable filters and reciprocity correction. Reset user compensation to zero, or use a single point in zone V. Aim both devices at the same area. A uniform surface reduces differences between their metering angles. Wait for a stable live reading.
Open calibration and capture
Open the gear → Settings → Metering, preview & storage → Calibration → Open calibration. Tap Capture. The app records raw EV without the existing calibration, so you do not need to subtract the old offset yourself.
Enter reference EV and save
Enter reference EV at the same working ISO, then tap Save. Some meters report EV referenced to ISO 100; the field needs EV at the selected ISO. You can calculate it from aperture and shutter time: EV = log₂(aperture² / time in seconds). For example, f/8 at 1/250 s is approximately EV 14; f/8 at 1/125 s is approximately EV 13. Enter reference EV, not the difference or shutter time. The app calculates reference minus raw reading, saves the global offset and clears the current lens offset.
Check the result
Return to metering and compare several other scenes at the same settings. Positive calibration raises metered EV and shortens the proposed time; negative calibration lengthens it. Compare stable readings, since times round to available camera speeds. Calibration corrects a constant offset, not different metering angles or changing light.
Reset if needed
Reset calibration restores the app’s global default of −0.50 EV and clears all saved lens offsets. This default does not guarantee accuracy on every iPhone. You can then compare and calibrate again.