Film and Lab Tools

Have you ever had trouble remembering which film is in which camera? Or the date your chemicals were mixed?

As film photographers, we sometimes have a few cameras loaded with film. One could be black-and-white, the other could be slide film, and a third one could be a Lomochrome Turquoise. It’s easier than it may seem to forget exactly what’s in which camera, especially if you happen to keep one on a shelf for a few weeks. Guessing wrong can yield an entire roll of bad exposures!

If you develop your film at home, you may be familiar with the fact that reusable colour film developers need more time after each session for consistent development, fixers need replenishing after ~200 rolls, and bleach can expire after a couple of months.

Keeping diligent notes helps avoid disasters and improve image quality, but it can be burdensome (who wants another chore?)

Film Log & Chem Log are the two sister apps that make the job easier.

In this letter, I’ll introduce and explain how those apps work. Subsequent posts will explore various flows and use cases.

In this letter: Film Log — for simple film tracking. Chem Log — an app for a home lab. Built for the open web. Giveaway. Next month on Analog.Cafe. Support this blog & get premium features with GOLD memberships!

Film Log — for simple film tracking.

There are many ways to keep track of film rolls across cameras. Manufacturers used to build special frame holsters on the backs of cameras so that you could rip a piece of the cardboard the film came in to place there as a reminder. Some modern solutions even include a small screen, which is great for rolls that don’t come in a cardboard box, but it’s also another thing you need to stick onto your camera and keep a battery in.

Many apps help you keep track of your film. However, they are not always well-designed or try to do too many things.

Paper is fantastic. I used it a lot as a software engineer because it helped me think. But if you are like me, you know that paper is easy to misplace and keeping it organized for longer than a year can be taxing.

I designed Film Log two years ago to solve those problems. It’s probably the simplest and quickest app on the market. Enter the camera and film name and mark it as in-camera, exposed, developed, or archived. There’s nothing else to do while the app diligently records the film and cameras used — including two years’ worth of archives.

The app does not track location, allow you to upload any photos, or ask you to write down what you photographed for every frame. For me, that’s just too much to do for every roll.

I’ve never opened the back of my camera only to discover a roll of film in it — I always knew because keeping a record is easy with Film Log.

This month, I’ve added a couple of new convenience features, such as the bright yellow highlight around the film/camera you’re editing (which helps if you poke around the menu), a blue indicator that shows where you left field notes, and a download button that lets GOLD members get the full history of the film usage in a spreadsheet format, which includes automatic timestamps and chemicals.

Speaking of chemicals, as a GOLD member you get to select the chemicals used as you advance the film through the development stage. This premium feature is also very easy to use (just flick a switch for the developer). It’s optional, but it can be very helpful if you process film at home.

Chem Log — an app for a home lab.

Film chemicals exhaust and expire. It helps to do snip tests before developing a new batch, but you’ll need to get special test strips for your fixer. Unfortunately, neither test will tell you how “fresh” your chemicals are or how much developing time you need to add.

Colour chemical manufacturers recommend adding about 2% to the developing time per roll. But if you were to ask me how many rolls I’ve processed in either of my bottles and when exactly I mixed the chemistry, I wouldn’t know. I’d also have tons of trouble adding 2% to three minutes and 30 seconds.

Chem Log is a new app for GOLD members that uses the same design principles as Film Log (simplicity). Name the chemical, select a type (developer, bleach, etc.), and be done with it until you are ready to dispose of it safely.

Chem Log will record the date you mixed your chemicals and cross-reference its records with Film Log to calculate extended development times. Easy.

This new app is ready to use, but I plan to improve it slightly in the coming weeks. Please let me know if you find any bugs or have ideas for making it better!

Built for the open web.

Chem Log and Film Log are built for the web so that you can use them on any number of devices, and they will all sync.

To use either of those apps, visit analog.cafe/app/film-log and analog.cafe/app/chem-log or scan the QR codes above.

You can also save those apps as favourites for easier access once you’re on the Analog.Cafe website.

Giveaway.

I’m drawing a prize among the GOLD members and will announce the winner on December 17! The Ektar H35N is a popular half-frame film camera, I will be sending it with three rolls of film — that’s 2016 photos!

More details about the giveaway here.

Next month on Analog.Cafe.

In last month’s letter, I mentioned a DIY instant film camera project. Unfortunately, the parts didn’t arrive on time to complete it, so I spent all the time I carved out for it finishing up the code for the apps.

I really hope the parts will be here soon. I’m quite excited about making a new instant film camera (out of cardboard this time) and I’ve had some additional time to think of it. There is a way to build it without the part, but it would be harder to use.