Just my 2¢ to the topic
A few months ago I did a test of popular film simulators vs some actual films. Mainly to feed my own curiosity.
May be someone will find it useful if I convert it into a forum post.
Films used
- Kodak Portra 160
- Kodak Gold 200
- Fuji Superia 200 / 800
Gear used
- Canon 5D III with Canon 24/1.4L, Canon 24-70 2.8L
- Canon EOS 1v with the same lenses for shooting film
Film Simulators used
- VSСО for Lightroom (various film packs)
- RNI All Films 3.0 for Lightroom
- DXO Film Pack 4 for PS
- Аliеn Skin Еxposure 7 for PS
- Mastin Labs Fuji Pro Pack, Portra Pack
Conclusions of my own:
There is still no 100% satisfactory substitution to shooting real film.
Lightroom presets are much more convenient than Photoshop or ACR plugins.
The convenience of working directly with RAW all the way, non-destructive editing,
virtual copies, syncing, and saving your own versions of presets can't be beat by PS plugins.
In fact only VSСО and RNI really do what's promised and simulate films.
Both VSСО and RNI provide image output that comes close to what I get from the scanner when working with actual films.
The rest of the simulators gang definitely do certain image enhancements. But their image output
is quite far from what their film counterparts look like. At least for the films I am familiar with.
I even have not included Mаstin Lаbs into the contact sheet below. There was just no point. First – they don't have Superia.
Second – appreciate they do great quick image enhancement, but their image output looks very soapy and digital. Has nothing to do with film.
More notes about test leaders:
VSСО for Lightroom comes with custom camera profiles for popular camera brands.
Sounds nice. But in my case those profiles didn't work as intended.
I tried them across my cameras and they failed to provide 100% consistency between Canon, Fuji X and Sony a7r.
Personally for me that was not a problem. Even standard versions of their presets are great.
RNI in their RNI All Films 3.0 offer the most complete collection of film brands.
Even discontinued Kodachromes, which is impressive.
Generally, RNI looks focused on giving you more films simulated with high precision.
Those films organised in categories by types: Negative, Slide, Instant, B&W and Vintage.
VSСО are more focused on providing many subtle variations of each film brand they simulate.
Their presets are organised in collection by numbers Pack 01 – Pack 07.
Both VSСО and RNI demonstrate quite a high accuracy when it comes to simulating films.
At least for the films I am familiar with.
Aesthetically I find image output of both VSСО and RNI film presets quite pleasing and well balanced.
Their interpretation of the same films may slightly vary. Pretty much like prints from different labs or
image output of different scanners. But they both generally get the film character and get it right.
Both VSСО and RNI provide LR and ACR versions of their presets.
VSСО prices ACR version separately from LR.
RNI includes both LR and ACR versions when you download their film presets.
Both VSСО and RNI have mobile apps.
VSСО Cam for iPhone – very beautiful film-like filters though not linked to real film profiles.
RNI Films for iPhone – a massive set of quite accurate and realistic film profiles.
Each is great as a photographer's sketchbook.
RNI All Films is $122 for the whole collection of film presets. Or $49 for individual pack (Negative, Slide etc.)
Which looks more affordable than VSСО with their $119 per pack.
Though both VSСО and RNI price their great editing tools as a fraction of what you pay for your gear.
Image samples
Here are some Fuji Superia 200* samples.
Will compose contact sheets for other films if the post gains enough exposure and interest.
* Alien Skin Exposure has no Superia 200, so used Superia X-Tra instead
