Film Shots - an app for film photographers born here on TP

(not April's fool)

next feature I am working on for both iOS and Android is being able to record shots without opening the app, right from the home or lock screen

The working idea is at the moment is
Android: Choosing rolls/sets to appear in "non private" notification with action buttons. "Non private" means it can be accessed without unlocking the screen
iOS: a Today extension, aka widget, which a user can also chose to have on the lock screen (swipe to the left)

thoughts and ideas are welcome:)
 
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First draft of iOS widget
It shows the active rolls and you can record the shots by tapping on the "->" button.
Number next to it shows the next frame number, same as camera's frame counter

Simulator Screen Shot - iPhone 11 Pro Max - 2020-04-03 at 14.16.40.png
 
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iOS version 0.9 with widget will start rolling within next 24-48 hours
And now you can record the shots very quickly, even without unlocking the phone!

I decided against having a button on each row, because it can be difficult to hit on smaller screens
Instead long tap records shot and normal tap takes you to the main application
The blue box still shows the next frame index

Widget will show all active rolls/sets, so to avoid clattering it with the ones you don't use at the moment I added "Inactive" workflow status, so you can temporarily suspend them

Similar feature for Android is coming soon!

Simulator Screen Shot - iPhone 8 - 2020-04-07 at 19.54.13.png
 
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iOS update is now live, open the TestFlight to install it.

Once installed, long tap the MyFilmLog icon to add the widget

Simulator Screen Shot - iPhone 8 - 2020-04-08 at 22.48.44.png
 
Question for LF users. Android version creates two frames in one go when in holder mode, e.g. 1A and 1B, and I am having doubts about it.
iOS version on the other hand only creates one side at a time.

Which option do you prefer?

PS, Android lock screen "widget" is almost ready

Screenshot_1586456319.png
 
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Happy Easter everyone! I hope you are all healthy and safe.

Android version 0.18 should be with you within next 24 hours. Worth checking "my apps" section of the Play Store if it doesn't pop up automatically.

Main feature is of course quick frame recording for active rolls from lock screen or notification drawer
Click on the the left section records the next frame shown under the arrow
Click on the right section take you to the main app and opens the roll/set
Notifications can be disabled from them Library screen menu

Other changes:
Only records one frame at a time in holder mode
New 'inactive' workflow status to declutter the notifications
Better thumbnail handling: take photo, pick from gallery or remove it
More camera data
Various cosmetic changes

Screenshot_1586668169.pngScreenshot_1586668202.pngScreenshot_1586668185.png
 
I am biased, but have to say for the first time it feels truly convenient to use without having to unlock the phone all the time.


Just tap however many times is needed for the frame counter to catch up with camera's one.

Having a BBQ in the garden and snapping the kids messing around. Feels so good :cool:
 
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This Android version has a couple of issues

1. I lost the icons for the edit screens :rolleyes: . Which is embarrassing, but not fatal

2. Messed up location handling, so you may see crashes if you have denied the location permission.

3. Location recording from the lock screen doesn't always work. This is because after a couple of minutes Android starts considering app as a background and denies the location request. As a result frames show unknown location. I will need to add a special permission for this to work.

Please bear with me, new version with fixes is coming soon.
 
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Android version 0.27 (you can tell I've had to do a lot of iterations) is rolling out and should reach you within next 24-48 hours

1. Location handling completely overhauled:
  • Will ask for "allow all the time" location permission (android 10 and up) for lock screen actions to work
  • To save the battery it will reuse the same location for 10 minutes
  • After that it will request phone's last location and if it's less than 10 minutes old, use it
  • Then it will request the current 'coarse' location
  • All fails it will fallback to either last known phones location, or the one it last used even if it's older than 10 minutes
2. 'Map' button next to 'Location' field in the Frame screen takes you to the actual location of the shot
2. Lots of stability and performance improvements
3. UI and cosmetic improvements

I think this one is close to be production ready. What do you think ? Would love to hear some feedback
 
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OK, time to give MyFilmLog a wider exposure

I started a thread in reddit/r/AnalogCommunity
and it was a success! 25 upvotes at the time of writing and lots of new installations overnight.

if someone happens to be a member there, an upvote and/or comment will be highly appreciated. My goal is to get enough carma to create a subreddit.

Next step is production and go full public. But I must be patient!
 
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Android update 0.47 is live with probably the most requested feature - export

It exports into an HTML file. Why HTML and not CSV?
  • HTML avoids the sheer minefield of escaping spaces, comas, new lines, special characters and other gotchas
  • Immune to encoding issues, everything is UTF-8
  • Much more human readable
  • Supported by all popular spreadsheets software
  • Easily scalable and printable from any browser

Which means it can be used for all 3 use cases : Viewing on large screen, Printing for archiving and Importing into spreadsheets

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAMW3SPye_o
 
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Meanwhile Android version 1.0.0 has quietly made it into Production! https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.leaf500.filmlog
With App store things are not that simple (they never are) and will take a couple more days of back and forth with the App Review team

If you like the app, please consider leaving a review and spread the word!

I decided that Films Shots will be free and have no ads, however if you would like to help me meet the development costs, you can take out an optional monthly subscription from £0.99/month (price of a cup of tea)

Thank you everyone for helping me getting here :ty:
 
Downloaded (y)
 
Lightroom plugin is now live, details here http://leaf500.com/lightroom-plugin/

Idea is that you import your data and store it alongside all other metadata, which is important for those who scan with their digital camera. Then write film EXIF to the exported photos

Requires Film Shots version 1.1.0 for compatible JSON export.
Android version is already rolling, iOS will start soon

Enjoy
 
Hey All!
If everyone could spare a minute of their time and leave a positive review on App Store or Google Play, I would really appreciate that. If you enjoy using the app that is :) Getting more reviews means getting more users and that means Film Shots has a future.

Thanks
 
Hey All!
If everyone could spare a minute of their time and leave a positive review on App Store or Google Play, I would really appreciate that. If you enjoy using the app that is :) Getting more reviews means getting more users and that means Film Shots has a future.

Thanks
Done
 
So I have been sitting on this "crazy" idea for a while, and want to gauge your opinions.

What if there was an online "cloud" service where your lab uploads the scanned files and which then (semi-)automatically matches them with your rolls. Not only it replaces services like wetransfer (let alone sending DVD in post), but you also download your files with the Exif already written. Plus potentially integration with other online services like Google Photos, Flickr etc

Obviously this can't possibly work on voluntary donation basis. Would you be prepared to pay for such a service?
 
So I have been sitting on this "crazy" idea for a while, and want to gauge your opinions.

What if there was an online "cloud" service where your lab uploads the scanned files and which then (semi-)automatically matches them with your rolls. Not only it replaces services like wetransfer (let alone sending DVD in post), but you also download your files with the Exif already written. Plus potentially integration with other online services like Google Photos, Flickr etc

Obviously this can't possibly work on voluntary donation basis. Would you be prepared to pay for such a service?
Im not sure its something I'd use, I've gotten into the habit of scanning and adding shot info as I go.
 
Hello everyone!

Haven't posted here for a while, so here is a big update for iOS 14:

1. iCloud backup and sync across your devices. Optional of course, but it is required for the watch app to work.
2. Fully redesigned UI
3. Custom frame numbering, especially useful for Large Format users - it remember what emulsion/ISO you use with what holders and fill it in automatically
4. Adjust exposure before recording a shot from the main app
5. Take a reference picture and record a frame in one click
6. Edit the physical coordinates of a frame by long tapping in a map or dragging a pin
7. Mark roll as 'exposed' from the watch by toggling 'last frame' swift before recording
8. Swipe left delete a roll or frame

and too many other fixes and little improvements to metion

PS
Widget still works, but Apple clearly decided to phase them out and the 'new' Widgets don't support any form of user actions, so I will have to see what to do about this. For now you can still find it all the way down below the 'new' widgets.

PPS
Many thanks to those who took the time to leave reviews and/or send feedback. And of course those who decided to support the app financially. It really helps me stay motivated

EditFrame.pngExport.pngiCloud.pngLibrary.pngLockScreen.pngMapView.pngRollContent.pngRollEdit.pngWorkflow.png
 
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I've just downloaded the app to test it out (IOS). Thanks for including my cameras in the app, that's awesome ;)

Well I had to, Film Shots and Chroma share the birth place:cool:

Do let me know how the testing goes
 
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Anyone still using this? I just downloaded it yesterday on my iPhone. Normally I put a lens on for the whole roll, and record the lens in the file name, but I want to swap lenses a bit, and record which was used for which shots. Plus, I thought it might be good to record the exposure details, maybe I would learn from my exposure errors a bit better?

It was mid roll, so I had to flip through the phantom shots I'd already taken. Found yesterday it wasn't too bad to record the details, although as far as I could see it wasn't defaulting to the same exposure details, which would seem a reasonable default. I liked that it was recording the location, and apparently I could have (though didn't) recorded an iPhone shot as well.

Not yet worked out how to enable the "widget" taht let's me record stuff from the lock screen. I thought I saw a hint that this was broken from iOS 14, but maybe I misread that.

I've not got to the bit where I attempt to extract the data and then do something with it, yet. I use Capture One 21, so sadly the LR bit won't be much use. Might be nice to integrate with exiftool?
 
I've now used Film Shots on parts of a couple of rolls. TBF it's a bit tedious, and very much interrupts my usual shooting style. I could see it being useful if/when I were shooting LF, though my practice of recording details with Evernote in freehand allows more flexibility. However, it may have its place.

After a bit of fiddling about today I've saved the data for one roll as a HTML file, and transferred it to my Mac. Now I'm trying to get to grips with exiftool to see if I can edit the exif data, which pretty much has to done before I import the files into Capture One. exiftool looks a bit of a nightmare, TBH, specially if you've got folder and file names with spaces in them (both of which I have, at many levels!).
 
I find it a useful app, I use it for all my film cameras but not nearly all of the app functionality as I'm not a frequent shooter. I haven't used the LR plugin part yet, but I like that it is there and may come to that at some point.
 
I use it and find it a well made and reliable app. It's the operator who is unreliable as I just haven't been able to automatically include it as part of my workflow no matter how much I would like to.

Where I have found I do use it every time is when I am testing out a new film camera purchase as I always run a roll of film through it to see how it is performing. Having the data to compare the shots to can be helpful in identifying issues.

So a big thanks to Alex for continuing to develop the offering from its early days.
 
I find it a useful app, I use it for all my film cameras but not nearly all of the app functionality as I'm not a frequent shooter. I haven't used the LR plugin part yet, but I like that it is there and may come to that at some point.
I use it and find it a well made and reliable app. It's the operator who is unreliable as I just haven't been able to automatically include it as part of my workflow no matter how much I would like to.

Where I have found I do use it every time is when I am testing out a new film camera purchase as I always run a roll of film through it to see how it is performing. Having the data to compare the shots to can be helpful in identifying issues.

So a big thanks to Alex for continuing to develop the offering from its early days.
Thanks both. Do you use the information to actually update the exif data in the image files?

I'm wondering whether that's necessary for me. An alternative would be to find a way of adding the aperture and shutter speed (particularly) as text metadata (can't think of a way to do it as keywords, which is how I enter other stuff such as camera, lens, film etc). Aperture used to make free text entry easy, but it looks more obscure in Capture One 21. It looks like the IPTC Content tag group might be the way to go; there's a free text option for Headline and one for Content (also from Category, which doesn't seem quite appropriate).
 
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