Acros and Kodachrome on the Camp Snap

In my last post, I layed out a way on how to getting a film simulation on the Camp Snap (v105).
Today, I want to discuss some of the results. By now, I own 2 Camp Snaps, for the reason of having one equipped with a B&W film simulation and the other one with a colour film simulation. 

The following considerations are along a rather contrasty scene, taken in the late afternoon. Both were taken with cameras side-by-side, overhead to avoid the fence to interfere. Sorry for the tilt, it is what it is, straight out of cameras.

Kodachrome 25 film simulation

Acros 100 film simulation

At first sight, both images look pretty decent in terms of contrast and detail. However, there is a catch...

Let's look at some details.

Crop and resize

I am sorry for not having hit the exact same crop. I think they are close enough for what I want to demonstrate here. 

The Colour image, looks somewhat weird due to the camera's over-sharpening. See the halos about the dark structures? I guess one can noise-filter / smooth those out in post. However, post is not the aim original of the Camp Snap.

Crop and resize

Let's have a closer look at the Acros film simulation. For some reason, at least to me, this looks a lot more natural, i.e. filmish like.

When developing B&W-film, I usually use a semi-stand technique in order to boost edge contrast. Somehow, the over-sharpening of the Camp Snap created this very effect. 

Another feature of the Acros image, the noise! Isn't that lovely film grain? I love it!

Maybe, just maybe, the Camp Snap with a B&W-film simulation is the perfect poor man's Leica monochrome.

Fujifilm Acros 100, Ilford PanF+50 or Kodak Kodachrom 25 on the Camp Snap

None of this is any of my own ideas, I just compiling things which seem to work for me.
I use either Linux or ChromeOS as my main operation systems. The following will be available on Linux, maybe on ChromeOS with the Linux extension (not tested).

In RawTherapee film simulations can be applied to images using look-up-tables know as HaldCLUT. So far so good, we have all been using this once and a while, I guess. I you have not done this before, be aware that you need to point to a HaldCLUT-directory in the RawTherapee settings.

Would it not be nice if the camera can apply such simulations right away? Yes, of course, the Fujifilm range of premium cameras can do this.
What if I told you, the $70 Camp Snap can do that too?

Here is how to do it with the help of Turtle Bard's webpage Camper Snapper.
In essence, just follow the instructions. 

• download the Ramp.png file
• open the Ramp.png file in RawTherapee
• apply the desired film simulations (there are plenty of those in the HaldCLUT)
• save a 8 bit-png with an adequate name
• upload your file to Camper Snapper
• download the flt-file for the Camp Snap

Optionally, you can use Camp Snap's filter webpage to check the effect of the flt-file, without using your camera.

As I mentioned previously, the SD-card of my Camp Snap has a directory for those "filters". On the move, I can use my (cable connected) smartphone to delete the flt-file in the root-directory and copy a desired filter-file from my filter-directory to the root-directory.

Here you have it, a very simple method to get film simulations and Fujifilm Acros, Ilford PanF or Kodachrome on your $70 Camp Snap.

As a tip: you can dive deep into RawTherapee and apply various colour-filters to your BW-conversion as well. Once you got the hang of RawTherapee, there are no limits to creating jpeg-profiles for the Camp Snap camera.

Just remember it is a $70 camera and cannot compete with a Fujifilm X100VI.

Acros simulation with LED-flash --- tree in front of my home

same as above, different part of the tree though

Kodachrome

Kodachrome

Camp Snap flat jpeg profile

In the hope that blogger does not "improve" anything in terms of image quality. Here a test photo and a respective edit.

flat jped as shot

edited with Google Photos

In this edit, I tried to keep as much detail in the foliage on the upper right, while also having detail in the clouds.

The Hype of the Camp Snap - I Get It!

You certainly saw the ads all over social media, the "cheap" camera that does not have a screen and is supposed to replace disposable film cameras. I have seen the ads, I ignored the ads, still, I liked the idea of a non-chimpable camera. Ordering... too much of a huzzle. 
Lately, I was searching for something at MediaMarkt. Just walking along the by now tiny camera section. And there it was, the Camp Snap for €69. So, I grabbed one.

What a surprise this little bugger is! I knew about ability of the camera to use image profiles, however, I was unaware of the extend of popularity of such profiles by now. For those unfamiliar with the product, it feels really cheap and light, fits into pockets. 

There are presently (still) a few different models on the market. Make sure to get the V105. This version is equipped with eyes for a shoulder-strap. While I won't be using a strap with this device, it also switches on by a mechanical switch, rather than the shutter button, which I believe is very beneficial. Also, the V105 comes with the latest firmware, the one that supports those image profiles I mentioned above.

The Camp Snap webpage offers an interface to create your very own profiles, which is excellent! Right away I tested some low-key high-contrast black&white stuff. Looking really good! Of course, this is a tricky profile, since the good looks strongly depend on the lighting situation. 

Some experiments later, the idea popped up to create a very very faded or flat "filter" (as the profiles are called). The thought behind that was to have a decent latitude for post-production, similar to log-profiles in video-recording. In essence, this is the opposite to the gritty B&W profile I mentioned above. 
And here was the surprise. Just using Google-Photos, the adjustability of the images is enormous. A flat profile is of course very forgiving what lighting is concerned. 

For those interested, here is my first version of the faded (flat) profile.

As you can see, I pushed blues a little bit and reduced green. The intention was to create a balance between green and blue. Brightness is slightly up, to avoid underexposed shadows. However, maybe this blows out the highlights more than necessary. Also, contrast could potentially still be a little bit to high.

Next try (untested):

So, one generates these "filters" and put a single one in the root-directory of the cameras µSD-card. Meaning, whatever lurks there will be used until replaced by something else (or deleted).
How can we do that in the field, without a Chromebook (in my case)?
I created a directory on the µSD-card containing all my filter files. In the field, usually I would have my phone with me. The camera can connect to my phone with a USB-C-to-USB-C-cable. In fact, the cable that came with the camera. Once connected, I  delete the filter-file in the root-directory and copy one of the files from the filter-directory into root. => Unmount the camera from the phone. Done!
With the next power-up of the camera, the filter-file is read and used.

In the respect of being able to shoot extremely flat images, this camera is almost as good as one that can shoot raw. And yes, flat images and raw files, both require post-processing...

PS: I just found out that the "very_flat" profile is a good starting point to B&W image creation using Google Photos.