RNI Films All Films Lite 4 does a decent job with emulating the look of film. 

Every time RNI puts out an update of some sort, I get very excited. For years, they’ve been my go to for film emulation simulations in times when I want my digital files to look like film and didn’t happen to shoot film. So with their new RNI Films All Films Lite 4 update that came out for Capture One, it was almost like it was a match made in heaven. Capture One’s RAW file editor with RNI Films All Films Lite 4 sounds wonderful. Photographers who want the actual look of film, have shot film, and like the look of it will greatly apprecaite what RNI Films All Films Lite 4 can do. It won’t give you some of the horrid photos you find in Facebook groups where you see, “OMFG IT LOOKS LIKE REAL FILM THIS IS A GAME CHANGER OMFG!!!!” that the folks who have never shot film would say. Instead, it does a good job in most situations. Granted, it can also do a very hit or miss job.

Features

For those not in the know, Capture One has ‘styles’, which are like Lightroom’s presets. They’re more or less the same thing. And RNI Films has been working to support the big move over to Capture One for lots of Lightroom users. With the new Capture One update also came an update to their styles. If you haven’t bought them for yourself, they’re only $59. By far, they’re the absolute best film simulations I’ve tested thus far.

Our Test and Comparison

As many of you may know, the Phoblographer has been working to review every single film emulsion currently on the market. With that said, I’ve also been a film shooter for a number of years with fairly standard testing procedures. In my years of testing cameras and lenses, I’ve come up with lots of sample photos I can test with and have shot in various situations that are similar for a comparison. All of the films that RNI Films All Films Lite 4 has are daylight balanced to 5500k or 5600k. I shoot the same way more or less, unless I’m working with Tungsten white balance. Digital gives me a bit more versatility and so when shooting and scanning these films, I can surely get one look that can be hard to duplicate. Getting that look on Digital consistently isn’t an easy task. So let’s take a look here.

For this section, the first image of each film is the RNI Films All Films Lite 4 simulation. The second photo is actual film.

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Conclusions

For the most part, I think RNI Films All Films Lite 4 does a good job. But I think it can do an even better job. Where I think it really nails it is with black and white photos and Kodak film. With Fujifilm emulsions, it could use some work. That doesn’t mean I don’t like the effect that it gives. They still make for great presets even if you don’t think they look like film. But the main purpose, first and foremost, is for the filmic look. And of any option that I’ve tested, this delivers the most, even ahead of VSCO.