Is This the Greatest Spy Camera of 2026?

Spread the love

Back in the analog era, film was about character and expression of your feelings. In today’s digital world, everything coming from modern mirrorless cameras can seem clinically the same. Not all cameras made today and from the last decade or so have the ability to apply in-camera retro looking effects to your photos. That’s where software like DxO FilmPack 8 can really help bring your creative vision to life at your desk.

You can find loads of post processing software these days that support presets. But what if you’re a purist of sorts who wants to just give an aging look to your SOOC photos? Or if you don’t want to try and tweak the preset’s impact and feel and instead want a dedicated tool to help making your photos look like they were shot on film. DxO FilmPack 8, the latest version of the longstanding successful series of software, has added a handful of new tools to help make this process easier for you. It isn’t a complete reinvention of the earlier edition; they’ve thoughtfully expanded their impressive library of film stock, improved workflows for photographers, and introduced several genuinely useful features for new and existing users.

An old beige car is parked beside a pink building and green bushes on a quiet street. — Edited using Kodak Elite Color 400

Old silver sedan parked near a pink building and large green bushes on a quiet street in the evening. — Edited using Kodak Elite Color 400

At the time of reviewing DxO FilmPack 8, there were a whopping 332 different film stock options available to use on your photos.

A burlap sack filled with hazelnuts and a small sign labeled 275 resting on top.

One thing I really enjoyed is that alongside every film stock preset option, DxO FilmPack 8 also can give you some information about the particular stock and its characteristics. What could have been better here though, is the preview. You can’t see what your image might look like (in the main window) if you hover your mouse over the various thumbnails.

A cobblestone street in deep shadow, bordered by old buildings under a bright, overexposed sky. — Edited on DxO FilmPack 8

As is standard with such software these days, you can star your favorite presets and filter them by categories for easier selection

A 1970s gas station with a sign showing gas at 90 cents per gallon; vintage cars and buildings in the background.

There’s a new feature called time machine and time warp; which is a literal historical timeline showcasing various photos from history that were shot with period appropriate film stock. You can pick an era that you like the feel of and click on the ‘Matching Renderings’ tag below the photo. This automatically scrolls the main window down to this exact preset and applies it to your photo. I did find a bug here – you can’t apply the selected preset from the tag if you had added a preset filter prior to clicking the Time Machine button. You need to go back and clear it for this tag select option to effectively work.

Colorful socks with various unique designs and patterns are displayed for sale on a metal rack.

Colorful novelty socks with various designs are displayed on a wire rack in a shop.

Time Warp looks like an idea gone awry. There’s a timeline of sorts again, but aside from the year, you can’t really see what the film stock is and have to pretty much scroll slowly and patiently before a preset that appears nice to you comes up.

A man walks past a street market stall selling copperware, with flags and trees in the background.

For those who enjoy working with layers in Photoshop, DxO FilmPack 8 now allows you to search for presets directly in PS, without you having to export your image to the standalone software and reopen again in PS. A few minutes here and a few minutes there that get eaten up every time you. move files to and fro Adobe PS add up to a lot over a day. Save all that time now with this much needed integration.

A person sits on a blue carpet in a wood-paneled mosque, editing the photo in Adobe Photoshop.

A bonus addition for those who have a lot of digitized negatives on their drives, is the new Scanned Film Optimization tool. Convert your scanned 35mm or 120 scans into digital positives with just a single click. It includes more than ten dedicated tone curve presets; these help fix common color casts, and scanning inconsistencies.

A black and white negative of a street scene is shown next to film editing options on a software interface.

Everything isn’t just about analog looks. The new version introduces four new renderings inspired by popular Fujifilm and Sony digital cameras. It’s not something I toyed around with much, but you might find something interesting using it.

A man wearing a cap smokes while selling roasted chestnuts and corn from a street stall.

A man in a flat cap with a cigarette in his mouth cooks corn and chestnuts on a metal grill at an outdoor stall.

I quite like the user experience that DxO FilmPack 8 gives you. There’s quite a bit to explore and play with when you want to try something besides scrolling through or searching for a particular film look to apply. But at the same time, the seemingly infinite combinations of accurate film emulations and creative tools available might lead you down a deep rabbit hole. It’s important to stay focused on what your end goal is when starting to use DxO FilmPack 8. While it won’t turn a mediocre digital photo into a retro masterpiece, it can certainly help with improving the mood of an ordinary shot. Of course, the best way to capture emotion these days, is to shoot film, but given the prices of film stock now I wouldn’t blame you for diving deep into this software.

Cityscape view with red rooftops, old brick buildings, domes, trees, and a bright blue sky with clouds.

A brick building with a metal-roofed tower and ornate balcony under a blue sky.

A large metal structure with yellow panels rises diagonally among trees and branches under a cloudy sky.

A person sits outside a Turkish restaurant on a street by the sea with a parked scooter and Pepsi banner.

Red-roofed buildings overlook a calm sea under a dramatic, cloudy sunset sky.

A close-up of a cluster of vibrant pink hydrangea flowers surrounded by green leaves.

We received a free license key for testing out DxO FilmPack 8 for our article.

Get rid of the ads!

Did you enjoy reading this article as much as we enjoyed writing it? There's a way to support us and our reporting, getting ad-free navigation and more as a bonus. Subscribe to us for less than a coffee per month —just $3.99— or take advantage of our yearly subscription with a hefty discount for only $25.

An ad-free experience
A free mystery box for Lightroom or Capture One
All the books in our store
20% discount on Capture One
30% discount on Imalume Photo Theft Protection
20% off Herbs and Kettle Tea Company.
20% off your order from MPIX printing services.
5% off Viltrox Products via their eCommerce store.
10% off all film developing, printing and scanning services from Blue Moon Camera and Machine
15% off 7Artisans products: The lens and accessory maker is offering a sweet discount for Phoblographer's readers.
15% off a VSCO One subscription: Get a bunch of great tools with their all-in-one package.

Spread the love

I get and adore the idea of all these small cameras with low resolution sensors and the embrace of vibes more than anything else. And there’s something unique and fascinating about the Aries CharmShot Mini. First off, it looks like chapstick — to be more specific, in my notes I called it the “Lipstick camera.” No one is going to take it seriously and if anything, they’re all just going to sit there wondering with curiosity about it.

Let me say this right off the bat, the photos are 12MP and have more detail than something like the Kodak charmers and even the Yashica Funtastic. But it’s still not going to be winning tons of awards here for image quality. The photos are detailed enough in good lighting. Once that goes away though, there’s no flash or anything to bolster the scene.

Two people playing a card game called Bears vs Babies at a table with game cards spread out. — Aries Charmshot sample image

The Aries Charmshot is pretty simple overall. There’s a power button, exposure button, filter settings, video, a microphone recording setting, and a head that twists around to get photos in different ways. Then there’s also a screen. It charges via USB-C and then also has a slot for a Micro SD card. That’s it.

In my continued writing of this camera, I could hear my best friend’s voice in the back of my head calling this a gimmick. And so that lead me to Google to look up exactly what that word means. Merriam Webster cites one of the definitions as, “a trick or device used to attract business or attention.” That’s where I different intensely with the voice of my best friend.

A yellow USB stick with cartoon stickers on folded brown pants and a blue shirt with yellow writing.

A hand holds a yellow digital device with a small screen and playful graphics, background blurred.

A small, yellow, decorated camera lies on a brown fabric surface in sunlight.

A yellow USB flash drive with a blue button rests on a brown fabric surface.

A yellow and blue gadget lies on a brown fabric, partially shaded by a patterned cloth.

A yellow and blue digital camera lies on brown fabric in bright sunlight.

If you’re buying the Aries Charmshot Mini, you’re not buying it expecting the quality of the Sony a1 II. If you are doing that, then you’re an idiot: and I’m not going to soften that blow. I don’t think anyone buying a camera like this will be deceived into a trick. And I’d make a solid argument that the Fujifilm X100Vi is far more of a gimmick as it was specifically targeted to be purchased by social media people and artificially limited to only have so much of it produced at a time to increase the hype and demand for the camera. More importantly, considering that the Phoblographer reports on the state of the used market, and this camera can go for a lot more money used than brand-new, I’d say that’s more of a gimmick because of the hype. But the Charmshot? No. Even the Kodak Charmera doesn’t go for a lot of money on the second-hand market.

In this situation, Fujifilm and their fanboys are very much the wolf who cries boy.

The other part of the definition about a gimmick being used to attract business: well, isn’t that modern capitalism? Don’t you buy a Sony camera because you just like the hype?

I think that the people who hate this camera are the same people who do stuff for social media that don’t understand the first thing about cameras. Not every camera is for them. Social media influencers and even some journalists are angry that Leica M cameras don’t shoot video. But that camera isn’t designed for them. Same with Hasselblad cameras.

This isn’t designed for pro photographers. It’s designed for fun in a way that you define it.

Get rid of the ads!

An ad-free experience
A free mystery box for Lightroom or Capture One
All the books in our store
20% discount on Capture One
30% discount on Imalume Photo Theft Protection
20% off Herbs and Kettle Tea Company.
20% off your order from MPIX printing services.
5% off Viltrox Products via their eCommerce store.
10% off all film developing, printing and scanning services from Blue Moon Camera and Machine
15% off 7Artisans products: The lens and accessory maker is offering a sweet discount for Phoblographer's readers.
15% off a VSCO One subscription: Get a bunch of great tools with their all-in-one package.