RNI Films: Photo & RAW Editor Reviews

by Birrdperson

I’ve been using RNI since it’s first version and was pretty happy about, purchased certain film packs which I’ve used. Last update made me write this review, since things got worse.

First of all, RNIFilms is good, it has great variety of quality films and basic controls for touching up your photos.

Previously it was possible to purchase film packs and use RNIFilms without logging in with Apple ID. Currently RNIFilms requires you to log in even if you don’t plan to purchase anything.

Instead of film packs now there is a PRO subscription. It is possible to purchase unlimited pro version, but seems like there is no discount for people who already purchased film packs. Instead I was offered one free month of subscription which usually costs 0.99.

New features like saving your preset were added, but only 2 without pro subscription. It is such a basic functionality and making it a payed feature is just cheap.

The “date” feature stamps as well app’s name next to the date, at least in free version.

In conclusion considering the subscription, RNIFilms should provide more features (HSL, colour grading, levels, geometry) to justify purchasing it.

by Pixelbased

Leaving my old review below for any newcomers…but they finally allow us to export the photos without needing a subscription. I will say that there was a HUGE breach of trust from them with that stunt. I will hold out on giving any additional stars until the company can show that they are to be trusted not to pull this nonsense again.

Old review: Used to love RNIFilms. This update is a slap in the face - adding some obnoxious date stamp AND not letting me export for filter packs I already paid for? Cancel this company and developer already for this nonsense. Super disappointed across the board. Please refund me for all filters purchased.

by _Ataraxia_

Updated. After a numerous amount of complaints by reviews when RNI updated overlooking already paying user base they took the complaints and changed it giving us the option. Thank you for fixing it. Would still prefer a one time Affordable purchase instead of PRO subscriptions.

I was very pleased to purchase individual filter packs from RNI. With the latest update even if I restore my previous purchases, now they all have time stamps with RNI on them. Can’t turn them off unless you pay for the PRO features. They changed the product after I had already paid. Sadly, I would recommend looking elsewhere for filter options. Give it a pass as they’ve cheated current paying users. Until they update it to remove the time stamp for previous paying customers, Im going elsewhere and would appreciate a refund.

by Cloudphrenia

[took one star off because of JPG-only export]
[took one star off because there’s no option to purchase slide film emulations]

RNIFilms is perfect for about 95% of my pictures. As a hobbyist with an unrelated dayjob, i really don’t have the time to spend hours tweaking and (pixel) peeping every photo i take. However, I prefer to have something better than your average filter app. This is the fastest, and highest quality, RAW editor I’ve used. The final images that i get from RNIFilms are at least on par with those that i edit on my PC. I hope they address those two issues i had at the top someday. I also hope this gets ported to macOS someday. With RNIFilms, the developers have proven that they can build a quality standalone program, so Im not sure why they chain themselves to lightroom or capture one.

by HelplessSeals

Love this so for what it can do to my photos, but it's a pain to use when you have a series of photos that you want processed the same way. Instead of a simple copy/paste of settings, RNIFilms makes you go through all of the settings changes for each and every photo. It gets incredibly tedious and takes the joy out of editing photos in RNIFilms .

I also wish that RNIFilms would export full resolution/quality JPEG rather than the compressed and down sampled images that we're given.

Other than those two qualms, I'm actually quite happy with the images that I've been getting from RNI. They're way better than the overdramatic stuff that comes out of VSCO. The film simulations are pretty close to the real thing too, especially the Kodak Portra and Ektar films.

by A DSLR User

I shoot probably 1-2 rolls of film a week and have been doing so for about 3 years now. I downloaded RNIFilms because after scanning and adjusting colors on my computer, the image doesn’t always transfer well to my iPhone. RNIFilms helps get the color simulation spot on of the film I am shooting.
Always improving RNIFilms which I appreciate. I really enjoy the feature that came out recently where you can apply adjustments made to multiple photos.

-what would be extra great is if you could select these photos from the gallery, thumbnails, and apply said adjustment. Instead of loading each photo individually.
-also to apply the same crop, that would also be helpful!
-some new BW film emulsions would be nice to have on board like JCH, and some of the “newer” films.

I’ve yet to buy the desktop filters..waiting for the quantity of film types to increase.

by Nursegrenade

Has been my favorite app for years... however, this new update has suddenly put certain filters that have alway been included before behind the Pro paywall. Kodachrome 50s? Fuji Instax? Those have been my go-tos for ages and now I can’t use them without paying extra. It’s one thing to add new features- and most of the new features seem pretty cool- but to take away existing features? Come on.

I totally get that RNIFilms has to turn a profit- it’s like $10 for an entire year, which isn’t bad- and frankly, for all the extra film stocks you get the pro subscription looks super worth it, but it definitely wasn’t a fun surprise when I going in to do a quick edit and finding I suddenly can’t use a certain filter anymore.

by Jaiboba

i thought this was gonna be one of those apps where you delete it after using one time. now i use this for editing all my pictures. i don’t even use vsco anymore. rni films is where it’s at. i love the variation of filters compared to other editing apps. just for black and white filters alone there’s like 5 different kinds. i love that there’s a pre warmth and post warmth i use that a lot. pre warmth makes it look natural and from within while post warmth makes it look from the outside. also another thing i love is the grain. you can have big or smaller grain and you can adjust the intensity. the sharpen is very helpful too it goes both ways you can sharpen for right and UNsharpen for left if you want the blurry effect. last but not least is the dust! it adds more to the picture and i haven’t seen many apps with it. there’s white and black dust and you can adjust the intensity. the only thing they should add is saving the pictures bc you can lose the edited version if you don’t save it. i wish it has its own gallery to save edited pictures. try it out!

by Noxuhax

After the backlash developer team had made changes to the way date stamp tool works: now disabling it does not require a Pro subscription. Props to the team for listening to the community. Hope to see more compelling features coming to the Pro package, like additional editing tools and more film emulsions.

Old review for the context: Newly added date stamp tool is actually just a way to force an app watermark on your images, that cannot be disabled without a subscription purchase. Even though release notes state that we get to keep all our previous filter purchases, it does not make much sense to continue using them if there is going to be a watermark plastered over your images. Also locking app unless you sign up with your Apple account is unfair if you are not going to use any subscriptions. From a long-time user, not a good look, guys.

by SmithGoddess

All of these filters are great. I really like the vintage ones in particular, so much that I had to buy the rest. It has a great built in editor too, so I can throw a filter on my pictures and edit them very quickly. I also like the feature that allows you to choose the strength of the filter itself. Not all apps have this feature, and it’s really great for more subtle looks. This is the only filter app I use now, 10/10 recommend.

by Maccirida1111111

Update: They have an update that gives you an option to turn off the date stamps without the pro. Thank you for this!!

I had RNI for years and have bought packs. With the new update, they decided to put a date on the photos and you can turn it off without pro. Would have been nice to have that feature without the pro since it wasn't there before they had the subscriptions in the first place.

by Tatergravy

Loved RNIFilms before the recent update. I purchased all the additional filters and used it all the time. Well, I just tried to export a photo and can’t do so unless I pay for the “pro” subscription. What kind of crap is that?? I already paid for filters in the past and now I can’t use them because I don’t want to pay for a subscription? Not cool at all.

EDIT:
The devs actually listened to their user base and resolved the main issue that had everyone’s undies in a bunch. Thanks RNI. Y’all the realest

by Sidpena

As a professional photographer with more than 30 years experience I can say unreservedly that this app is the best film emulation app I’ve ever used. The film presets are so spot on I sometimes forget I’m shooting digital. this app is the gold standard for what you can achieve in digital photograpy. Get RNIFilms and your photography will ascend to the next level.
Also, I would love to see additional Black & White presets released in the near future.

by Thecitygirl25

this is a great app. i have been liking the look of a film camera recently but didn’t want to get one because they are expensive and buying film all the time would be annoying. i found RNIFilms and i love it. one thing i would like to see as an improvement is to be able to favorite certain film filters and put them in a separate tab so we can get to those quicker. all in all i love RNIFilms and truly amazed how great it gives a film look to my photos!

by Climb29K

**UPDATE** 1/1/22 This is back to my FAVORITE filters app. The developer just sent me a note and they have amended their latest update. As a long time user and supporter of RNIFilms I say THANK YOU! for listening! I am updating my review from 1 star to 5 big ones! A very nice start to 2022…
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This USED to be my favorite filters app. I purchased all the filters in the past. With the latest update all my photos have a horrible time stamp on them unless I pay a ransom to remove the stamp. Really bad business decision to treat your long term supporters. No thanks…

by Kevin Xiao

Like everyone else, I was a major fan of the RNI app when it first came out that I bought the initial set of film sims and features. Was really disappointed when it seemed like they were forcing the time stamp on everyone unless you subscribed to their monthly paid plan, but it seems like the developers listened to their users and have rolled back on that “feature.” Can recommend RNIFilms again, and am really looking forward to their video LUTs offerings in the future as well (please add options for 1-time purchases, thanks!)

by Rcollman

Update: they have removed the forced watermark. Glad they quickly fixed this decision. I’m happy for them to continue to find ways to monetize their great app without alienating their current customers. ———————————————————————- I’ve been using RNIFilms for a few years now. I’ve bought most of their film packs/upgrades, but now with the latest version 3, I can only export images with a watermark UNLESS I pay for a subscription. So basically all of my old purchases are useless unless I want to advertise for their app with my all of my images. Fix this.

by Xrayjoker41

I would say RNIFilms is amazing for your instagram feed whatever aesthetic you are going for RNIFilms is absolutely amazing and there’s no complaints or any suggestions that need to be changed within RNIFilms . RNIFilms is very well needed and definitely if you need to edit your photos for any type of an event like a wedding or any type of clients that like vintage or any type of like old style of photos. I would say this is part of the best app for these types of edits of like vintage and stuff. I would recommend a lot of people to RNIFilms and whoever develop it and perform The software you’re amazing. Thank you for your time for reading this I hope this review help you understand that RNIFilms is very good

by Ms.applesauce

RNIFilms does everything I want it to! I love, love, love the filter options! I've bought all the packs except for the black & white one. My favorite are Slide and Vintage. 😍 100% worth every penny. The Kodak ones are excellent! The devs clearly did their research for how these cameras of the time would make your picture look.

I would have initially complained about the cost, but I've been using RNIFilms constantly since I bought it back in December. I can't say enough good things about it. I feel I've definitely gotten my money's worth.

I would love to have this as an option to export to, like some competitors are doing with their apps. Meaning when you load up the picture from your Photos app and click edit and then the three dots to export it, it gives you the option to load your photo into into the 3rd party app right there. 😊 Til then it will stay on my home screen!

It would also be nice to have the option of how we want to save the image file type like some other apps (such as Camera+). I hate making something so pretty and see it compressed so much thereafter. Please consider changing your compression algorithm. ☺️💖

by Dguitar3

I adore RNIFilms. I began looking for another app for the film simulation due to not wanting to subscribe to VSCO. I used VSCO for many years but RNIFilms is much better. The filters are amazing and the editing tools are much more useful than VSCO. The UI is also fun to work in.

The only thing I would love to see added, is to have the ability to expand the image while editing to see more detail. It’s hard to really dial in the grain when the image is so small. Otherwise, please don’t change anything! Please keep RNIFilms simple as that is one of it’s main attractions!

by -Fugawi-

I love RNIFilms, use it all the time. However the fact that I have to be on Facebook to get the other slide pack is super lame. It’s the one I want most, but am not now, nor will I ever be on Facebook. There should be an optional “free” choice. Not all of us are social media fiends. Is gladly pay the $3.99 to get it, it absolutely refuse to be a part of the Facebook thing. So if by chance one of the developers sees this, can you please let me know if there’s a work around for those of us who don’t partake in the soul stealing, narcissistic, drama fest, that is Facebook. I’ll gladly give you 5 stars at that point.

by Review Nickname Jack

These are great but I paid $164 to use these on the desktop and I have to pay AGAIN to use it on mobile? I understand that desktop and mobile are different platforms but I don’t think that’s fair. It seems to me if you’re paying that much money for (admittedly very good) filters you should be able to use them on mobile too. This is how you take a good product that I want to love and still manage to erode good will from your customer base. If you’re going to make a professional grade product, price it like a tool for professionals - not like loot boxes for a crappy mobile game.

by Ella De Cross

I like RNIFilms especially the scratches and dust filter, but this text that apper on photos while you’re changing the filter is killing me. I also don’t understand why, but the quality of the photo becomes worse, when you put scratches and dust on it. The “sharpen” and “grain” tools are much worse than in VSCO. I simply don’t use them. The filters itself are too harsh, they can be better, but its good you can control the strength of them.

by Cameron Surratt

I just downloaded this today and this is quite an amazing app. It is similar in ease of use and practicality to VSCO but with far more realistic film looks along with nice film effects (grain, dust, tinting). From what I’ve seen, RNIFilms has great potential and I would love to keep using it. However, there is a bug or something where RNIFilms keeps crashing, i’ve only been able to successfully edit four photos (from upload to export) without RNIFilms crashing. Please consider looking into this issue.

by Kalikstus

Great app but with minor tweaks could be amazing. Since purchasable filters are so spenty, it would be nice if there would be a possibility to test them out before purchasing. How they work with your pictures etc.

Other problem is also that while editing the photo it’s hard to look into the details because the picture is shown so small and you cannot zoom or anything.

Pluses are that there’s a lot of editing choices and nice amount of free filters. And the export quality is pretty good.

by Borna M

Ive been using RNI desktop presets for a long time and i wanted to switch my mobile workflow to RNI too and it was the best choice.
But ive found some problems with RNIFilms :
1) it would be great being able to pinch to zoom in on photos when editing them, to check the grain or sharpness changes.
2) every time i open a new photo, it asks me if i want to use the previous edits and there is no way to cancel getting that pop up.
3) the saturation tab is near the end of the toolset but its a very basic and important tool so it should probably be somewhere in the first items near brightness and contrast.
4) it would be great being able to set sliders to zero with a double tap like lightroom or many other apps, instead of carefully dragging it to zero every time.

by Christinebeanie

There are so many photo editing apps to choose from but most of them are useless to my taste... I have only found a few and I think I’ve tried every app out there practically, which even touches a professional quick and easy filter when editing a phone can photo on the go and this one falls in those far few... One of the best out there aside from adobe products for a computer!

by J. Zaring

Let me preface by saying I look at phone photos as a parallel to instant film photos. Just like the film days, the phone photos(polaroids) are more unpredictable compared ti a proper camera. If you dont expect much, you wont be let down. Having said that, RNIFilms on my phone is similar to using the same film emulations in Lightroom, so I hate my phone photos a bit less. My favorites are Agfa 40’s, Agfa Optima, Fuji Pro400, Instax Mini and a few more.

by Bekababy

I had been trying to find me style for my Instagram page for a while. And I used apps like VSCO and Snapseed, which are amazing apps, but I just felt like I wasn’t finding my style that I liked. But this! RNIFilms has made it soooo easy for me to see what kindof of style I LOVE for my photos. It’s been such a game changer for me! And plus it makes my photos different than what everyone else is using and I prefer that! Thank you!

by ElectricMango

#1 There are only a few things that need slight improvement. When using the “sharpen” filter to blur and soften images slightly it creates a very thin pitch black boarder around the image. It would be nice if it could crop the image just slightly when applying a blur so you don’t have to crop in post.
#2 Some filters you can only apply 6% and up of an effect (about 80% of them) if you try to do 5% of an effect it snaps it to zero, which is not ideal, especially if you want to do a slight slight edit.

Besides that it’s a great app