Firstlight for iOS now works with Apple Watch companion app to let mobile photographers control their iPhone camera from their wrist. Users of the Android version also get new features with Firstlight v1.3.

Firstlight, FiLMiC’s app for iOS that also made it to Android smartphones has a new version. The company announced this month new advancements to its digital mobile photography app with the release of FiLMiC Firstlight v1.3 for iOS and Android devices. FiLMiC Firstlight is the company’s still image photography app for mobile devices that offers an enhanced photo shooting experience for photographers of all skill levels, with a clean interface and intuitive controls to dial in shots with precision and accuracy.

Since its debut, FiLMiC has invested significant engineering and development resources to develop the digital photography industry’s most advanced image processing, exposure management and shader-based visualizations, elevating the mobile digital photography market to the professional realm.

With the release, now announced, of FiLMiC Firstlight v1.3 for iOS, FiLMiC is adding support for Apple Watch with a new Firstlight companion app that enables photographers with an Apple Watch to control Firstlight and take photos directly from their wrist. Users simply pair their Apple Watch to their iPhone and choose the option to install Firstlight using the Apple Watch app on their iPhone.

All the new things in Firstlight v1.3

Android users have not been forgotten on this new version, though, as the new FiLMiC Firstlight v1.3 for iOS and Android also adds a new category of advanced film emulations and features that deliver stunning, authentic film photography experiences, including:

• New Film Simulation Category Pioneers: The new Pioneers film simulation pack brings four new film simulations to Firstlight based on various early color film formulations. From 2-strip and 3-strip technicolor formulations to James Maxwell’s front-projection 3 color process. Pioneers gives photographers the ability to shoot with the beautiful creative limitations present in these early film stocks.
• New capture configuration to take RAW photos without an accompanying compressed image
• New animation for the count down time and the added ability to cancel countdown timer

FiLMiC Firstlight also delivers a compelling set of features that provide an enhanced photo shooting experience for photographers of all skill levels. Photographers will be drawn to the clean interface and intuitive controls to dial in shots with precision and accuracy, with features such as:

• Fast, intuitive focus and exposure controls: Tap the screen to set focus/exposure, tap again to lock.
• AE Mode: A proprietary Auto Exposure mode for setting shutter/iso combination.
• Cross-swipe manual controls: The most intuitive way to manually adjust focus and exposure. Swipe across the image to dial in your perfect shot. Swipe up and down to adjust exposure. Swipe left and right to adjust focus.
• Reactive analytics: A foundation feature of FiLMiC Pro and now in a photo app, manually adjusting focus and exposure will automatically apply focus peaking or zebra stripes to make sure the shot is perfect.
• RGB Histogram: Dynamically shows the exposure profile of the image across all color channels.
• Vintage film simulations: The magic of Firstlight is in a realistic tribute to authentic film stocks includes a range of film simulations included free.
• Film grain: Apply natural looking film grain effects to give your photos that ‘film look’. Medium grain.
• Vignette: Apply a subtle dark vignette to any image.
• Lens selector: Quickly switch between all available lenses on a mobile device. Go from tele to ultrawide with the tap of a finger.  (Note:  camera/lens support is device specific).
• RAW: DNG and TIFF formats for full control over your photo edit. (note: Film simulations are not supported in Raw formats)

Additional professional camera features included with Firstlight include:

• Burst mode
• Timer
• Flash
• Grid overlays
• Aspect ratios: 4:3, 16:9, 3:2, 1:1, 5:4
• Expanded shadow detail
• JPG or HEIC Selection (on supported devices)
• HDR control on supported devices (e.g., Pixel 4)
• Volume button shutter and support for most bluetooth camera shutter remotes
• FiLMiC Pro quick launch button (for owners of FiLMiC Pro)

FiLMiC Firstlight v1.3 for iOS is available immediately from the Apple App Store and is priced at $7.99 USD and is a free update for existing users. Firstlight for Android is available from the Google Play Store. For more information on FiLMiC Firstlight, please visit https://www.filmicpro.com/filmic-firstlight.