DxO FilmPack 7:
Our tribute to the timeless magic of film photography
Following its invention almost 200 years ago, photography and its groundbreaking chemical processes created an aesthetic through which we see the world.
But around the turn of the 21st century, the world changed again with the arrival of digital photography. The beautiful aura of film was about to be forgotten: no more bottles of chemicals, no more waiting in the darkroom for the image to appear. The authentic aesthetic of film — and a big part of our cultural history — was in danger of disappearing.
Obviously, DxO Labs is a child of this new era of digital photography. And yet despite this, we know that we owe our existence to film photography.
As passionate photographers, we felt the need to give something back. For this reason, we decided to create DxO FilmPack, our homage to analog image-making, to make sure that the spirit of film photography will never fade.
As scientists, it had to be perfect. So we used all of our expertise to ensure that our digital emulations were true to the original films in every aspect:
1/ We began our quest to track down the world’s last remaining few rolls of classics such as Agfa Scala, Kodak Ektar, and Fujifilm Astia — just as some of them would disappear forever.
2/ We then shot these last rolls of film in a wide variety of scenes, at all apertures and focal lengths.
3/ We partnered with the best: Picto whose Paris darkroom was where Henri Carter-Bresson and Robert Capa used to process and print their images; and Dugall in New York, a pioneer of film development and printing technology since 1961.
4/ We then digitized these prints using state-of-the-art, museum-grade photo scanners.
5/ Finally, we used all of our mathematical expertise to model every aspect of each film rendering: grain, contrast, color, etc.
DxO FilmPack was born! The accuracy of its film renderings was so good that when he embraced digital, iconic photographer Sebastião Salgado used it to match the rendering of its beloved Kodak Tri-X 400.
Our love story with classic photography continues: we recently introduced the Time Machine mode which guides photographers through film photography’s evolution, delving into iconic images and linking them to the film stock used to capture them.
Today, we are very proud to introduce DxO FilmPack 7, packed with more tools, more films, and an enriched Time Machine. It is THE reference for photographers who love shooting film or for those who want to discover this past aesthetic. It is also a chance to draw on the visual heritage of photography in the digital era and keep the spirit of film alive.
And as a further homage to classic photography and to celebrate the launch of FilmPack 7, we are delighted to support the work of black-and-white film photographer Gary Zuercher for his exhibition “The Glow of Paris” which depicts the bridges of our magical city 🙂 — and offer the chance to win one of 50 copies of his beautiful photobook.
Download your 30-day trial version today and enjoy!
The DxO Team