Even as fewer TV series shoot on film, Kodak still touts celluloid as the best choice for producing commercials.
So it’s no big surprise to learn that Kodak has already released its second iPhone app this year aimed at film production. The Kodak Depth of Field Calculator, a free download from the iTunes App Store, delivers a straightforward method to setting the desired DOF.
Perhaps more to the point for the Rochester-based company, the app also includes a way to ease film purchase via lists of Kodak film sales departments around the world that you can connect to with a click. You can also get connected to a Kodak rep for answers to any preproduction, production or post questions…film-related, of course.
Kodak’s Depth of Field Calculator app includes fields where you can enter known values, including film format, F-stop, focal length and subject distance. The app then computes the near limit, far limit, hyperfocal distance and circle of confusion. Results can be in feet or meters, and calculations can be made for any combination of remaining variables.
In February, Kodak released its first mobile iPhone app, the Film Calculator Glossary, another free download from the iTunes App Store. The tool determines the running time for any length of film in any format, or how much film is needed for a specific duration.
You can’t say the company is giving up silver chemistry without a fight: Just last month Kodak introduced a new Super 8 mm color reversal film (Ektachrome 100D Color Reversal Film 7285). The daylight-balanced, 100-speed film is said to deliver “bright saturated colors” and fine grain with excellent sharpness, well beyond what you might remember shooting with years ago.
