KomaKomaFilm log for Apple Watch
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One roll, from loading to the map

Most of what Koma does happens in seconds. What makes it worth doing happens weeks later. Here is a whole roll, in the order you actually live it.

  1. Day 1

    You load a roll

    Portra 400, rated at 1600 because the light is going. Pick the body and the lens, and that is the setup done. Your watch has it before you have closed the back.

    Why it works this wayPush and pull are decided per roll, not per frame — the whole roll goes through the same developer, so there is nothing to decide again later.
    iPhone · Load filmiPhone · Load film
  2. Day 1–5

    Twelve frames, twelve presses

    Shutter, wrist up, two notches on the crown, wrist down. Most frames do not need even that — the values carry over, so it is one press and you are back to looking through the finder.

    Why it works this wayThe aperture and shutter scales are your lens and your body, not a generic list. Ten or so stops is what lets the crown reach any value in two or three notches.
    Apple Watch · LoggingApple Watch · Logging
  3. Day 6

    Off to the lab

    You mark the roll as finished and hand it over. Tell them the push you set on day one — it is written right there on the roll.

    iPhone · Roll listiPhone · Roll list
  4. Day 6–18

    Nothing happens, and that is the point

    Koma does nothing for two weeks. No notifications, no reminders. The records simply sit there, waiting for the scans to exist.

    Why it works this wayThis gap is why the trial starts when you first open the writing screen, not when you install the app. Counting from installation would end it before your film came back.
  5. Day 19

    The scans come back — reversed

    You import the files and the order is wrong. The lab scanned from the tail of the roll, and there is an extra frame at the front where the leader was.

    iPhone · ImportiPhone · Import
  6. Day 19

    One tap fixes the order

    Reverse the whole roll, tap the leader to skip it, and the lines between your records and the scans go straight.

    Why it works this wayKoma can guess the order, but it never commits on its own. A wrong match writes wrong data into dozens of files, and nobody would notice.
    iPhone · Line upiPhone · Line up
  7. Day 19

    You confirm, then it writes

    The app tells you exactly what it will write and where. Your originals stay where they are; new files are written next to them.

    Why it works this wayThe image data is copied through byte for byte. Only the metadata is replaced, so nothing is lost a second time.
    iPhone · ConfirmiPhone · Confirm
  8. From then on

    Your film is where you shot it

    The scans land on the day you took them, appear in the places you stood, and answer when you search for the ones shot wide open.

    Why it works this wayNone of this is new — it is what digital photos have had all along. Film was simply the only thing missing it.

Three seconds, three weeks later

That is the whole trade. A moment at the wrist while you shoot, in exchange for scans that behave like every other photo you take.

App Store Back to the overview

On the App Store: Koma Film Log