Field
Questions
How Field works, and why it works that way. Field is in beta, so some of this will change. Missing something? Write to support@chdethloff.at.
The idea
What is Field?
A camera for iPhone that develops every photo for you, like a film lab. You pick a film, take the photo, and it is finished. There is no editor and nothing to fix afterwards.
Who is it for?
People who like photos straight out of the camera. Especially photographers who already think in film recipes and want that feeling on the phone they carry every day. If you just want nice photos, the default film is made for that and you never have to touch a setting.
Why not just use the iPhone's Camera app?
The built-in camera is very good at making every photo bright, sharp and safe. Field makes different choices: calmer highlights, deeper shadows, less sharpening, and a look you choose before you take the photo. It also behaves more like a camera: fixed focal lengths, a quiet line of exposure values, and settings that stay where you put them. See the decisions behind Field.
What did you leave out on purpose?
Video, Live Photos, portrait mode, a zoom slider, an editor, an account and long settings lists. Each would make Field a little more capable and a lot less calm. One screen, good defaults, few controls.
Lenses
Does Field really use the lens I pick?
Yes. Every focal length is taken with the physical lens it names. The iPhone's Camera app treats its lenses as one zoom camera and switches between them on its own: at the telephoto setting it often shoots with the main lens and crops, for example close up or in low light, because that lens focuses closer and gathers more light. Field never switches behind your back. More in One lens per focal length.
Why won't the telephoto focus on something close?
Every lens has a minimum focus distance, and the telephoto's is longer than the main lens's. The Camera app hides this by quietly switching to the main lens. Field stays on the lens you chose, so step back or pick a shorter focal length.
Why is the telephoto noisier in the dark?
Its sensor is smaller and its aperture slower, so it needs a higher ISO or a longer shutter. That is the honest cost of using the real lens. In low light, the main lens is the better choice.
Why is there no zoom?
Fixed focal lengths make you choose a frame and move your feet, like a camera with primes. Anything in between would only be a crop.
Some focal lengths come from the same lens. Is that a cheat?
On iPhones with 48 MP sensors, Field offers crops from the center of the sensor: 35 mm and 48 mm from the main lens, and twice the telephoto on a 48 MP telephoto. It is the same lens, so the same rendering and depth, just fewer pixels to work with. Field doesn't crop sensors with fewer pixels.
Where do the millimeter numbers come from?
The main lens is 24 mm by convention. Field measures each other lens's field of view against it and rounds to the focal length photographers know, like 13, 35 or 100 mm. The numbers are right on any iPhone model, so the lineup depends on your phone.
Can I hide lenses I don't use?
Yes, in Settings under Lenses. The front camera is hidden there by default; turn it on if you want it.
Shooting
How do exposure controls work?
The line under the viewfinder shows EV, ISO, SHUTTER and WB, like the info line in a viewfinder. Everything is automatic until you tap a value and set it. Values you set are tinted. AUTO puts one back.
Is there shutter or ISO priority?
Yes. Set only the shutter and Field picks the ISO, set only the ISO and Field picks the shutter, like the A on a dial. Set both for full manual; then EV has nothing left to change and greys out.
Why do photos look noisier with a manual shutter or ISO?
iPhone only keeps manual shutter and ISO when the camera uses its fastest capture mode, which skips most of its multi-frame noise reduction. In auto, Field keeps the noise reduction.
How do I set white balance?
Tap WB for a temperature and a tint dial, or pick a neutral spot and tap something white or gray in the scene. A film can also bring its own white balance; see Films.
Can I keep shooting while photos are processing?
Yes. The shutter stays ready and photos develop in the background, one after another. In the camera roll a photo still developing shows as a placeholder until it is saved.
Films
What is a film?
A film is Field's rendering of tone and color: how bright areas roll off, how deep shadows go, how skin, greens and skies come out. There are seven built in. Each is described, with ideas to start from, on Films.
Is a film just a filter?
No. A filter is laid over a finished photo. A film in Field is applied while the photo is developed, and the viewfinder shows the same film live. Contrast acts on brightness only, so a harder film doesn't push skin toward orange. See Films, not filters.
Is the viewfinder exactly the photo?
Very close. The viewfinder and the photo use the same film. But the iPhone renders its live video and its still photos a little differently, mostly in the shadows. Field measures that gap and corrects most of it, and keeps working on the rest.
Can I change the film after taking a photo?
No. Like film, the look is part of the photo. Field saves one finished photo, not an original plus a filter. That is what makes the photo done the moment you take it, and the reason to choose before you shoot.
How do I make my own film?
Tap the film you are using to open its recipe. Move the dot on Tone and Color while the viewfinder updates, or open All Settings for every value. Save it under your own name. Your film is built on a built-in film, which never changes. See Recipes in Field.
Can I use film recipes I found online?
Field uses the same scales popular recipes use: highlights, shadows, color, sharpness, white balance with red and blue shift, grain, color depth and blue depth. Pick the closest built-in film and type in the numbers. The same numbers don't give the same result on a different camera, so treat a recipe as a starting point. Pasting a recipe's text directly is planned.
Can I share a film?
Yes. In All Settings, Share sends a card of the film and its recipe as text, with a link. Whoever has Field opens the link and adds the film in one tap.
Can I hide or reorder films?
Yes, in Settings under Films. Hidden built-in films stay in the editor, so you can still build on them.
Which film is in a photo?
Field writes the film's name into the photo's metadata, and the camera roll shows it with the other shot information.
Photos and files
HEIF or RAW?
In Settings under Photos. HEIF starts from Apple's processed photo and applies the film; it is the fastest. RAW, on iPhone Pro models, captures ProRAW and Field develops it itself, with less local tone mapping and lighter sharpening, for a more natural photo. It takes a moment longer. See HEIF or RAW.
Does Field keep the RAW file?
No. RAW is how Field develops the photo, not what it saves. You get one HEIF in your library, at about 24 megapixels, in Display P3. A RAW file is around 55 MB, and keeping it would turn every photo into an editing job.
Are photos HDR?
No. Field saves standard dynamic range photos, so they look the same on every screen, like a print.
Where are my photos?
In your photo library, like any other photo. Field's camera roll shows your library with the shot information for each photo. Deleting Field doesn't delete your photos.
Which iPhones does Field support?
iPhones on iOS 26 or later. RAW needs an iPhone Pro. The lenses you get depend on your model.
Privacy and buying
Does Field send anything anywhere?
No. No account, no analytics, no ads, no tracking. Photos are developed on your iPhone. If you turn on Location in Field's settings, your position goes into each photo's information and nowhere else. Details in the privacy policy.
What will it cost?
Field is in beta and free to test. Pricing isn't decided yet.
How do I join the beta?
Write to support@chdethloff.at.