Fuji is my favorite preset from Mastin, but I don't like the blues and red tint to skin tones. The colors are vibrant and exposures are often flat, needing a bump in contrast and a drop in saturation. I've always found they look a little too clean for the film look I'm after. These presets offer a very distinct look that some people consider the most accurate to their film counterparts. We're proud of the work that went into creating them and hope that you like what you see. This purpose of this test is two-fold to compare various options for consumers and give an unbiased look at the results, and to see how our own presets compare to the best in the business.
These are the basic presets applied, though each system offers a variety of adjustments or alternate versions of each film stock. The RAW files were set to auto white balance and each preset was applied as a one click edit, no tweaking or adjusting. We tested 3 of the most popular film stocks from 3 systems so you can see for yourself how each one performs in a large variety of shooting scenarios. I think this is mainly due to people wanting to capture a timeless style similar to the classic film stocks, leading to the development of many preset systems that try to do just that. I have found that I especially enjoy using it on studio portraits that I am lighting with strobes as it seems to really bring out the level of contrast I am looking for in my black and white conversions.Film presets are hugely popular these days, as the photography community as a whole has largely moved away from the crazy vibrant HDR editing that was all the rage when DSLRs first came out. This really is a lovely film, great detail in the shadows and far more forgiving in the highlights than the fairly rigid T-Max film. Finally, rounding out the pack, we have a lovely black and white stock in the form of Kodak Tri-X. It is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful film stocks ever made and a film in particular that fans of Mastin Labs have been asking for for a long time. It is distinctly bright, vivid, and rich. I shoot a decent amount of outdoor events, and I have found that I am really enjoying the Gold preset on these images in particular. Its warm, golden tones make skin pop and light glow, and Mastin Labs have really nailed the look with this preset. It's great for hanging out with friends, summer parties, family get-togethers. Nostalgia aside, Gold is just a fun film. Kodak Gold is the like the paintbrush of my childhood. He and his team literally shoot hundreds of rolls of film and compare thousands of scans and digitals in order to get as close to the original film stock as possible. This latest set of presets has been made with the same care and methodical approach that Kirk Mastin brings to every product his company releases. This pack has three distinct looks based on the most iconic Kodak films in history. So, all that being said, I appreciate the mission behind Mastin Labs just as much as I appreciate their fantastic products. I bought my first film camera a Nikon F several months ago as a direct result of being a user of these presets and taking part in the community that Mastin has developed among his users over the last few years. While I am certain that a significant number of their customers use their presets to get a "film look" without ever shooting film, I also know that an equally significant number use them to match up with their film scans so they can have a consistent look when shooting hybrid. A quick note before I jump into the review: one of my favorite things about Kirk Mastin and his team is that they have a genuine passion for shooting film and inspiring others to shoot film. The Kodak Everyday Pack is the latest addition to a line of what I consider to be the most accurate and faithful film emulation presets on the market today. I've made no secret of my love for various film emulation presets put out by the fine folks over at Mastin Labsand their latest release is no exception.