Question 1

What does Focal actually do?

Accepted Answer

Focal is a film camera for iPhone. Pick a look and a lens, see the developed photo live in the viewfinder, and exactly that lands in Photos.

Question 2

Is a look just a filter?

Accepted Answer

No overlay is laid on top. Each look is its own colour and tone response (warmth, contrast, fade, split toning, six hue bands), with grain and halation rendered into the image. Grain is sized to the frame, so cropping doesn't magnify it. The viewfinder and the full-resolution photo use the same pipeline.

Question 3

How do I add my own looks and lenses?

Accepted Answer

Design them in Focal Film Lab on your Mac, or retune the built-in ones, and press Save. They arrive on your iPhone through your iCloud, next to the built-in slide, negative and mono looks and six lenses.

Question 4

What is Focal Film Lab?

Accepted Answer

Focal's darkroom on the Mac. Judge a look on your own photos, split against the original, and shape it on rulers: tone, colour, split toning, hue bands, grain and halation. Lenses get a field of view, vignette, glow and micro-contrast. It also develops batches and exports a look's colour as a .cube LUT.

Question 5

Can I use the looks on photos from my camera?

Accepted Answer

Yes, in Focal Film Lab. It opens JPEG, HEIC and RAW files from any camera and develops them at full resolution, as HEIC or JPEG, or into your Photos library.

Question 6

How do looks get from the Mac to my iPhone?

Accepted Answer

Through your iCloud. Edits stay drafts until you press Save; then looks, lenses and groups sync, and Focal picks them up the next time you open it.

Question 7

How do the lenses work?

Accepted Answer

Each lens frames a 35mm-equivalent view from the iPhone's main camera and renders its own vignette, glow and micro-contrast. Longer lenses are crops of that camera, and the widest goes as wide as the main camera does.

Question 8

Can I change the look after shooting?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Focal keeps every shot's original, so you can develop it again in another film, format, exposure or white balance, or through a longer lens (the wider view was never captured). Photos can always revert it.

Question 9

Does it shoot RAW?

Accepted Answer

Every shot is a HEIF with the look developed in. On iPhones that support it, RAW adds a DNG straight off the sensor, and ProRAW adds Apple ProRAW.

Question 10

Which iPhone and Mac do I need?

Accepted Answer

Focal runs on iPhone and iPad with iOS 26.2 or later; Camera Control works on iPhones that have the button. Focal Film Lab needs macOS 15 or later, signed in to the same iCloud account to sync.

Question 11

What happens to my photos?

Accepted Answer

They stay yours: in Photos, in a Focal album, with the originals kept in the app on your iPhone. There's no account and nothing goes to the developer. Only your looks and lenses sync, through your iCloud.

Film,
not filters.

Every film
on one dial.

Make your
own film.

New or retuned

Photos from any camera

Develop and export

Change your
mind later.

Pick your
prime.

From square
to XPAN.

Manual when
you want it.

HEIF, RAW or ProRAW

Camera Control

Its own album

Good
to know.

Shoot your
first roll.

Film,not filters.

Every filmon one dial.

Make yourown film.