CamApp - Pentax 17 Film Camera Emulator

A premium React Native mobile app that faithfully emulates the shooting experience of a Pentax 17 half-frame film camera. Capture the nostalgic aesthetic of analog photography with authentic film stock simulations and a beautifully crafted retro UI.

App Previews

Click the image above to watch the demo video

Features

Camera

• Half-Frame Format - Authentic 2:3 vertical aspect ratio (17×24mm)
• 6 Film Stock Simulations - Kodak Gold 200, Portra 400, Ektar 100, Fuji Superia 400, CineStill 800T, Ilford HP5
• Flash Control - Off / Auto / On modes
• Front/Back Camera - Switch between cameras
• Frame Counter - 36-exposure roll simulation with progress bar
• Date Stamp - Optional retro date stamp on photos
• Live Preview Filter - See film effect before shooting
• Viewfinder Grid - Rule of thirds composition aid

Gallery

• Grid View - 3-column layout with half-frame thumbnails
• Photo Stats - Total photos and rolls counter
• Pull to Refresh - Refresh photo list
• Empty State - Beautiful film roll illustration
• Film Indicator - Color dot shows film stock used

Photo Viewer

• Full Screen View - Tap to toggle controls
• Share - Native sharing with film stock credit
• Edit - Reprocess with different film stock
• Delete - With confirmation
• Photo Info - Date, frame number, film details, dimensions

Film Stocks

Film	Description
Kodak Gold 200	Warm golden tones, nostalgic feel
Kodak Portra 400	Natural skin tones, creamy pastels
Kodak Ektar 100	Ultra-vivid colors, fine grain
Fujifilm Superia 400	Punchy greens, cool shadows
CineStill 800T	Cinematic tungsten, teal/orange
Ilford HP5 Plus	Classic black & white, rich contrast

Tech Stack

• Framework: React Native CLI
• Language: TypeScript
• Camera: react-native-vision-camera
• Image Processing: @shopify/react-native-skia
• Navigation: React Navigation 7
• Storage: react-native-fs, @react-native-async-storage/async-storage
• Gallery: @react-native-camera-roll/camera-roll

Setup

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+
• Watchman
• Xcode 15+ (iOS)
• Android Studio (Android)
• CocoaPods

Installation

# Install dependencies
npm install

# iOS setup
cd ios && pod install && cd ..

Running

# iOS Simulator
npx react-native run-ios

# iOS Physical Device (connect via USB)
RCT_NEW_ARCH_ENABLED=0 npx react-native run-ios --device

# Android
npx react-native run-android

Fresh Install on Physical Device

If you need to do a clean rebuild (e.g., after pulling changes or fixing build issues):

# 1. Clean iOS build artifacts
cd ios && rm -rf Pods Podfile.lock build && cd ..

# 2. Reinstall pods with old architecture
RCT_NEW_ARCH_ENABLED=0 pod install --project-directory=ios

# 3. Build and install on device
RCT_NEW_ARCH_ENABLED=0 npx react-native run-ios --device

Note: The app currently requires RCT_NEW_ARCH_ENABLED=0 for physical device builds due to react-native-screens compatibility.

Architecture

src/
├── screens/
│   ├── CameraScreen.tsx    # Main camera with controls
│   ├── GalleryScreen.tsx   # Photo grid view
│   └── PhotoViewerScreen.tsx # Full photo view + edit
├── services/
│   ├── filters.ts          # Film stock definitions
│   ├── processor.ts        # Skia image processing
│   └── storage.ts          # Photo & settings storage
└── types/
    └── index.ts            # TypeScript interfaces

Image Processing Pipeline

1. Capture photo via Vision Camera
2. Crop to half-frame aspect ratio (2:3 vertical)
3. Apply film stock color matrix
4. Add vignette effect
5. Add film grain (optional)
6. Add date stamp (optional)
7. Encode to JPEG (92% quality)
8. Save to Camera Roll + internal storage

Design

• Theme: Dark mode with gold accent (#FFD700)
• Typography: System fonts with mechanical styling
• UI: Retro camera-inspired controls

License

MIT