Free app gives Ricoh GR users more than 40 film simulation 'recipes'

If you’re a Ricoh GR user who has ever regarded the Film Simulation modes on Fujifilm's mirrorless cameras with envious eyes, today will bring some very welcome news indeed.

Ritchie Roesch, the app developer behind the Fuji-based film simulating app Fuji X Weekly, has come up with a new version that works with Ricoh GR cameras, including the original Ricoh GR, the GR II, the Ricoh GR III and the very recently announced GR IIIx (which is basically just the GR III with a 40mm lens rather than a 28mm).

• Read more: Ricoh GR III review

The app is called Ricoh Recipes. It’s a match that makes a lot of sense – Ricoh GR cameras are popular with street photographers, and are some of the best around for daily urban shooting. Being able to simulate classic film stocks adds a whole layer of depth to this kind of photography, and opens up new creative options.

Ricoh Recipes is available for iOS and Android. Essentially, it provides you with the settings tweaks necessary to simulate each film stock as closely as possible, which you can then dial into your camera. You can even simulate dramatic analog effects like cross-processing, such as developing E6 slide film with regular C41 color process, which causes all sorts of crazy colors to emerge.

If you want the analog look without having to mess about with chemicals (understandable) then it’s the perfect solution. The app can also be used offline, so you don’t always have to be connected to access the recipes. 

The basic app is absolutely free and all users get access to pretty much the whole thing – though if you do want to support Roesch’s work financially you can do so, and this unlocks a few extra features like filtering by camera or the ability to favorite recipes you particularly like. 

Paying a little extra also gets you a bonus recipe in each collection – when these are factored in, the app contains a total of 48 film simulation recipes across the four GR cameras. Becoming a patron of the app costs $11.99 (approximately £was 8.75 / AU$16.50) annually.

Roesch keeps a blog updated on his website where he lists all the changes and fixes to the apps – and he’s already made an update to the Android version to correct a minor bug, You can get the Ricoh Recipes app now on Google Play or the App Store.