See it before you shoot
The look is live on the screen and in the viewfinder while you turn the wheel. What you see is what the camera writes.
For Sony PlayMemories cameras
Film looks, inside your Sony.
Turn the wheel, see the look live on the screen, shoot. 76 recipes inspired by classic film and other cameras, stored in the camera, so every photo and video comes out that way.
v1.6.2 · 315 KB · no account
- 76 recipes
- Live preview
- Photo + video
- No account
Classic Chrome
01 The recipes
Standard, or something with a past.
Left: the camera's own Standard look. Right: a recipe. Same frame, same exposure, straight out of an A6000 — drag to compare. 76 more where these came from.
StandardClassic Chrome
Fuji simulations
Classic Chrome
Settings Stored in the app
Pick it on the wheel, press once. The camera keeps it.
- No.
- 12/77
- Family
- Fuji simulations
- Works in
- Photo + video
- Apply
- One press
#RL12
02 Why Recipe Lab
Made to be used, not configured.
Set once, shoot everywhere
The recipe is stored in the camera's own settings. Close the app, switch modes, power off — photos and video keep the look.
Make it yours
All 76 recipes come built in. Tweak any of them, save your own, and share them.
03 How it works
Three steps. The first one, once.
- Step 01
Install once
About ten minutes with a computer and the camera's USB cable. After that, you never need the computer again.
- Step 02
Turn the wheel
Open Recipe Lab, scroll through the looks and watch the live image change. Press the centre button to pick one.
- Step 03
Shoot
Leave the app. Every mode, photo and video, now shoots with your look — until you pick another.
04 Compatibility
Will it run on my camera?
Recipe Lab runs on Sony cameras that support PlayMemories Camera Apps — roughly 2013 to 2016 bodies.
05 Install
Ten minutes, once.
Once, with a computer and the camera's USB cable. After that it's just the camera. Prefer video? The walkthrough covers every step.
Coming soon
Recipe Lab Studio
Develop your Sony RAWs on your phone, with the Recipe Lab looks done properly.
- Wireless transfer from the camera — no cable, no router.
- A full RAW editor on your phone. Android first, iOS next.
- Recipe Lab looks on the RAW, with the tone curves the camera can't store.
The waitlist opens soon. Follow the project on GitHub in the meantime. GitHub ↗
Support
Like it? Leave a tip.
Recipe Lab is a one-person, open-source project. Tips pay for maintenance, new recipes, and the cameras it needs to be tested on — right now that's a single A6000.
06 FAQ
Questions people actually ask.
Can this damage or brick my camera?
Installing an app is the mechanism Sony itself shipped. No firmware is replaced and nothing is unlocked. Recipe Lab only changes picture settings the camera itself already has, and Setup → Setting Reset undoes all of it. On a camera that isn't confirmed yet, check the app's values against your menus first.
Do I need Wi-Fi, a Sony account, or the app store?
No. Sony's app store closed in 2021 and none of this goes near it. The app arrives over the USB cable from your computer.
Will it touch my RAW files?
No. The look is baked into the JPEG and the RAW stays a RAW. Six recipes marked JPEG only use a Picture Effect, which the camera only applies to JPEGs; the app asks before switching your quality setting.
Is there a version for the A6400, A7 III or newer?
There can't be: everything Sony released after 2016 has signed firmware and no Application menu. Those cameras have Picture Profiles and Creative Looks built in — the features Recipe Lab exists to make up for on older bodies.
Can it do LUTs, grain or light leaks?
No, on purpose. Recipe Lab never processes an image — it picks camera settings and gets out of the way. That's why the look is live, survives with the app closed and works for video. Grain and LUTs would mean re-processing every file after the shot.