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Software

Life in Black and White with the AgBr Photo Editor

Alberto Lima
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Last updated on 08/05/2025
08/09/2025
6 Mins read
A close-up of a microphone and camera on a cluttered desk, shown in black and white.
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There’s something incredibly timeless about a great black-and-white image. While there are no doubt countless options available to help turn your digital images into black-and-white photos, very few do a good job of striking the balance between ease of use and authentic, film-like results. AgBr, a collaboration project between Nuevo.Tokyo and Heliographe aim to not only thread that line but also truly capture the organic nature of film. Let me explain.

The Big Picture: Can AgBr Replace Your Typical Editing Software?

The AgBr app bills itself as a “Black & White Film Emulator” that is not only inspired by real-world film emulsions but also real-world processing. This isn’t a replacement for Lightroom or Capture One, and it’s not trying to be. Instead, it aims to be your go-to for black and white processing with a strong resemblance to the look of various film emulsions, down to randomization of grain. AgBr costs $15 (one-and-done purchase) and will grant you a license for use on your Mac and iOS devices and even has the ability to export images as JPG, PNG, or TIFF files, but it works best as a standalone, JPG/PNG making piece of software.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

We give the AgBr editing software three out of five stars. Visit the Apple App Store to try it out for yourself.

  • Pro: AgBr is relatively inexpensive and doesn’t require a monthly subscription
  • Pro: Many of the available film emulations feel like a close-enough approximation of their inspiration
  • Pro: Multiple export formats, including TIFF files, can make this a great complement to your editing application.
  • Con: No way to integrate into your standard editing workflow; can’t export changes back into your catalog.
  • Con: AgBr explicitly states they are actively working on changes and features to the app, it definitely feels like you’re flying the plane as it’s being built.
  • Con: Sorry, Windows/Android users, this one is Apple only.

Randomized Image Grain?

The standout feature of AgBr was its purported ability to randomize grain and grain density. If you’re familiar with film, you’ll know that because film emulsions are a chemical reaction, they are never exactly alike, even among similar film stocks. This is what creates the ephemeral qualities of shooting in film and why it’s so damned hard to mimic it in digital. By Neuvo.Tokyo’s own admission, AgBr isn’t intended to be “digital film” but instead is something of a love letter to the film emulsions that inspired it. In our testing, we found that it does feel much more organic than other plug-ins and filter apps.

Using AgBr is Both Incredibly Simple, Yet can be Frustrating

This is a screenshot of the AgBr workspace, demonstrating its UI and editing options. The film simulation demoed is Lucky SHD 100 over an image taken with the Nikon Z8 and Nikon Z 35mm F1.2 S.
This is a screenshot of the AgBr workspace, demonstrating its UI and editing options. The film simulation demoed is Lucky SHD 100 over an image taken with the Nikon Z8 and Nikon Z 35mm F1.2 S.

Let’s get this out of the way first: if you’re only interested in a black and white filter for your photos, then AgBr works phenomenally as a standalone app. Once you purchase the app, you can jump right in (after giving the software the necessary permissions, of course) and begin editing. Although I largely used the app on my desktop, you can tell that this editing tool is designed for a touch interface like an iPad. The gestures and navigation are very intuitive and easy to understand, which is a big plus given that there is a weird bug that changes the menu’s language when you close a photo and open a new one.

Black-and-white photo of a city street with buildings, trees, and several street signs, including ONE WAY.
This screenshot of AgBr’s UI demonstrates the language glitch – on the bottom left, the text switched to Japanese (from English) when opening a new image file.

While I’ve mentioned that this is a photo editing app, the truth is that this description might be a little too generous if you’re expecting the ability to crop, change image curves, and similar operations. AgBr is a very simplified editor that adds a black and white film simulation, and as of this writing, limited picture editing controls: Push/Pull, “Color Filter”, and Grain Density. If you’re looking for more control of your image, you’ll still need a proper editing tool, like Lightroom or CaptureOne.

This ultimately made me fall out of love with the app. AgBr, unfortunately, works best as a standalone app. I was able to make AgBr an option for external editing in Adobe Lightroom—sending an image out to AgBr—but there’s no way to automatically import the changes back into the software. The best workaround here was to save the changes in AgBr as a TIFF file and then import them back into Lightroom. It’s not a great experience for this kind of editing.

Does AgBr Make for Better Black-and-White Photos?

At the end of the day, does AgBr help you make better black-and-white photos? It’s a very personal standard, for sure, but one that I can say is a lot better than the standard option in your iPhone’s Photos app or even Lightroom’s default Monochrome option. When paired against RNI Film’s Kodak Tri-X 100 HC or ThePhoblographer’s own Gritty Max preset, the answer becomes a matter of taste and need. As someone who needs to work with a full-fledged photo editor, plug-ins make a ton more sense as I need to be able to make my edits and bring them back into the workspace as efficiently as possible. For a more casual photographer who might just need a better black-and-white photo filter, then AgBr really begins to shine.

A man in glasses and a cap sits at a café table with drinks, looking thoughtfully out the window.Man in glasses and cap sits at a café table, gazing out the window, with iced drinks in front of him.
AgBr with Tri-X 400 on the left; Adobe’s Monochrome B&W filter on the right.
Image edited with AgBr using Tri-X 400 film simulationA man in glasses and a cap sits at a café table, looking out the window with drinks in front of him.
AgBr with Tri-X 400 on the left; ThePhoblographer Photojournalism Preset in Gritty Max on the right.
Image edited with AgBr using Tri-X 400 film simulationMan in glasses and cap sits at a cafe table with drinks, looking thoughtfully out the window. Black and white photo.
AgBr with Tri-X 400 on the left; RNI FILMS Tri-X 100 HC Lightroom Plug-in on the right.

Below are a series of images created with the AgBr app. As this review covers editing software, all images in this gallery have been edited.

A large tree stands in front of an apartment building and van on a city street, in black and white.
Image edited in AgBr with Tura 400 Simulation.
A black motorcycle parked in front of graffiti-covered walls in an urban alley.
Image edited in AgBr with Shanghai GP3 100 Simulation
A black-and-white photo of a graffiti-covered door with an air conditioner unit above it.
Image edited in AgBr with Paterson Acupan 800 Simulation.
Woman in a floral dress drinks from a cup in front of a Starbucks and tall buildings on a city street.
Image edited in AgBr with Agfa APX 400 Simulation.
Black and white photo of a taxi on a tree-lined city street with buildings on each side.
Image edited in AgBr with Lomo Lady Grey Simulation.
A deflated “Congrats Grad” balloon lies on a concrete sidewalk in black and white.
Image edited in AgBr with Agfa APX 400 Simulation.
A man in glasses and a cap sits at a café table with drinks, looking thoughtfully out the window.
Image edited in AgBr Kodak Tri-X 400 Simulation
A microphone with a pop filter on a desk, surrounded by various electronic equipment.
Image edited in AgBr with Fujifilm FP-3000B Simulation.
Black and white image of a microphone with a pop filter, surrounded by camera equipment on a desk.
Image edited in AgBr with Tura 400 Simulation.
Black-and-white photo of a Detective Pikachu figure beside a plant pot, with blurred lights in the background.
Image edited in AgBr with Fujifilm Super Presto 1600
Black and white photo of a quiet city street with “One Way” and parking signs, trees, and brick buildings.
Image edited in AgBr with Kodak Tri-X 400 Simulation
Black-and-white photo of a Minolta camera on a cutting mat, with sunglasses, earphones, and a game controller.
Image edited in AgBr with Lucky SHD 100
Sliced loaves of bread with a knife on a plate, surrounded by dishes on a patterned tablecloth.
Image edited in AgBr with Lomo Lady Grey Simulation
Person slicing grilled meat on a wooden cutting board, surrounded by plates and bread, in black and white.
Image edited in AgBr with Ilford HP5 Simulation

Good but not for Everyone

Overall, I’m not mad at AgBr’s results. The images end up with a solid approximation of what their inspired film emulsions produce. The TIFF files are also very flexible, making them better to work with in something like Adobe or Capture One. At the end of the day, though, I struggle to really understand who something like this is geared toward. While there is active, ongoing development on the app, it doesn’t feel complete enough for use as a pro, and at the same time, may feel overdone for a casual photographer who simply wants a better black-and-white image. Ultimately, the AgBr app and many others like it will find themselves better suited for high-level enthusiasts who have chosen a distinct style of photography. The app itself is good to work in, but it feels incomplete (largely because it is). That being said, at $15 for a lifetime license, I’m willing to gamble on Neuvo.Tokyo and Héliographe’s passion project is growing and will add more features geared toward pro editors.

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