Analog.Cafe

718 Reviews, Guides, and Essays

Top 10 Films & the Aesthetic Science of Photography
A Monthly Newsletter for GOLD Members
December 26, 2025
These last few days of 2025, I ran through the Analog.Cafe data to surface the top 10 most-used films, added an early warning system to Chem Log, and published an article with the latest research in aesthetic science, which explains what makes our photos good. This is also the last month I’m giving away free film!
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Ilford Microphen Film Developer Review
December 18, 2025
Push-processing film increases its grain size and contrast, which can lead to undesirable results, especially if the push is significant. However, Microphen uses technology designed to control both for better results. Ilford Microphen is a black-and-white film developer, made with hydroquinone and phenidone by Harman Technology Ltd., for fine-grained results and controlled contrast.
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Lomo LC-A With Kodak Ektar 100
The Perfect Combo for the Tropics?
December 16, 2025
When reviewing my camera options for my upcoming trip to Nicaragua, I knew it needed to have three things: 1) Low enough value so that I wouldn’t worry about losing it. 2) Be able to easily fit in my pocket. 3) Capable of capturing high-quality images. And for the film, I knew I wanted something capable of capturing the vivid colours of a tropical country. I decided to take the Lomo LC-A — a classic Lomography lo-fi camera with Kodak’s high-resolution, high-saturation, fine-grained colour-negative film: Ektar 100.
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How to Retrieve a 35mm Film Leader
With HCL Film Picker 4 + Other Tools and Methods
December 11, 2025
A film picker (a.k.a. film leader retriever) is easy to overlook when shopping for home development supplies. However, it’s an essential gadget for saving time and money, and avoiding frustration. In this guide, I’ll explain how and why you should use a film picker. I’ll also show you a few ways to get your film out without one.
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How to Make Better Photos According to Science
What the Latest Research in Psychology Tells Us About Making Impactful Images
December 9, 2025
Photography is part art, part science. Traditionally, the empirical approach has been reserved for the design and operation of cameras. Unfortunately, the art of photography is often left to the word of authority (which can act as a gatekeeper) and guesswork. But it doesn’t have to be this way. In this article, I will review some of the latest studies, experiments, and findings that explain what makes our brains prefer certain types of images and apply that to the art of photography.
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Kodak Kodacolor 100 Film Review
A New Kodak Film?
December 8, 2025
Kodak Kodacolor 100 is a medium-contrast, medium-saturation colour-negative film with packaging design reminiscent of the classic 1980s branding. In this review, I’ll briefly discuss the origins of this film and cover the basics, such as colours, grain, and price. I will also give a few tips on scanning, exposure, and daily use.
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Ride a Dragon
Instant Photography Series
December 4, 2025
In ”Ride a Dragon”, Canyon turns to the immediate, tactile language of instant photography to explore the body as a vessel of memory and a landscape shaped by time. Working with Instax Wide black-and-white film, the artist constructs diptychs in which fragmented human forms appear alongside natural artifacts as leaves, shells, petals, flowers.
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Top 10 Film Stocks According to 293 Photographers
A 2025 Film Log Report
December 2, 2025
“What are the most popular photographic films sold and used today?” seems like a basic question that should be easy to answer; however, it is not. I combed through the anonymized entries from the Film Log app to reveal the top 10 most popular films amongst photographers from 40+ countries and hundreds of film varieties (nearly 600 brands) logged since 2022, and compiled them into this list by distribution. This is the most accurate/dependable list of top photographic films on the internet!
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Film Photography News — November 2025 Recap
The New Kodak Snapic A1, You Can Shoot Movies on 35mm Film, Lucky Film 🍀
November 25, 2025
RETO Project has just released a new film camera: Kodak Snapic A1. Meanwhile, a team of one is working on a movie camera that uses standard 35mm film to capture footage at higher resolution than Super 8, without the stock, development, and scanning pricing or restrictions of the traditional format. Plus: download all of Analog.Cafe, is Film Ferrania back?, and comparing Lucky C200 to Kodak Gold.
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Movies on 135🎞️, Film Tests & Download Analog.Cafe!
A Monthly Newsletter for GOLD Members
November 21, 2025
I’ve made some changes to the website this month. One makes sharing GIFs a reality; the other turns every article into a high-quality PDF with custom formatting. Though the GIF display may not be a huge deal, the big reveal is the purpose for their existence: a brand-new movie camera that’s in the works.
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Lucky C200 (乐凯) vs. Kodak Gold
Direct & Practical Comparisons With Colour Charts, Exposure Tests, and More
November 18, 2025
Lucky C200 (乐凯 C200, p.: Lè Kǎi) is a new colour-negative film manufactured in China. The technology behind it may or may not be stemming from Kodak’s short-lived collaboration with Lucky in the early 2000s — but as you’ll soon see, it looks very different from anything else on the market today. This article will examine Lucky C200’s colours, grain, contrast, and saturation — as well as physical properties against one of Kodak’s best-known affordable films: Kodak Gold .
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OKTO35: A Genius Invention for Making Movies on Regular 35mm Film
November 11, 2025
OKTO35 is a new motion picture camera, capable of shooting frames 25% larger than Super 8 at up to 25 frames per second on any standard 35mm (135) film cartridge. Better yet, it can shoot ultra-high-resolution films like the Adox CMS 20 II, infrared films like Aerochrome, orthochromatic films, and everything else made for still 35mm film cameras. OKTO35 can make shooting videos on film 90% cheaper than using a lower-res Super8 film, and it also makes scanning the film easy. This is an ongoing project by Blaž Semprimožnik.
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Kodak Kodacolor 100 vs. Pro Image 100
These Films Are Not the Same*
November 3, 2025
Kodak Kodacolor 100 is a brand-new film from Kodak, announced in early October 2025. Kind of. In this article, I explain the importance of this new design and compare Kodacolor to its rumoured twin: Kodak Pro Image 100.
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My Favourite Way to Shoot Film
Sunny, Dirty, Carefree
November 3, 2025
I don’t shoot as much film as I used to. So I have to make it count these days. And I don’t mean make it count like make sure I’m doing good pictures. That is a part of it, of course. But I more mean, if I’m going to spend time doing this, it’s got to be worthwhile.
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Asahi Pentax MX Film Camera Review
A Compact, Affordable, Fully-Mechanical SLR
October 30, 2025
Asahi Pentax MX is a compact mechanical SLR compatible with a vast array of affordable lenses. It’s small enough to fit in a pocket (with the right lens), and it’s built like a tank. But no camera is perfect, and so the MX has a few things you should know. In this review, I’ll cover the basics and known issues. I’ll also suggest a few compact mechanical SLR alternatives, should you like a faster shutter, an even more minimalist design, or a smaller profile (yes, that exists¹).
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Film Photography News — October 2025 Recap
New Kodak Film, New Lomo Film, New Film Cameras + a Scary Pumpkin Selfie! 🎃
October 28, 2025
The biggest stories in the world of film photography this October are the new Kodak films and a brand-new point-and-shoot camera from Lomography. But of course, there’s a whole lot more — from another new colour film (from Lomography) to a gold-plated (?) WideluxX prototype and several more outstanding community projects.
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Comparing Colour Film + How to Make a Camera in 2026
A Monthly Newsletter for GOLD Members
October 24, 2025
October 2025 has been a month of surprises: from a new film from Kodak to the first autofocus point-and-shoot camera from Lomography. In today’s newsletter, I’m showing you how I compared several Kodak films and learned the slightest differences between them.
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How to Make a Pinhole Camera
Easy (5min), Advanced (Day Projects), and Beyond!
October 21, 2025
Whereas most online resources will loosely demonstrate an idea and basic construction, many omit key steps needed to actually take a photo with a pinhole camera or are so dense that they are split into several hard-to-find web pages and tools. This guide fixes that with complete instructions for several levels of pinhole construction, from a simple 5-minute project to multi-day creative adventures. Featuring: paper shutters, sugar lens, and a scary pumpkin. 🎃
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Kodak ColorPlus vs. Kodacolor 200 vs. Kodak Gold
October 9, 2025
Kodak sells a lot of film. When the world asked them for more medium-speed colour-negative film, they answered with three products: Kodak ColorPlus, Kodak Gold, and now the new Kodacolor 200. But seeing how they are not doing a very good job at explaining the difference (if any) between those three films, I spent several days researching and planning an experiment that compares the colours, grain, and dynamic range under various lighting conditions.
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Making Darkroom Prints at Home With Doka Lab
All-Included for Less Than €40… You Don’t Even Need a Film Camera!
October 7, 2025
The dim red lights, hanging papers, and the rapidly appearing black-and-white images are sensations so unique and memorable that they’ve become synonymous with film photography. Doka Lab aims to make this experience more accessible than ever before.
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