The Verge (Andru) reviewed two new cassette players and a CD player, all of which were made with high-quality materials and featured modern circuitry and software.
This new technology shows familiar parallels to modern film cameras, all of which show the same drawbacks:
Consider Minolta TC-1 (analog.cafe/r/minolta-tc-1…), the world’s smallest full-frame camera. Yes, it’s smaller than the smallest full-frame digital camera in 2025, and it’s made with a titanium shell. Compared to the top-of-the-line iPhone, which features the thinnest titanium coating on its edges you can imagine, TC-1 is more valuable. Could Ricoh have achieved this level of quality, design, and performance on the same production line that their Pentax 17 (analog.cafe/comments/ssin) was manufactured on? Absolutely not.
(Ricoh/Pentax is the biggest manufacturer that took on a modern film camera design to date.)
The best products on the planet require the same level of investment, regardless of whether they utilize modern or vintage technology.
But with enough continuous investment and modern innovation, maybe with setting the specs to earlier vintage years, I think that some retro-modern products can get close. Some examples are Rollei 35AF (analog.cafe/r/film-photogr…) and Instax WIDE Evo (analog.cafe/comments/427m).
Harman Phoenix is the newest colour-negative film on the market from a factory that isn’t Kodak. Made by the same company that sells the famous Ilford black-and-white film, Phoenix is their massive investment into a medium they haven’t worked on since the 1960s.
Harman Phoenix II features substantial upgrades to the dynamic range/contrast, grain, and colour over the original.
Since I published the original review, I’ve shot many more rolls of the old and the new Phoenix, staged a few experiments with that film (like turning it into slides), and compared it to other emulsions.
The updated review features updated facts, samples, and a fresh polish on the language so that it’s more fun to read:
Commodity fetishism lands Leica in hot water on Threads.
The brand drew fire to its social media account of over 96 thousand followers today with a post that romanticized ownership of their gear more than their followers were willing to take:
“Leica is not just a brand — it’s a lifestyle.
“It’s the reason why people love to take our cameras out on the town.
“It’s the camera that you want to sit next to you in the passenger side of your car.
“It’s the only piece of jewelry that is reciprocal to others because you can give an image as a present.
“It becomes a part of you.”
Leica makes famously expensive lenses and cameras that can fetch well over $10,000 new and more than most other cameras when bought used as well. Their price is usually justified by the quality of the design, assembly, and materials that make their tools durable, fun to use, and capable of capturing very sharp photos.
Leica is also celebrated for its history (famously, the company helped hundreds of Jewish people out of Nazi Germany in 1938-1939, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leic…). The company has recently celebrated 100 years with the addition of (reasonably priced) 35mm photographic film to its roster of products: analog.cafe/r/film-photogr….
Leica is not shy of lending its name to numerous other companies, which over the years have generated a large ecosystem of accessories, clothing, and more.
However, the social media team’s post that dressed up the Leica brand as a “lifestyle” has struck a nerve with the photographers.
“This kind of pretentious nonsense makes me want to sell my Leica.” — @fredrikplam.
“When the camera itself gets romanticized more than the work it creates, when the priority becomes posing with it, showing it off, or treating it like an accessory or ‘jewelry,’ that’s when the tool starts overshadowing the art. And that’s not the kind of ‘lifestyle’ I’m interested in.” — @illkoncept.
“As someone who’s been shooting with Leica’s for almost 2 decades and has been published in LFI Magazine, I just don’t have the words to express how cringey this post is.” — @dezfoto.
“This is not the flex you think it is…it makes Leica owners seem like a bunch of posers more concerned about how they look rather than the art itself.” — @denizdemir.photos.
And it keeps going (so far, there are nearly 600 responses on the original post: threads.com/@leicacameraus…).
Leica’s social media team has been exceptionally active on Threads since they came online, one of the fastest large camera brands to reply and post their takes on the Meta-owned app.
In an attempt to respond to some of the posts, the company attempted to double down:
“Ramon from the marketing team 👋
I wrote the post so let’s talk about it. Two things can be right at once. It can be an instrument and a part of your daily routine. I’ve been to Wetzlar to see how these products are made and you’re right — they are engineering marvels.
But let’s be honest, I’ve never heard someone refer to their camera as ‘my precision instrument’. But a camera is your lifestyle if you carry it daily to make photos.”
That effort appears to have fallen on deaf ears, as the comments condemning Leica’s original thread are in the hundreds and continue to multiply as more people are becoming aware of it.
Update: Kodak issued a statement regarding “Misleading Media Reports.”
The news of Kodak’s financial report that dunked their stock price 25% scared not just investors but also others who depend on their product. Here’s Kodak’s response in full (also found on kodak.com/en/company/blog-…):
***
Statement Regarding Misleading Media Reports
August 13, 2025
Media reports that Kodak is ceasing operations, going out of business, or filing for bankruptcy are inaccurate and reflect a fundamental misunderstanding of a recent technical disclosure the Company made to the SEC in its recently filed second quarter earnings report. These articles are misleading and missing critical context, and we’d like to set the record straight.
The most important things to know are:
Kodak has no plans to cease operations, go out of business, or file for bankruptcy protection.
To the contrary, Kodak is confident it will repay, extend, or refinance its debt and preferred stock on, or before, its due date.
When the transactions we have planned are completed, which is expected to be early next year, Kodak will have a stronger balance sheet than we have had in years and will be virtually net debt free.
The “going concern disclosure” is a technical report that is required by accounting rules.
We will continue to meet our obligations to all pension fund participants.
Pension Fund Transaction
Kodak has been preparing for the pension plan termination for some time and expects to receive approximately $500 million of assets – after meeting our obligations to all pension fund participants – in December 2025 when the transaction closes. Approximately $300 million of the funds are expected to be cash, and approximately $200 million are expected to be investment assets that will be converted into cash.
Kodak’s Debt Position
To provide context, Kodak currently has $477 million of term debt and $100 million of preferred stock outstanding. Kodak is required by its loan documents to use the $300 million of cash expected to be received in December to repay term debt. Kodak can then address the remaining $177 million of term debt and $100 million of preferred stock.
Kodak’s Ongoing Operations
In addition to our focus on reducing debt and interest payments, we believe our business is stable and self-sustaining. In Q2 2025 we used only $3 million in cash, primarily to invest in growth initiatives, a significant improvement compared with Q1, and we do not plan to rely on cash from the pension fund transaction to fund our operations.
In short, Kodak is confident in its plan to meet all its obligations and optimistic about its future.
For more detailed information about this topic, please review Kodak’s Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on August 11, 2025, including the cautionary language about forward looking statements in such filing which are incorporated by reference herein.
For a deeper dive into Kodak’s complex business structure and financial solvency, check out Daren’s 2023 video, when the company’s future still remained in question: youtube.com/watch?v=xf1vFv…
The company’s shares plummeted 25% today after their report revealed a half-billion-dollar debt due within a year with an unclear payoff plan, along with hits to profits and higher costs.
The report (published in full here: finance.yahoo.com/news/kod…) demonstrates lacklustre growth and some considerable slowdowns in parts of the business. Pull quote:
“We expect to have a clear understanding by August 15 of how we will satisfy our obligations to all plan participants, and we anticipate completing the reversion by December of 2025. For the second half of the year, we will continue to focus on reducing costs today and converting our investments into long-term growth.”
In a statement to PetaPixel (petapixel.com/2025/08/12/k…), Kodak explained some of the language in their recent report and their plans going forward:
“The ‘going concern’ language in Kodak’s 10-Q is essentially required disclosure because Kodak’s debt comes due within 12 months of the filing. Kodak is confident it will be able to pay off a significant portion of its term loan well before it becomes due, and amend, extend or refinance our remaining debt and/or preferred stock obligations.”
“To fund the repayment, we plan to draw on the approximately $300 million in cash we expect to receive from the reversion and settlement of our U.S. pension fund (the Kodak Retirement Income Plan, or ‘KRIP’) in December. However, the KRIP reversion is not solely within Kodak’s control and therefore is not deemed ‘probable’ under U.S. GAAP accounting rules, which is what triggered the ‘going concern.’ Once the KRIP reversion is completed Kodak will be virtually net debt free and will have a stronger balance sheet than we have had in years.”
This reads like Kodak is cutting very close to their deadline but may still make it by the skin of their teeth.
One tangibly positive piece of news in that report is the nearly complete pharmaceutical facility — but that’s not a guarantee of any additional income in time, nor is it a commitment to producing film products in the future.
Part of the reason for the revenue drop stated in the report is the considerable investment into the facility upgrades Kodak performed last year (analog.cafe/comments/rq8i) and the eight-year development project that culminated this year in the release of remjet-free Vision 3 film (Daren and I discussed it at length in our recent podcast episode: analog.cafe/comments/198v).
Of course, film is only part of the company’s still a large business; despite the growing interest in this medium, it won’t be able to save the company alone.
@RompingBronco on YouTube sat in on the earnings call with Kodak in his recent #video🍿 post: youtube.com/watch?v=uFO3ut…, where the CEO, Jim Continenza, suggested that the US tarifs may benefit Kodak (a US company) in some ways domestically but have also contributed to the higher cost of aluminum, a raw material likely imported from Canada (the tariff negotiations between the two countries are still ongoing).
With all that in mind, it’s helpful to remember the context of the company that has so far emerged from multiple bankruptcies, still making film.
Getting ready to develop film at home just got a little faster if you track your chemical use and expiration with Chem Log.
Analog.Cafe v3.30.84 adds a handy Dilution Calculator button to the Film Log app (analog.cafe/app/film-log) to help figure out precise chemical ratios and shows all selected chemicals’ stats/reuse calculators front-and-center when you need them.
Though you still should test your chemicals (here’s how: analog.cafe/r/how-to-test-…), Chem Log (a plugin for the Film Log app) can help you avoid issues by giving a quick reference to mix dates. If something’s very old, you’ll know to avoid using that bottle.
Chem Log also helps extend the life of your C-41 chemicals by showing you adjusted development times based on the volume of your developer and the number of rolls that went through it. I’ve used this app to extend the life of my 1L (quart) Arista kit to 28 rolls — 20 beyond the recommended total — which added up to about $1/roll — without any significant issues in colour or grain. Article & samples: analog.cafe/r/arista-c-41-….
More app updates:
#film Q, a web app for inverting film negatives in the cloud, received a small bug fix. Previously, switching the “Autostart” setting ON would undo the “Fix Base Fog” mode. That could be annoying for anyone attempting to fix colour shifts on positive scans in batches, but it’s now fixed.
New #video🍿 and podcast comment tags now feature a special design to make viewing and listening to analogue photography content easier. I’ve also revamped how the comments appear and expanded the maximum amount of characters per comment to 4,000.
Please reply to this comment or get in touch if you have any feedback or problems using the Analog.Cafe website!
Lomography refreshes their experimental LomoApparat camera with the silver Alexanderplatz edition.
Though I haven’t tried either, the LomoApparat cameras generated a lot of positive feedback at launch and years later, thanks to their ultrawide 21mm lens, appealing design, and a generous pack of experimental filters.
The “Apparat” part of the camera’s name likely originates from Russian use in reference to cameras (spelled “аппарат,” short for “фотоапарат”) — although the origins of the word itself are in Latin and German languages. Alexanderplatz is a square in Berlin named after a Russian czar (this I learned from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex…). In case you didn’t know, Lomography got its name from another Soviet camera brand, LOMO (short for “Ленинградское Oптико-Mеханическое Oбъединение,” romanized: “Leningradskoye Optiko-Mekhanicheskoye Obyedinenie,” or translated “Leningrad Optical Mechanical Association”), which was the source of their first commercial sales back in the 1990s.
I like that this camera’s name offers a little glimpse into its maker’s origins, or at least sets the mood if you allow it.
LomoApparat has a fixed f/10 aperture and 1/100s shutter — ideal for ISO 200 film in full sun. For other light conditions and film speeds, see the Sunny 16 Calculator: analog.cafe/app/sunny-16-c….
CineStill’s new calibrated light source — CS-LITE+ SpectraCOLOR™ — for digital camera scanning rigs.
A poor light source can cause issues when scanning film using a digital camera. The colours may appear muted or show a colour cast that isn’t easily or completely correctable. Best results come from sources that use a fine-tuned combination of colour LEDs to render light as close to the natural, full-spectrum illumination as possible.
Today, CineStill is offering a new light source design, which they have rebuilt from the ground up to produce an improved colour specifically for film scans made with digital cameras:
“The CS-LITE+ transforms the light from ultra-bright single-band LEDs into specific multispectral wavelengths, powered by a standard 5V/1.5A USB cable with a single dimmable on/off switch, and can be used in three different modes: for Color Negative, Black & White, and Slide film.”
CineStill says that their product will yield results that are better than those you can achieve with high-quality light sources already on the market:
“Most light sources currently available aren’t originally created for film scanning and, even at a high CRI, fail to get the job done due to lack of control and generic design. These light sources produce color cross-talk, resulting in poor contrast, reduced saturation, and color casts in the image. The CS-LITE+ delivers light that has been spectrally-optimized to produce only the precise, ultra-narrowband wavelengths required for scanning color negative film — something unachievable with traditional LED technology. This uniquely matches the color channels of digital capture to the separate color layers of film, finally making true-to-film scans a reality.”
In addition to the light source, the box will include several filter gels (to further optimize for either black-and-white/colour-negative/colour-positive film) and a mask to help reduce reflections that can bleed in from the sides while scanning film. The light source is compatible with film carriers from VALOI, Negative Supply, Lomography, and others. As expected, it will work with your favourite film negative inversion software, such as film Q (analog.cafe/app/filmq).
It took the company three years of experimentation and research to design this new light.
CS-LITE+ is available today for $89.95 (an introductory price) at cinestillfilm.com along with further details and examples.
The rest of the retailers will start shipping by Fall 2025.
10ARTCC is working on a foldable Instax Square film camera based on the iconic Polaroid SX-70 design.
The Polaroid SX-70 camera is a holy grail of instant film that was akin to the first iPhone when it was released in the 1970s. The world’s only foldable SLR with a high-quality glass lens, a unique aperture and unsurpassed image quality on a nearly 4x5 integrated film format. Several manufacturers tried to replicate the success of this camera — around the time it was released and in recent times — but they always came short.
Even Polaroid’s I-2 camera, with all its modern technical advances, does not fold and has a range of issues that the company has only recently solved (analog.cafe/comments/z0ow).
Fifty-five years later, there’s still nothing that can match the SX-70. If you want that experience, you’ll need to find a vintage copy and load up some SX-70 film — an emulsion the new company is making specifically for those remaining old-stock cameras (film review: analog.cafe/r/polaroid-sx-…, vintage SX-70 review: analog.cafe/r/polaroid-sx-…).
But the renewed interest in instant film is too strong for just a single company’s re-birth (see today’s Polaroid history and how it emerged from the ashes of the original Polaroid: analog.cafe/r/a-brief-hist…). So, in spite of the brand’s odd reluctance to allow others to innovate on their platform (I discussed with Daren their prohibitive policies that forbid others from making cameras that work with their film in last month’s podcast episode: analog.cafe/comments/40ib), many small businesses turned to Fujifilm Instax.
Fujifilm, as it turns out, does not mind others making cameras for their film. MiNT has famously went from modifying the SX-70s to building their own rangefinders and TLRs for Instax film. I even used the Instax Square platform along with Jollylook’s processor to build the world’s first edible instant film camera: analog.cafe/r/building-the…. In fact, there are tons of options for Instax film out there, and it appears that we may finally get an option that approaches the genius of the SX-70.
10ARTCC is a Shenzhen-based business that had previously built Instax backs for Hasselblad cameras and several other accessories (see their store here: shop.10art.cc/en/store). Late last month, they announced their new project: POCKET FOLD 66 — an SX-70 look-alike with full SLR capability that uses Instax Square film.
The preorder for the first batch of cameras has already sold out (at $633 a piece), although the public release date and the final price are still not known.
Some details can be found on this page: 10art.cc/en/10design-en/17…. You can switch the page to use English in the top nav, although it appears that it gives a machine translation. Still, that’s enough to glean the full specs of an upcoming unit:
Body size: 16cm x 10cm x 4.5cm (folded with the viewfinder).
Jason’s early review of the Harman Phoenix II is a strange but captivating video essay that criticizes the product while showing some of the best-looking photos on the channel.
It’s not easy to break free from the influencer curse, where early access to a free sample entices the author to give a positive review. It’s not just the free sample, it’s the privilege to lead the conversation in a way that brings attention to both the product and the author as a cohort.
To be fair, being perfectly objective when talking about anything other than straight facts is impossible. Even with all the technical details and edit-free scanning techniques, I review film and film cameras from the position of a person who loves this medium. This means I’m excited about films like Phoenix, their potential, and the wild experiments you can do with these technically imperfect emulsions today (like developing them as a slide with Rodinal: analog.cafe/r/harman-phoen…).
But in this video, Jason is being straight with the viewer: the new film is grainy, with hard-to-control colours, despite the massive improvement over the original (review here: analog.cafe/r/harman-phoen…). That said, you can still expect the millennial deadpan humour and outstanding photography from his new upload, along with something new: an ironic use of extreme slow-mo.
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