New films (TBD) from Harman and CineStill + ULF orders!
During the past few days, both Harman and CineStill posted teasers of their upcoming releases; meanwhile, Ilford is now taking orders for ultra-large format (ULF) film.
Harman’s tease on Treads (threads.com/@harmanphoto/p…, and elsewhere) shares a date, June 17th, as a launch spot for their upcoming something. Word on the street is that it’s an update to their Phoenix emulsion (analog.cafe/r/harman-phoen…). Let’s see if that’s correct, just a few days left!
As some of you may know, Harman uses the Ilford brand name to sell black-and-white film they make (if this is a surprise, read this: analog.cafe/r/harman-phoen…). Anyways, they are now taking orders for odd and very large film sizes at your local retailers, see: ilfordphoto.com/ultra-larg…
Lastly, CineStill has teased three upcoming announcements with a cryptic “+” graphic on Instagram (instagram.com/p/DKft2OBMLG…) — some photographers are guessing that it may have something to do with a positive (slide) film. Let’s see how that pans out.
By the way, I’ve asked CineStill about Kodak’s latest announcement that could affect their products — but I haven’t heard back. Perhaps they’re busy prepping for the launch. Context: analog.cafe/comments/6lnk
Omnar Bertele 50mm 𝒇2 MC FLB is a modern recreation of the classic Jena lens formula from 1934.
The founders, Chris (of Skyllaney Opto-Mechanics) and Hamish (of 35mmc.com), have been making premium machined brass rehousings of classic lenses since 2021. Bertele is their first project to utilize an advanced focus correction mechanism (FLB) with new glass elements crafted using a 91-year-old formula by Dr. Ludwig Bertele. Designed, manufactured, hand-finished, and hand-assembled in the UK.
The Omnar founders’ love for the Bertele formula had originally brought them together. But unlike their other creations (see: analog.cafe/comments/l1rc), the nearly century-old glass is not suitable for rehousing. The original design suffers from degraded coating, easily-scratchable glass, and focus recompilation errors that yield soft images at medium apertures and near focus.
Omnar Bertele 50mm 𝒇2 MC FLB resolves these recompilation errors using the Floating Lens Block design, which mechanically nudges the elements into an optimal position for tack-sharp focus and smooth, classic bokeh, without any changes to the original lens formula. The multi-coated glass elements are made anew, encased in a premium metal chassis for the Leica M-Mount (which helps further resolve the close-focus recompilation).
Bertele 50mm 𝒇2 MC FLB, starting at £2750, will be available at
Jollylook is making affordable mechanical instant film backs for the Mamiya RB67, RZ67, and other MF cameras.
Last month, the company announced the completion of their hand-crankable DIY instant film development units with an Instax Wide back — today, they’re working on adapting the same technology to medium format film cameras.
One of the nicest things about film cameras is that many of them require no batteries or have no electronics at all. But that’s not the case for most instant film cameras, which at least have a motorized film ejection mechanism. The peel-apart film is very hard to come by, so one of the very few options for going instant-batteryless is Jollylook’s system.
Jollylook’s camera design (eg, analog.cafe/r/film-photogr…) relies on intricate cardboard and plywood assembly that may not always give reliable results. However, the plastic+metal film rollers & frame work nicely in DIY projects (like analog.cafe/r/building-the…). We’ll soon find out how well this technology holds up for medium format cameras. If successful, it may become an affordable way to quickly convert your medium format camera into an instant film camera.
Light Lens Lab outlined ambitious goals for 2025 and shared more samples of their newly formulated black-and-white film.
“This emulsion reflects the heart of our film project: to create film materials without historial [sic] baggage, third-party patent entanglements, or manufacturer dependency. It is built from the ground up — powered by creativity and user feedback. Our prototype assembly line is set to begin operation in June 2025, with V3 emulsion production following shortly thereafter.” — @lightlenslab.com/blogs/upc…
Light Lens Lab (located in Shangrao, China) is on the cusp of releasing a newly-formulated black-and-white film which, according to their blog post, would feature “the widest colour sensitivity range among civilian black-and-white films, achieving a range of around 380-700nm.”
The new film should be available in 135, 120, and sheet formats. But there’s more:
LLL is working on peel-apart film, an ISO 400 traditional grain film (the emulsion that’s nearing production is an ISO 125 T-Grain; what is T-Grain: analog.cafe/r/ilford-delta…), motion picture formats, inc. 70mm, and researching colour slide films, including the possibility of resurrecting the K-14 process (a.k.a., the Kodachrome process).
In an unconfirmed announcement published by Memorylab on Instagram (instagram.com/p/DKQpkdhS6EF), it appears that Kodak may be forgoing the remjet layer in their future products.
Technically, this would mean that unmodified Kodak Vision 3 films will be suitable for normal C-41 development, although the ban on bulk purchases remains in effect (analog.cafe/comments/up67). The remjet layer’s anti-static and anti-halation properties will be integrated using another technology: Anti-Halation Undercoat or “AHU.”
Cinema Shorts and other brands that sell repackaged Kodak Vision 3 film warn that those films can not be developed in normal colour chemicals.
The remjet backing is designed to counter static discharges and halations. It’s the black carbon layer on the back of the Vision 3 films that can ruin developer chemicals if not properly removed, as described here: analog.cafe/r/how-to-remov….
Remjet is a defining quality of those Kodak films, and its absence is also defining for films like CineStill 800T, which are the same films but with remjet removed after the fact, creating a unique look: analog.cafe/r/cinestill-80….
RETO PANO is a new film camera with a switchable panoramic mask, an “ultra-wide” 22mm lens, and a built-in flash.
RETO’s line of seemingly simple plastic cameras is more ambitious than they may lead on. RETO PANO is not an exception.
One of RETO’s first entries into the market was RETO 3D, a 2019 Kickstarter project and a fresh take on a cult-classic Nishika N8000. On this blog, I reviewed H35N, a half-frame plastic camera with a glass and an aspherical lens element, which I think made it the sharpest camera in its class: analog.cafe/r/kodak-ektar-…
RETO PANO adds a switchable mask to the full-frame exposures to produce panoramic images, similarly to how Minolta P’s does it: analog.cafe/r/minolta-ps-r… — but in a slightly lighter package, weighing just 93g/3⅓oz.
PANO uses a single AAA battery for flash, although it shouldn’t need it for most shots. Its shutter is fixed at 1/100s and its lens is a fixed focus acrylic 22mm 𝒇9.5.
First, an update to the earlier posts about @aymenfilmm, an account that shares AI-generated images and labels them as film. They have disabled comments and quotes on their account.
I don’t know who’s behind @aymenfilmm, but it seems understandable, given that many of the comments call them out for posting AI images and tagging them as film. Some of those comments are mean, though their previous actions suggest that they simply do not want to reveal how their images were created. Still, this community cut-off hasn’t stopped @aymenfilmm from sharing; in fact, they’re posting more often.
Meanwhile, another post came across my Threads stream where @scanmyphotos used an AI-generated image to promote their services (of scanning film). The camera in that image has no take-up spool chamber, the film canister has a very strange font and no branding, and the whole scene concept is ripped off from the One Hour Photo film by Mark Romanek, starring Robin Williams.
A further look at @scanmyphotos’s reveals more AI-generated promos.
Updated: film Q v1.0.0-beta.10 adds support for lossless TIFF output in 16-bit colour.
While the low-compression full 4:4:4 chroma JPEG files that film Q outputs have enough data for significant edits without distortions, there may be a time when more colour data is needed.
For example, if you need to make significant corrections to exposure, contrast, saturation, or colour balance of your scans, working with a lossless 16-bit per channel TIFF file can make a big difference.
High bitrate files can help reduce noise and prevent banding, but they require a true 16-bit colour processing pipeline, which film Q now supports.
But: TIFF files are HUGE compared to JPEG, and they are often larger than camera RAW files. Thus, I suggest you use this option sparingly.
Thanks for your support! And please let me know if you find any issues with this app or anywhere on Analog.Cafe.
A Threads/Instagram account is trying to pass AI-generated content as photos shot on film.
I believe that the manner and the tools used to create images matter. It’s why we celebrate film photography, marvel at the technique/timing, and shun ill-gotten content.
This belief is the reason I felt deceived and disappointed to learn that one of the accounts I follow hides behind plausible deniability to present their work as if it was shot on film.
The images the account is posting are edited to look like they were shot on film, which in itself is impressive. Unless you zoom in on every photo, examine their portfolio, and find some shots where the physics don’t quite make sense (like in the image attached here), you may, like me, assume that the poster is genuine.
Unfortunately, instead of showcasing their skills to folks who would appreciate them for what they are, @aymenfilmm chose to delete comments that ask them to do the same. And to the commenters who ask about their technique and equipment, they reply with seemingly AI-generated responses that mention film stocks and cameras that can not create the sorts of images they refer to.
This is major bad vibes for folks like me, who may now have even more trouble trusting what they see online.
Of course, this is not the worst thing that could happen, ever, but it sucks to see this deceptive attitude manifest within a niche built around physical medium meant to brings us closer to the real world.
Jollylook completes its range of hand-cranked instant film development units with an Inxtax Wide back.
Jollylook is a Ukrainian cameramaker known for their instant film cameras made of mostly wood and paper. But the company also has a following of DIY enthusiasts who enjoy Jollylook’s self-assembly camera kits and their film development units, which can be adapted to any camera.
I used one of these hand-crankable devices to make the world’s first functional instant film camera out of gingerbread: analog.cafe/r/building-the…). In fact, the whole camera was built around the Square development unit’s frame. I also have the Instax Mini version that’s been waiting to be used in another camera idea of mine (more on that later).
The Instax Wide version of Jollylook’s development unit is now another thing I want. These units make building film cameras from scratch a lot easier, thanks to the instant (film) feedback and the chassis, which are usually the most difficult part of simple film cameras to get right.
For example, the LEGO camera had to implement a very intricate lockable system to work, which took a lot of parts: analog.cafe/r/hands-on-wit…).
New film, Kentmere 200, and the state of BW film manufacturing 🌅.
Ilford released a new budget-friendly ISO 200 black-and-white film, Kentmere PAN 200. This is their first addition to the monochrome film range in a long while.
The challenge in marketing and selecting BW film is that it’s hard to visually identify. A survey of nearly 600 analogue photographers revealed that most of us can’t tell our BW films apart: analog.cafe/r/photographer… ¹.
However, there are consequential differences between black-and-white films, even if they’re hard to see, which can make or break a photo: analog.cafe/r/how-to-choos….
Thankfully, BW film production has been recovering from setbacks and even thriving lately, giving us more tools to produce great images. Film Ferrania is back on track (kosmofoto.com/2025/04/film…), which is great because their film has the most recognizable look (see ¹,☝️). Light Lens Lab made a post describing their progress with a new film sensitizing equipment: lightlenslab.com/blogs/upc…, and I even saw freshly-sensitized Film Washi in the wild (now mostly sold out). Meanwhile, Kodak has dropped prices on Tri-X: analog.cafe/r/colour-film-…
Updated: film Q v1.0.0-beta.8 makes inverting film negatives a little easier.
film Q launched as beta just over a month ago, and it has already inverted more than 10,000 film negatives. Thank you all for trying film Q and for your feedback thus far!
This new release fixes the app’s account authentication system so that it no longer requires you to sign in to Dropbox periodically. The work involved is deceptively complicated… I did my best to catch all the bugs before committing the code, but please let me know if you find any new ones.
There are also updates to the interface, which include new animations, transitions, and an overall smoother experience. 🧑💻
I first learned about Pentax working on a brand new film camera in 2022: analog.cafe/r/film-photogr…. But the company must’ve begun the process much earlier than that, starting with recruiting engineers who worked on film cameras like K1000 (analog.cafe/r/asahi-pentax…).
However, there had been a recent setback. The president of RICOH (which owns Pentax) resigned (asahi.com/ajw/articles/150…), and so had TKO (kosmofoto.com/2025/03/rico…). Pentax is now reconsidering whether it should pursue its PENTAX Film Camera Project further.
Now, it appears the Pentax 17’s continued success in the turbulent market must define the fate of the Film Camera Project.
Updated: film Q, a web app for inverting film negatives in batches.
Version v1.0.0-beta.6 includes several important bug fixes and a new feature, Auto Start.
With the Auto Start setting turned on, film Q will automatically process files as soon as they are uploaded. This can be helpful for speeding up the workflow, especially if you scan directly into your Dropbox folder.
For example, you can set up a folder on your computer, which will automatically invert your negatives as soon as you place your files in it. Watch this video to see how it works: youtube.com/watch?v=OSp3Qh….
This update also fixes dark or distorted results when processing DNG files made with Silverfast scanner software and simplifies the user interface (fewer buttons). See help docs for more info: analog.cafe/app/film-q/help.
Invert v1.2-beta
Invert is a computer vision component of film Q. It calculates values for histogram equalization and manages camera RAW interpreter software.
This update fixes the image area detection mechanism, which has previously caused blank frames with certain types of scans. Version v1.2-beta also improves the saturation levels for camera RAW formats and colours on frames that may have scanning issues near the fringes.
Polaroid film reacts to sun exposure by fading, which has long been considered its downside. But this disadvantage (common amongst most printed materials) can be used creatively to make fun designs that reveal themselves after a few days of exposure, while saving birds from hitting a window.
I made a short video to demonstrate how easy Sol Prints are, what they look like, and how does it feels to reveal them after all the time spent waiting for a result: youtube.com/shorts/tjlqrhC….
For more details on how this works and how to make one (or a few) Sol Prints yourself, see this article: analog.cafe/r/how-to-make-….
Flying with film? DO NOT X-RAY — a new travel pouch by Sissi Lu may help.
Sissi Lu, a New York-based photographer, has just launched her DO NOT X-RAY Film Pouch product, available at most camera stores in the US and Canada, and directly from Sissi’s website: sissilu.com.
The pouches are designed to organize your film rolls/packs and communicate with the security agent at an airport where you’d like to have your film hand-checked in 27 languages.
I asked Sissi a few questions about her creation ahead of launch. In turn, she revealed a success story of a well-received product for photographers intending to travel with film.
My first question was about the motivation behind it. Here’s her reply:
“It started from a personal need. I had a long international trip planned at the end of 2023, and it was my first time travelling with only film cameras—110, 135, 120, and Polaroid. I was honestly so stressed about X-ray and CT scanners damaging my unexposed and undeveloped film. To protect them—and to avoid the language barrier at airport security—I printed a simple label in multiple languages asking for a hand check and stuck it on a clear pouch.”
“When I shared a photo of it on my Instagram story, my DM was flooded with people asking where it was from.”
Last year, Daren, Yvonne, and I proved that you can. We tried a whole range of unconventional developers, and our “Sativa Cannanol” mixture proved to be very effective for low-grain, high-quality results with Ilford HP5+.
This pot-based recipe has a development time of 420 seconds at 69℉ (no joke). We tested it with our wonderful model, Lily, who helped us build a chart of exposures used to determine its effective ISO.
You can find the instructions for developing your black-and-white film with “Sativa Cannanol” and other unusual mixtures here: analog.cafe/r/i-developed-….
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