I’ve had another look at this popular article that reviews the smallest fully mechanical 35mm film camera ever made. The Rollei 35 S is also the second-smallest full-frame camera to date (including all modern digital cameras). A very impressive little machine, despite being designed in the 1950s.
Besides being a very portable camera, the Rollei 25 S also features a capable 𝒇2.8 Sonnar lens design that renders sharp images and silky-smooth bokeh.
A highly anticipated panoramic Widelux recreation and a small avalanche of fake YouTube videos.
SilverBridges, a new camera manufacturer founded by a well-known Hollywood actor and the founders of an analogue photography print magazine, has just unveiled their new camera: WideluxX™ Prototype 0001. The camera is a faithful recreation of the original, highly regarded swing-lens panoramic camera, made with modern materials and tooling in Germany.
The issue with the vintage Widelux cameras is the imprecise manufacturing process, which made them difficult to repair. A factory fire that destroyed all documents and blueprints for the cameras made repairs (which often need documentation) even more difficult, including the job of this company trying to recreate this incredible product.
Thankfully for vintage Widelux owners, SilverBridges aims to make its new camera fully compatible with vintage Wideluxes, including full parts interchangeability for (relatively) easy repairs.
Lomography just launched MC-A, a new premium point-and-shoot¹ 35mm film camera!
Lomo MC-A is Lomography’s first autofocus design. It features a 32mm f/2.8-16 multi-coated Lomo glass lens, a 1/500s top shutter speed, manual controls, and a metal body. The camera is available for *pre-order* at $549 (links below).
¹ — MC-A uses a film advance lever, which may not make it a point-and-shoot camera according to some definitions. However, its autoexposure and autofocus modes, along with a DX code reader and a built-in flash, certainly make it convenient.
MC-A is built to give avid photographers a lot of control. Exposures can be set to aperture-priority or fully manual, and there are up to two stops of exposure compensation. The DX code reader can be overridden with a custom film ISO (12-3200). The built-in flash (GN9) offers creative modes and coloured filters; plus, there’s a PC socket for an external flash. Autofocus can also be bypassed manually via zone focusing. Last but not least: unlimited double-exposures, bulb mode, self-timer, filter thread (30.5mm), and a rechargeable CR2 battery (included; recharges via USB-C).
In this episode, Daren reviews Kodak’s financial statements, explains why its stock price recently tanked, and discusses how the business is doing. We chat about money, a factory explosion, toxic chemicals, the future of film photography, and film prices.
The differences between those films that some reviews may show could have resulted from automatic or deliberate scanning software adjustments and film expiration dates. Whatever the case may be, those films can not be distinguished on their own if processed the same way.
I know this because I got identical-looking photos on both films (all fresh), having tested them under controlled light and inverted using software I wrote. And if that’s not convincing enough, both films have the same identifying marks in the margins — an ID Kodak, Ilford, and others put on their films. These IDs have been traditionally used to tell films apart.
I could even tell those films were the same by how thick they felt in my hand when I loaded them into my development tank. When I did the test, I compared those films to a third Kodak film in this category: Kodak Gold. Kodak Gold looks nearly identical to ColorPlus (I’ve tested that earlier: analog.cafe/r/kodak-gold-v…), but it has different edge markings and it’s noticeably thicker, whereas both ColorPlus and Kodacolor 200 felt the same.
Updated: “The Smallest 35mm Film Camera Ever Made.”
It’s been several years since I’ve written an article about the smallest 35mm film cameras. Of course, the list hasn’t really changed, as the task of building such gadgets is immense — but my understanding of what makes them great and product photos has evolved slightly — this update encompasses all the new things I’ve learned:
This list features over a dozen cameras in various price ranges with distinct feature sets. Some are expensive, titanium-clad instruments, such as the Minolta TC-1; others are very affordable and still incredibly small.
This blog has been around since 2017. Even though ColorPlus, the film, hasn’t changed much since (other than the packaging), I’ve shot a lot more of it, and my understanding of photography has changed, hopefully for the better, in these eight-plus years. This update features new photos, fresh insights, and a new product shot of a redesigned box for this article:
I’m also incorporating some of the things I’m learning about the new Kodacolor films, including better ways to scan and invert colour negatives, as well as new sources to learn more about photography.
Two new film cameras are being built right now in Japan and China.
It’s been an exciting week for film photographers with the launch of two new Kodak films and Lomography’s first ISO 200 colour-negative 35mm film. But it appears that we aren’t done yet, as Leica Rumours has just shared leaked photos of Light Lens Lab’s progress on their Barnack-based replica film camera and the ongoing work on a handmade “finest mechanical 35mm film camera” by a Japanese maker (pictured).
LLL is a Chinese manufacturer that’s close to bringing a totally new black-and-white film to the market (here’s the latest from them: analog.cafe/comments/b7gh). But the ambitions of their outfit stretch beyond film for still cameras — they’ve expressed interest in manufacturing reels for motion picture studios, and now it appears they are also working on a Leica clone. See the Leica Rumours post for photos: leicarumors.com/2025/10/03…
Suzuki Handmade Camera Factory is a new-to-me small camera maker that’s working on a brand-new mechanical machined-metal camera. The maker documents his progress on their website, handmadecamera.com, and Instagram, instagram.com/suzuki_handm….
Kodak + Reebok shoes collab: JIC you haven’t had enough this week.
The new Kodacolor films sold out the hour they were announced. The new films, according to Kodak themselves, are their existing films in new packaging (though it’s unclear whether they were modified in any way, as that could still be the case). Clearly, we love the Kodak brand, and its recent global success has been documented (see: petapixel.com/2025/07/01/k…). Well, know that there’s one more thing you can buy with that name on the side: Reebok shoes.
I haven’t worn Reebok shoes in a while, but I’m quite fond of my Polaroid Nike shoes, designed around the skateboard aesthetic (no, I will not drag them across the tape!) I even reviewed them here: analog.cafe/r/nike-sb-x-po…
Anyway, here’s the link to the Reeboks. There are two styles:
Lomography launches LomoChrome Classicolor, its first¹ ISO 200 colour-negative film.
And it’s nothing like Kodacolor — more on that later. The film is available for pre-order today (est. shipping November 2025) for $11.90 in 35mm/36exp. with DX codes². 120 and 110 formats expected to come next!
Lomography describes their LomoChrome Classicolor 200 film as having “true to life colors with the classic charm of analogue photography” and “a regular color negative film boasting remarkable adaptability across various environments and lighting conditions” — which they attribute to the limited-edition 2025 Formula.
It’s official: Eastman Kodak’s two new films are Kodacolor 100 and Kodacolor 200. Here’s why they are so special.
What are those films? I’ll answer that, but here’s a better question first: How are these films distributed? This is the first time in over a decade that Kodak is finally selling film without the shadow of past bankruptcy standing between the factory and the photographer.
A day after the leaked new box design was revealed, Kodak’s Instagram account posted a message with several sample images:
“For the first time in over a decade, Kodak will sell these films directly to distributors, in an effort to increase supply and help create greater stability in a market where prices have fluctuated.”
@dolo_foto showed off what appears to be a brick of the new 35mm Kodak film on Threads, promising to share the results soon: threads.com/@dolo_foto/pos….
Some folks have suggested that Kodacolor 100 may be the same or similar film to Kodak Pro Image 100 (reviewed here: analog.cafe/r/kodak-pro-im…) — if that’s the case, I would be very happy, as it’s my current favourite choice for both casual and product photography.
The recent Canada Post strike escalation may impact film and camera sales in Canada and elsewhere.
If you’ve ever shipped anything from Canada to the US (or the other way around), you may be aware of a slew of new challenges to commerce between our two countries — well, they just got worse.
Shipping to and from Canada via EMS (the standard and often the cheapest and most reliable international shipping method used by services like USPS, Royal Mail, and Australia Post) got disrupted last Thursday when Canada Post escalated its strike from limited service to a complete halt.
Canadians looking to get vintage camera gear or film may have to pay higher fees and deal with services like FedEx.
Please note that film Q is currently being verified by Dropbox to become a production app. While this is happening, new film Q accounts may not be created.
Analog Sparks announces their third year’s award winners 🎉
The international analogue photography competition has recently announced its numerous winners, including the Photographer of the Year 2025 award, which went to Peter Varsics.
I’m also happy to see Yvonne Hanson, with whom I worked on numerous projects at Analog.Cafe, as a 2nd place winner in the Architecture category with her series “Cacophony,” analogsparksawards.com/win….
New cameras, film, lab services, and sales at the shop!
FilmBase, a five-star-rated Etsy shop I’ve been running since 2019, is now restocked with the latest additions, like a fully serviced Ricoh GR1s, hand-rolled film with lab services, and a very cool Nikon FM2 with a titanium honeycomb shutter.
With today’s prices, film photography may feel like a luxury. But has it *really* been cheap, ever?
Annoyingly, the real answer is, “it depends.”
Seeing a favourite roll of film selling for a few bucks more than the last month isn’t an indicator of an average film price. There are hundreds of film brands out there (analog.cafe/app/all-film), and they all have distinct logistics, pricing, delivery fees, taxes, etc. It’s a complicated world.
I’ve been tracking an average price of 135/36exp. film rolls across various stores in the US/Canada, Europe, and HK since 2018, in a graph that visualizes those trends (analog.cafe/app/film-price…). It’s the only one of this kind. But even this graph is incomplete: it doesn’t factor in the inflation.
Polaroid to launch a new Now camera and I-Type frames design in collaboration with Thrasher skate mag this Tuesday.
A legendary skateboarding publication got its mark in the lineup of new instant cameras with dip-dyed paint designs on Polaroid Now Generation 3 – Thrasher Edition (polaroid.com/pages/thrashe…) and rad new frames (11 designs): polaroid.com/pages/thrashe….
Both will be available starting September 16. $150 for the camera and $22 for the film.
Kodak Flexicolor (now, Kodak Colour Negative Chemistry) is back! — in Europe.
Dupli is an official distributor of Kodak film development chemistry that’s been gradually returning to the market following a hiatus due to supply and other challenges.
The US distribution resumed last year by Dupli in collaboration with CineStill. Starting today, the European Dupli store and local suppliers will begin selling Kodak’s colour negative development chemistry (previously named Flexicolor, rebranded to Kodak Colour Negative Chemistry).
Dupli describes Kodak Colour Negative Chemistry as “trusted… used by generations of photographers to produce vibrant, true-to-life colour prints. Designed for both minilab and professional operations, Kodak Colour Negative Chemistry offers the consistency, reliability, and image quality that analogue photographers expect.”
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