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).
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….
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.
Analogue Amsterdam just posted an update about their new point-and-shoot film camera, teasing a reveal on September 30th.
Making film cameras, particularly the high-end automatic point-and-shoots, is so difficult that any new business entering the space is often met with strong skepticism. That is still the case for Analogue Amsterdam, a European business that has found a factory capable of building a brand-new, fully featured point-and-shoot camera in 2025.
The skepticism is understandable, given the current track record of zero such cameras produced in the past decade that could match the pinnacle of the Minolta TC-1 (analog.cafe/r/minolta-tc-1…) or the ultra-thin design of the Ricoh GR1 (analog.cafe/r/ricoh-gr1gr1…). Even simpler designs, such as that of the Olympus Mju I (analog.cafe/r/olympus-mju-…), haven’t had the chance to return to the shelves yet.
Analogue aF-1 is like the Mju I in many ways: a €399/$412 camera with a six-element 35mm 𝒇2.8 lens, a Lidar autofocus, autoexposure, motorized film transport, shutter speed up to 1/1000, flash, and a DX-code reader.
RETO launches a tiny KODAK CHARMERA digital 1.6MP keychain camera.
This is the first digital product for RETO, who’s been selling film and making film cameras since 2019. CHARMERAs are Kodak-branded, pendant-sized, and sold in blind boxes (so you’ll never know which of the 7 designs you’ll get). Or you can get a set of all six (minus the limited edition one) for $180. Singles are $30.
RETO says that CHARMERA’s design is inspired by Kodak Fling, which was Kodak’s first 110 disposable camera, released in the 1980s.
CHARMERA’s quarter-inch CMOS sensor uses a 35mm 𝒇2.4 lens to store 1.6MP 1440x1080 JPEGs or 30 fps AVI movies on a Micro SD card, powered by a USB-C rechargeable 200mAh battery. The entire thing is 58mm × 24.5mm × 20mm and weighs 30g. You will need to supply your own memory card (1GB-128GB).
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.
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-…).
Lomography launches Joseph Petzval Focus-coupled Bokeh Control Art Lens Series.
The new 55mm f/1.7, 80.5mm f/1.9, and 35mm f/2 lenses offer creative swirly bokeh control using Joseph Petzval’s original 1840 portrait lens formulas, recalculated and redesigned for modern cameras with full-frame and crop sensors.
The 27mm and 135mm lenses will shortly join the lineup.
“Each lens features stopless aperture and focus control rings, plus a distinct chrome bokeh ring for intuitive control. This launch also marks the first time the Petzval 80.5 mm focal length is available for full-frame mirrorless cameras.”
Analogue AF-1, a point-and-shoot camera in development by Analogue Amsterdam, has just sent an update on their progress.
The brand shares the details of a ready lens prototype, autofocus testing setup, LCD menu with animations (there’s a short clip that demonstrates that), and mechanical updates (battery and lens cover) in their Instagram post (you’ll have to click the next button a few times to get through all of it): instagram.com/p/DMUnXmYCB7P
Analogue Amsterdam promises to share “first images” in August (I’m assuming this is first images taken with the lens and the photos/videos of the prototype itself, which has never been seen by anyone but the select few).
The production stage is to begin in October and deliveries by the end of the year.
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).
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.
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.
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).
Polaroid Flip is a new film camera that uses classic tech to take better photos.
Those of us who grew up in the ‘90s may remember the old boxy Polaroid cameras like the Polaroid Sun 660. I lived in Moscow then, and we had one too. Polaroid Flip appears to be a modern reincarnation of those 600-series.
The Flip uses sonar and a 4-lens step focus just like my Sun 660. Polaroid’s earlier design, Polaroid Now, does not have that ability (later designs got 2-step autofocus).
I’m fascinated by Polaroid’s choice of sonar for autofocus, despite other tech like Lidar being more popular today. But the Flip also does some new things: film packs with a rechargeable battery, under/over exposure warning, a (presumably) more powerful flash, and Bluetooth connectivity with an app for manual control, double-exposures, etc.
Lomography has updated its DigitaLIZA Scanning Kits.
The new DigitaLIZA+ and DigitaLIZA Max modular scanning setups allow phone or camera scanning for multiple roll formats: 35mm, 120, 110, and 127. Medium format scans can be as large as 6×7.
The new backlight included in both kits features CRI 97, which means it emits 97% of wavelengths compared to incandescent light bulbs. Keeping this number as high as possible is crucial for getting accurate colours out of your negatives. Plus, you can use your own backlight instead if you’d prefer.
Both kits use magnets to keep the film flat, whereas the Max includes a phone stand as an additional component.
Lomography released a development tank that makes loading film easier.
The fiddliest task of developing film is feeding it onto reels. Reels arrange it so that there’s spacing/no contact across the entire strip. This allows water and chemicals to flow freely across the entire surface, but it has to be done in darkness.
However, loading film onto reels can be difficult. Everything needs to be done by feel. Your hands are confined to a small space that can get warm quickly. As your hands get warm, the sweat makes the job harder. Films with a thin base, like Lomo 800, can be very frustrating to mount in these cases.
Lomography’s solution is a modular film loader and processing box. A core where you place your film roll is inserted into a plastic “doughnut” piece. You then wind the film from your roll into the “doughnut,” which houses the reels, remove the core with your empty canister and pour chems into the “doughnut.”
Last week, Lomography updated its premium *multi-format* instant film camera designs with Pemberley (pictured) and The Blues.
Lomo’Instant Square Glass works with Instax Square *and* Instax Mini films via an interchangeable film back (compare film dimensions here: analog.cafe/r/instant-film…). It uses a 95mm lens (45mm equivalent — presumably with the square format), and its two apertures: 𝒇10 and 𝒇22 that you’ll need to zone focus (how to zone focus: analog.cafe/r/how-to-zone-…). Its fully automatic shutter can fire between 1/125s and 8s with a 30s max delay in Bulb mode.
With ‘Instant, you get to control flash, multiple exposures, and exposure compensation — but it’s otherwise a fully automatic film camera.
Myriad is a new multi-format holder for scanning film with digital cameras.
This new design by CUTASUNDA (run by Michael Swift from North East of England) accepts virtually all roll film sizes 110, APS, 126, 135, 127, 120/220, etc. The holder is available from the CUTASUNDA website for £99.95 ($125): cutasunda.com/products.html — or you can try your luck at Pentax Forums, where a Myriad giveaway is running until February 21st: pentaxforums.com/articles/…
Myriad was in development for over two years to ensure safe, scratch-free film transport, reliability, and perfectly flat film scanning.
For it to work, you must supply your own light source — a high-CRI LED light panel (such as the excellent Raleno PLV-S192) is recommended. Of course, you’ll also need your digital camera and a stand.
Reveni Labs launches LUMO, a $140 compact incident/reflective light meter with a full-colour display.
The new meter can take readings for ambient and flash units. It can also provide incident colour temperature readout, flash-to-ambient light ratio, flash duration, and discharge curve analysis. It comes with Cine Incident and Cine Reflective modes with shutter angle/framerate selection.
LUMO uses a user-replaceable NiMH rechargeable battery that can be topped up with the built-in USB-C port. For flash, it uses a high-voltage compatible 3.5mm trigger port. The display is a 1.1” full-colour LCD.
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