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!
A small update to improve the free reader experience on Analog.Cafe v3.29.112+.
July has been a busy month; despite my intentions to update the apps, I spent most of the time writing, developing, and photographing. However, there’s one small feature I’d like to mention here quickly, which I think will help a few blog readers.
A reader expressed their frustration earlier this month about the persistent “View this image in HD” labels overlayed above all feature article panels.
I founded and grew this website on the premise that it can function without invasive advertising messages. Having reviewed the signed-out user experience with the reader’s perspective in mind, I’ve decided to add an option to hide those labels for 30 days for all visitors, including folks who are not signed in at all.
To hide the message, click on the “View this image in HD” label and select “Hide for Now” in the pop-up.
I can’t promise to make all requested changes on this website, but I am listening and I appreciate the effort it takes to share your opinion with me. ❤️
A few small updates to navigation in Analog.Cafe v3.29.95:
- The “Settings” button on the bottom left is more consistent, so that it’s easier to sign in for returning visitors.
- The most prominent button on the top nav is now “Apps” (previously it was “News”). The news can still be easily reached from the homepage.
- I’ve changed how the “Apps” and “Tutorial” buttons look there. This is a cosmetic update, apologies to anyone who’s used to the old icons!
- Most apps now have three dots, ︙ , next to the title. Clicking those will bring up a menu with more info about the app, a way to refresh the screen, and a way to share the app.
If you have any suggestions or concerns, please let me know!
Updated: Analog.Cafe v3.29.78 fixes a previously hidden bug that may’ve caused recent service disruptions.
A memory leak in the application router crashed Analog.Cafe last night. There’s been a steady increase in traffic to the website which caused a minor bug to suddenly become a serious issue.
I spent today’s afternoon debugging Next.js router events (which were the ultimate cause of the issue, although it took a while to figure that out).
Analog.Cafe should now feel a bit faster and it’s ready to receive more visitors. Welcome, new readers!
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.
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. 🧑💻
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.
Previously, I referred to the technique that sets the black-and-white points of an image to their respective maximum values as “histogram equalization.” That was incorrect. This technique should be called “histogram stretching” or “normalization.”
I’ve corrected all the articles and documentation references to use either “histogram stretching” or “normalization” when talking about this topic.
“Histogram normalization” is a wrong term for what I’ve been explaining, but it is also a (different) image processing technique. You can learn more about both terms on Wikipedia.
Thank you reader, who pointed this out! Feedback like this helps me improve the quality of this website and its content. I appreciate it.
film Q is a web app that batch-inverts film scans right here on Analog.Cafe: analog.cafe/app/filmq
Version 1.0.0-beta adds support for new RAW formats: RAF, NEF, and DNG (in addition to the initial support of ARW).
Additionally, several bugs were fixed, including one that caused issues with unusual characters in file names.
Note: film Q is still in beta, which means that there may be issues and missing features. Please email concerns and feature requests to [email protected]
Invert v1.0-beta
Invert is a computer vision component of film Q. It calculates values for histogram equalization and manages camera RAW interpreter software.
This version is an initial release. It will be developed in parallel to the host film Q app server.
Analog.Cafe v3.28.5
This version of the Analog.Cafe website opens up film Q to all Analog.Cafe GOLD members (in time for the announcement in today’s email: analog.cafe/r/greenscaling…). It also introduces several fixes and enhancements to the film Q web interface.
film Q User Guide is now public, while the app is still in private beta.
film Q is a new app that inverts film negatives on the Analog.Cafe website without the need to install any software. It connects to your Dropbox account and processes your files in the cloud.
This app will have several advantages over traditional film inversion apps, such as hands-off batch processing, zero resource usage, and an open and consistent inversion algorithm.
My goal with this app is to show you exactly what the inversion software does so that there are no unanswered questions about your exposure, film development quality, or the impact of your software on the image.
This app is still in active development and is only available for testing upon request. However, you can get a glimpse of how it looks and works through the help docs that are now live:
If you’d like to try this app or have any questions or feedback, please let me know. I want this new product to be as helpful as possible for folks who scan film at home.
When developing black-and-white film, you may need to calculate the concentrate vs water (dilution) measurements. These measurements change depending on how much solution you’d like to mix.
For example, 300ml or 10oz of developer solution will cover a single 35mm film — but what does that mean for water and concentrate volumes if you’re developing with Rodinal at 1+25 dilution?
To get the exact water and concentrate volumes needed for the 300ml mix, you’ll need to solve this equation:
x = (1/25) × (300 — x)
…Where “x” is the amount of developer needed.
The answer is 11.54ml of developer, which leaves us with 300 — 11.54 = 288.46ml of water. To check the answer, we can divide 288.46 by 11.54, which gives us 25 (one part developer, 25 parts water). This answer should be rounded to the more practical 290ml and 12ml, or it can be converted to 10oz and 12ml for the US/UK beakers.
(Note that the rounding should ideally differ for ounces and millilitres, and it may be prudent to round the concentrate volume up.)
Chemical Dilution Calculator does all of the above. It also automatically switches default measurement units based on your location and lets you see the precise measurements if needed.
The Chemical Dilution Calculator is part of the Chem Log app. To use it, launch this page: analog.cafe/app/chem-log, and click the purple “Dilution Calculator” button.
I’ve added free trials to the GOLD subscriber-only apps and articles on Analog.Cafe to help you decide whether a membership is worth the commitment.
You can try Chem Log (analog.cafe/app/chem-log), Film Price Trends (analog.cafe/app/film-price…), and Bulk Roll Calculator (analog.cafe/app/bulk-roll-…) for 7 days with no limits and no credit card. On top of that, you can try all of the website features and member-only articles, like the latest, “Pushing Ilford HP5+ to ISO 100,000” (analog.cafe/r/pushing-ilfo…), for 14 days with a card. I will remind you a week before the trial runs out.
Memberships helped keep Analog.Cafe ad-free and 97% free for thousands of readers from 201 countries in 2024. Thank you all who have, are currently, or are considering becoming GOLD members in 2025. Your support means a lot to this resource and its full-time staff of one!
The search algorithm on Analog.Cafe has got a mini update this weekend (v3.26.27).
Finding a camera, film, or technique you’re looking for should now be easier. I’ve also fixed a few bugs that hid icons when you searched the comments.
It’s still not perfect (as search is a difficult problem to solve), but I think it’s better than the Google search API I used previously. While Google is very good at indexing pages, it doesn’t know how I organize this website and it can’t return rich data like the number of likes on a post.
Please let me know if you see any issues, as it’ll help me improve this part of the blog. Thanks!
Most of the articles on this blog take hours, days, or weeks to create. But the news of a new film, a new camera, or something else happens much faster than that.
This is why I started sharing time-sensitive write-ups and shorter pieces as comments (rather than full articles) and tagged them as #editorial🔥.
Editorial comments are part of this blog’s RSS feed, and I also share them on Mastodon, Bluesky, and Threads to inform the community. But until today, they were off to the side of the main blog content if you visited the website.
This new update (v3.25.76) adds the top three newest Editorial pieces at the top of the News page (analog.cafe/news). You can now get a glance at what’s new in the world of film photography just by visiting that page.
I try not to bother readers who come here for film photography-related stuff with software updates. This one, however, took days to get just right (animation, data transforms, layout) — which is why I wanted to flaunt it a little.
Better support for international readers on Analog.Cafe.
Even though I mostly read, write, and speak English here, film photographers are an international community. This blog was developed and first published out of Chiang Mai (Thailand), a small city with perhaps the most labs per capita in the world (see analog.cafe/r/where-to-dev…). I also get comments and emails in other languages, which is easy as translation tools are pretty good these days.
But because I still live in my anglophone bubble, some international readers (about 1% of you) have had a bad experience on this blog. It blew up with an error message suddenly and unexpectely, simply because of a translation plugin.
The issue is finally fixed. It was a challenging bug to track down and rectify (if you’re technical, you may find this github.com/vercel/next.js/… and this martijnhols.nl/gists/every… helpful). And it would’ve never gotten fixed if no one had told me it was happening (since I don’t use translation tools for English pages).
So thank you all for giving me feedback and reporting bugs over the years!
Please let me know if you ever have issues on this blog, would like to chat about film, or would like to submit an article of your own — nearly half of the submissions I publish here are written by non-native English speakers!
This week, I spent some time improving the “guts” of the Analog.Cafe website. One (small) update I’m particularly proud of is the GOLD member’s homepage, which now features the list of my best picks for Analog.Cafe articles, apps, and features.
You can also sort the list by “All,” which will show you all of my recommendations AND the exclusive content; “Exclusives,” which will show you all the special articles and apps only members have access to; and “Announcements,” which will show you the monthly member letters.
If you’d like to take full advantage of this new design and support Analog.Cafe (and aren’t yet a member), consider subscribing at analog.cafe/gold/get — the memberships are now on sale!
Your first two months are FREE. This month, I am also giving away a camera and a bunch of film to all members (including new members).
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