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.
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.”
Everything you say about the Super-B’s beauty and quality is spot-on. But the lubricant for its unusual double-leaf shutter had a tendency to stiffen with age. Mine did, and I tried an equally unusual way to clean the gummed mechanisms WITHIN the camera. The shutter still works 1.5 years later, and the method is described in this 35mmc article-- 35mmc.com/24/01/2024/shoot… -- along with a discovery about the camera’s ability to take super-macros without using Zeiss-Ikon’s expensive macro lens. I hope the article (and its two following installments) prove helpful and interesting!
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.
Excellent, I’m looking forward to reading about it then!
I’ve recently bought a half-frame camera for everyday shooting and it will likely take me some time to go through 70 exposures. I was thinking about which film to use that would work well for overcast weather — I think Portra 400 or Cinestill 400 would be best, but also a bit on the expensive side for everyday kind of shooting (though the doubled number of photos mitigates that somewhat I guess), and homemade Cinestill has the already mentioned drawback. I guess I’ll just go for Kodak Gold then! haha.
Anyway, thanks for your reply and keep up the good job with the blog!
Funny you ask, I’m working on an article about this exact thing! CineStill absolutely does more to Vision 3 film than just remove the remjet. I found a host of issues trying to make one at home that aren’t a problem on the branded rolls.
Hey, I have a question about remjet-removed Kodak Vision films. I’ve been buying some local “homemade Cinestill” films lately, but the seller warned me not to keep them in the camera for too long, especially in high temperatures and especially when it comes to 250D — he said the film base changes its colour to deep red when exposed to heat which results in strong colour shifts. I’m wondering if you’ve come across anything like that. I’ll likely have to try it out myself, but maybe this is the reason why Cinestill 400D has apparently had some tweaks applied to it in addition to just removing the remjet — maybe they did something to it to prevent the film base discolouration.
To celebrate the release of this new emulsion, I spent weeks preparing an article about processing Phoenix films into slides using the most common chemicals in a photographer’s bathroom: Rodinal and a regular C-41 kit.
Expect unusual results and budget at least an extra 30 minutes of development time. This is an experimental technique for an experimental film; your results may vary. I’ve published a few starting times, temperatures, and dilutions that should yield decent results; I’ve also mentioned a few techniques in this article for improving your odds.
Good luck, enjoy the new film, and let me know what you think :)
In 35mm, Phoenix II still appears fairly grainy in high-resolution scans, yet it’s significantly smoother than other new small-batch film stocks (like Lomography Color’92, analog.cafe/r/lomochrome-c…).
Other than shooting the newer emulsion, there’s one more way to dramatically reduce grain on Harman Phoenix films: develop it as a slide film!
Unfortunately, the datasheets for either Phoenix films don’t share RMS or PGI numbers (both measure how “grainy” the film may appear. I suppose we’ll have to take Harman’s word when they say that Phoenix II has finer grain.
Of course, in medium format, it looks to have very fine grain.
Seeing sample photos alone may not reveal the changes Harman had implemented. Side-by-side comparisons can be helpful, but we don’t have those either.
Thankfully, I have spec sheets with film characteristic curves from both versions of this film, which reveal quite a bit of info about the changes the company made to Phoenix II.
The pink lines that illustrate the dynamic range of Phoenix II (drawn in colour), whereas the black lines are Phoenix I. The new film appears to have an extra stop of DR, which may result in slightly more detail in the highlights and shadows of high-contrast scenes. Though not as wide as that of Kodak Gold, a budget emulsion that offers 8 stops of dynamic range (analog.cafe/r/kodak-gold-f…), Phoenix II shows a significant improvement.
Another thing that those graphs reveal is the density of the negatives. On the right, the numbers indicate the level of opacity the film may exhibit once developed; note how the new film, Phoenix II, displays significantly less overall density. This can make scanning this film easier on some devices. Which is nice!
One of the key upgrades to Harman Phoenix is the contrast control and dynamic range extension.
Dynamic range is roughly the ability of film to simultaneously show detail in shadows and highlights. Films with low dynamic range may struggle to display details in both shadows and highlights in high-contrast scenes, even when the exposure is spot on. (More about dynamic range: analog.cafe/r/dynamic-rang…).
Low dynamic range isn’t necessarily a bad thing. For example, slide films are known for their low DR; while that does make shooting such films more difficult, they produce striking high contrast without the need to make any adjustments after scanning.
But when it comes to colour-negative films, traditional films like Kodak Portra 800 can have up to 12.5 stops of DR (analog.cafe/r/kodak-portra…), which would yield lower contrast but greater flexibility and ease of use.
Phoenix II, according to the datasheet, improves this piece of their emulsion by extending the dynamic range slightly, potentially making it an easier film to shoot.
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Dmitri edited on Jul 30, ‘25
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