Analog.Cafe

709 Reviews, Guides, and Essays

How to Make a Pinhole Camera
Easy (5min), Advanced (Day Projects), and Beyond!
October 21, 2025
Whereas most online resources will loosely demonstrate an idea and basic construction, many omit key steps needed to actually take a photo with a pinhole camera or are so dense that they are split into several hard-to-find web pages and tools. This guide fixes that with complete instructions for several levels of pinhole construction, from a simple 5-minute project to multi-day creative adventures. Featuring: paper shutters, sugar lens, and a scary pumpkin. 🎃
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Kodak ColorPlus vs. Kodacolor 200 vs. Kodak Gold
October 9, 2025
Kodak sells a lot of film. When the world asked them for more medium-speed colour-negative film, they answered with three products: Kodak ColorPlus, Kodak Gold, and now the new Kodacolor 200. But seeing how they are not doing a very good job at explaining the difference (if any) between those three films, I spent several days researching and planning an experiment that compares the colours, grain, and dynamic range under various lighting conditions.
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Making Darkroom Prints at Home With Doka Lab
All-Included for Less Than €40… You Don’t Even Need a Film Camera!
October 7, 2025
The dim red lights, hanging papers, and the rapidly appearing black-and-white images are sensations so unique and memorable that they’ve become synonymous with film photography. Doka Lab aims to make this experience more accessible than ever before.
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Mamiya U — a Weird, Fun 35mm Film Camera With a Flaw
A Rare Whole Copy Appears
October 6, 2025
I came across my Mamiya U by chance back in 2020 while browsing eBay. Its unusual design — a square window cut out within a plastic semi-sphere for a round lens with a stark blue ring — screamed ‘80s Terminator chic. Unfortunately, every single copy sold had a disintegrated shutter button, amongst other issues. These cameras didn’t last, yet I still wanted one badly enough to stalk the market for over two years. Finally, in late 2022, I got an opportunity to purchase a mint-condition Mamiya U, which is the subject of this review.
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Film Photography News — September 2025 Recap
Kodak Surprise, Analogue aF-1, Kodak Charmera, Free Film, and Tariffs
September 30, 2025
Analogue Amsterdam shares their new point-and-shoot film camera prototype. A surprise new film from Kodak. Chill: film prices are reasonable (I’ll explain). New film & cameras on sale at FilmBase. Free film giveaway refresh. Kodak Charmera flies off the shelves. Lastly, I’ll address the new tariffs and shipping issues that may be affecting your international film/camera/printed art purchases and sales.
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How to Fix Expired Slide Film Colours
Automatically in Batches or Manually With Free Software
September 30, 2025
This guide will show you how to process your expired slide film scans to look as they were originally intended, using two approaches: automatic (with film Q) and manual (with any photo-editing app).
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Best Film Camera & Most Popular Film
A Monthly Newsletter for GOLD Members
September 26, 2025
In this letter, I’ll tell you about the slimmest and the smallest full-frame film cameras ever made, as well as the Analog.Cafe readers’ preferences (i.e., what’s the best film camera?), and include stats for the most-read film reviews (i.e. what film is the community most interested in today?)
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New Hand-Rolled Film: Cinema Shorts BW 200 & BW 3200
With a Lab Service Option
September 24, 2025
Cinema Shorts BW 200 and Cinema Shorts BW 3200 are the two new 35mm/36exp. hand-rolled black-and-white film stocks, available in 3-packs with or without lab services.
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“Best Film Camera,” According to 142K Analog.Cafe Readers
September 23, 2025
This article examines a wealth of data to reveal what people want and surfaces the one camera that we use and enjoy the most. The info here is based on hundreds of thousands of reader visits to this blog (currently, it’s 142K/mo), as well as anonymized stats from interactive tools like the Best Film Camera Finder and the Film Log .
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Best Girl, Norah
September 16, 2025
This essay is a goodbye to our little dog, a miniature wirehaired dachshund who gave us more than we could ever fathom, until she was gone.
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Ricoh GR1/GR1s Film Camera Review
World’s Thinnest Camera — Is It Still Worth the Price in 2026?
September 9, 2025
Ricoh GR1s is a premium film point-and-shoot camera that features a sharp 28mm 𝒇2.8 lens, encased in a light, pocketable magnesium alloy body, and filled with some of the best mid-’90s technological advancements. In this review, I’ll take a deep dive into Ricoh GR1s’ features, build quality, lens quality, and the realities of buying, using, and owning one. I’ll also quickly compare the GR1s to the original GR1 and pin both against the world’s smallest full-frame camera, the Minolta TC-1.
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Harman Phoenix Reversal Explored
A Follow-Up
September 2, 2025
This article is meant to be an extension of the work done previously by Dmitri (which can be found here). After reading up on his processes, I realized that there may be room for improvement, or at least experimentation. Over the course of five test strips from two rolls from the same batch, I think I’ve found something that works well for both scanning and projection.
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Film Photography News — August 2025 Recap
Kodak Trouble? Leica “Lifestyle,” Non-Kodak Films, Widelux, Fold Instax Cam
August 26, 2025
Kodak was in the news; some outlets said they’re on the verge of bankruptcy. I reviewed and compared today’s only two colour-negative options that aren’t made by Kodak. Leica drew condemnation over a (now deleted) post on Threads. A new Widelux camera, made in collaboration with Jeff Bridges. Plus, an easy-to-use silver gelatin black-and-white printing kit that uses a smartphone as an enlarger, a new foldable instant film SLR in the works, a new line of 617/612, 4x5, 5x7 and 8x10 cameras, and CineStill’s massively improved scanning light source.
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🆕 Widelux, Fake CineStill, a Fix, & Colour Film ‘25
A Monthly Newsletter for GOLD Members
August 22, 2025
I tried to replicate CineStill 800T at home, found a relatively easy way to fix Polaroid SX-70’s failing film eject, and compared the only two colour-negative films that aren’t Kodak. I’ve also attended the only North American talk by Charys Schuler about the upcoming NEW Widelux cameras, made in collaboration with Jeff Bridges.
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THE REAL ISO200 Colour-Negative Film Options of 2025
Three New Articles Examine the Revival of the Budget Colour Film Category
August 19, 2025
In celebration of this year’s World Photography Day, I’m publishing three long-form reads that examine the lucrative and versatile category of affordable ISO 200 colour-negative films. This article lists all the factories that make it and their offerings, with reads about them (linked in recommended reading order). Happy WPD!
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Fujifilm 200 Color Negative vs. Kodak Gold
Which One Is Better? or Is It the Same Thing?
August 19, 2025
Fujifilm 200 is a US-made colour-negative film with Fuji branding sold across many outlets, including my local drugstore. This film is the current successor to the Japanese-made Fujicolor C 200, a medium-speed, affordable colour-negative film. In this article, I’ll compare and review both films.
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KONO Color 200/OptiColour 200/ORWO NC200 Film Review
A New German-Made Colour-Negative Film, Sold in 135, 120, and Bulk
August 19, 2025
KONO Color 200 is a new colour-negative film packaged and sold by a German company, KONO Manufaktur, in 35mm and bulk rolls of 100’ (30.5m). It’s the same as Optik OldSchool OptiColor 200 and ORWO Wolfen NC200. I’ve shot three rolls of it this summer in various settings and have lots to say about the quality of the images, the price, and what this film means for the future of film photography. This review has a higher-than-average number of samples from the rolls, as I was lucky enough to get lots of “keepers.” Or it may have been the result of a massive upgrade in terms of image quality and scannability for InovisCoat GmbH! (I will explain who that is, too.)
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Comparing Two Newest Colour Films: Phoenix vs. NC200
The Only Non-Kodak Colour-Negative Films Made Today
August 19, 2025
There are only two colour-negative film lines in production today, other than those manufactured by Kodak. They are both made in Europe as the first completely new C-41-based emulsions since the mid-2000s. In this article, I will compare them side-by-side to see which of these formulas is closer to replacing Kodak’s legacy of innovation and excellence in colour photochemistry.
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How to Fix Film Ejection Mechanism in Polaroid SX-70
At Home With Minimal Tools
August 12, 2025
This article shares relatively simple, illustrated instructions for diagnosis and two separate repair tips to fix the broken ejection mechanism on Polaroid SX-70 cameras at home. Expect lots of detailed photos, close-ups, and instructions for testing the repairs for a reliable operation for years to come.
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Scratching the Surface: A Visual Process
Composing Images as Textures
August 11, 2025
Bastien’s images and written portion differ stylistically and technically from most articles I’ve published on this blog so far. However, I thought his introspection and images, reminiscent of essays illustrated with Holgas and Agfa Clacks, give a compelling insight into the mind of a musician treating visual art as textures (more so than the content).
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