Retailers are struggling (and failing) to keep Harman’s “Blue” release a secret.
Several online stores published the product photos, name, description, and price ahead of the launch date. I’ve been hearing about the leaks since Sunday, but even more shops seem to have mistakenly published all the details ahead of time.
Many of the listings that leaked onto Google Search pages have been taken down, although some remain up, and one will even let you add it to the cart.
This is not new. I’ve seen brands and publishers I respect make the mistake due to the complexity or bugs in the scheduling software. As you can see in the screenshot, one of the indexed Google Search titles spells in all-caps “DO NOT ENABLE!!!” — perhaps a stern instruction that the machine or an employee ignored?
The actual release date of the “Blue” product is not public, although Harman has teased that it will be “soon” in their social media post today: instagram.com/p/DL-I2N1tngC.
I tried to cover up a few obvious giveaways in my screenshot, but a keen-eyed reader will have no trouble figuring this out (or you can just ask me). I am not bound by anyone to keep Harman’s products a secret; this is just for fun.
***
Speaking of Harman and secrets, I’ve been working hard on a related project that I will try to release around the same time “Blue” comes out. Watch this space. #noSecretsSpilled
CineStill introduces CS Negative+ Convert Tools with SpectraCOLOR™ — an Adobe Lr/Ps plugin for inverting film scans.
The technology behind CS Negative+ is “informed by the characteristic spectral sensitometric curves of traditional RA-4 darkroom prints and motion picture cinema projection prints.” Best of all, the plugins are free:
“The result is more accurate colors, better contrast, and a closer match to the original negative — all while reducing the need for complex color correction in post-processing.”
These Adobe plugins are the next iteration of CineStill’s film inversion product, which they had available on Instagram via Meta’s Spark AR platform (Meta has since discontinued the platform).
In their blog post, cinestillfilm.com/blogs/ne…, CineStill recommends using CS-LITE, a backlight for digital camera setup, calibrated for scanning film.
I got to try the plugins just before publishing this with Sony a7iii scans of my Mamiya RZ67 film. The workflow involves first selecting one of the “START” (CS Negative+ Convert) presets and then one or several of the “PROCESS” (CS Negative+ Tools) presets, and adjusting the settings to change variables like density, tint, etc.
I love PetaPixel’s take on this Fujifilm development.
I hope that they are right, and “It would be very bizarre to bring that [pages about formerly discontinued Fujifilm stocks] back online if the film is not truly back in production.”
My suggestion that this event was a bug does not exclude the possibility of a premature deployment. If that’s the case, we may be seeing three highly-regarded, discontinued Fujifilm stocks back on sale!
Unfortunately, the above listing has the expiry date blocked off, which says 2021-02 on the Canadian Walmart page for an identical-looking box, suggesting this is just old stock: walmart.ca/en/ip/Fujifilm-…
Other interesting leads were from folks comparing film datasheet IDs and contents. Alas, most concluded that those “new” documents are identical to the stuff Fujifilm published for the discontinued films we all miss very much: Superia X-Tra, C200, and Pro 400H.
Lastly, a response from Fujifilm Canada, “We have advised our brand manager and they will be taking care of the website,” seems to indicate that they will be taking those pages down.
Fujifilm updates its film product listings, leading to some hope and confusion.
Reddit users found two updated pages on the Fujifilm website listing the discontinued Fuji Pro 400H and Fuji Superia X-Tra films. Several users confirmed seeing the update in their language versions of the page, except Japan.
Fujifilm Canada even gave an email response, but it still felt confusing as it stated, “Superia X-Tra 400 and 200 speed film are available for purchase. Unfortunately, Pro 400H has been discontinued.”
Fujifilm does not brand their new colour ISO 200 and 400 films as Superia X-Tra; instead, they are marked as Fujifilm 200 and Fujifilm 400. It’s possible that the employee who responded meant that the current film line-up is staying as-is, with no revival in progress, and simply made a mistake in the namings.
Indeed, many in the discussion suggest it’s a bug in Fujifilm’s CMS, which I feel is most likely.
In the past, Fujifilm reps teased a possible revival of the Pro 400H film, which has not (yet?) materialized.
“Vintage,” featuring Moses Sumney, was shot on “yet-to-be-released” Kodak film.
This beautiful piece of cinematography, music, and performance was shot over a year ago on a “yet-to-be-released and never-before-used motion picture stock, which is similar to a beloved professional still photography film,” as the award-winning cinematographer Marcel Rev confirmed on his Instagram page.
Looks like I may be visiting a Leica store for the first time this summer!
The new black-and-white ISO 50 Leica MONOPAN will be available starting August 21st. Once on sale, it should cost £10/€12/$10/$14? CAD per roll.
Many sources, including websites like DPReview, agree with you, @ellabomga: this may be white-labelled Adox HR-50. Both Leica’s and Adox films are made in Germany, both are ISO 50, and both are super panchromatic (meaning, the film can be shot with an infrared filter to get a special effect). Leica’s website has a few examples that show glowing foliage: leica-camera.com/en-int/ph….
Despite costing more than the presumable HR-50, Leica’s new film may have better availability than the Adox’ offering that B&H lists as discontinued (I don’t think any brick-and-mortar stores in Canada sell it). So, if it’s the same film, Adox may be getting a few more sales; in fact, I’m sure that the HR-50 is getting more attention now than in a long while.
Of course, Leica’s film will have LEICA spelled on the borders, which may mean something.
Another thing about this film is that it would be **Leica’s first 35mm film product,** which I find very interesting: the company waited 100 years to offer 35mm film even though they pioneered the 135 film format for the industry!
I can’t be the only person who expected a little more when teased like that, Harman!
But I am happy for the folks who love to shoot redscale film. It’s a very cool effect, and it can be tricky to make at home from medium format film.
The neat thing about redscaling is that you can turn any colour film “inside-out,” including the unusual emulsions like Lomochrome Turquoise and Kodak Aerochrome: analog.cafe/r/the-redscale….
Leica describes their 35mm film as ultra-fine-grained, super-panchromatic, suitable for shooting wide-open in daylight with “Noctilux-M, Summilux-M, or Summicron-M lenses.”
There’s no release date.
Despite being addressed as “genuine” in the release, the likelihood of Leica secretly owning a film factory is low. Leica has previously rebranded Fujifilm Instax film for their Sofort cameras.
***
The internet is already sharing jokes about the film costing $40/roll. Leica is no stranger to using the power of its brand to charge more for third-party products.
However, film rebrands aren’t as simple as slapping a label on a canister; there’s a lot Leica could do to make their emulsion unique (see analog.cafe/r/who-made-you…). And it’s one more powerful voice promoting film photography.
***
This page counts all the major photographic brands and makes sold today: analog.cafe/app/all-film. It shows 270. I’m now waiting for it, impatiently, to change. Maybe it’ll turn 275 this year. Or more?
New films (TBD) from Harman and CineStill + ULF orders!
During the past few days, both Harman and CineStill posted teasers of their upcoming releases; meanwhile, Ilford is now taking orders for ultra-large format (ULF) film.
Harman’s tease on Treads (threads.com/@harmanphoto/p…, and elsewhere) shares a date, June 17th, as a launch spot for their upcoming something. Word on the street is that it’s an update to their Phoenix emulsion (analog.cafe/r/harman-phoen…). Let’s see if that’s correct, just a few days left!
As some of you may know, Harman uses the Ilford brand name to sell black-and-white film they make (if this is a surprise, read this: analog.cafe/r/harman-phoen…). Anyways, they are now taking orders for odd and very large film sizes at your local retailers, see: ilfordphoto.com/ultra-larg…
Lastly, CineStill has teased three upcoming announcements with a cryptic “+” graphic on Instagram (instagram.com/p/DKft2OBMLG…) — some photographers are guessing that it may have something to do with a positive (slide) film. Let’s see how that pans out.
By the way, I’ve asked CineStill about Kodak’s latest announcement that could affect their products — but I haven’t heard back. Perhaps they’re busy prepping for the launch. Context: analog.cafe/comments/6lnk
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).
Bertele 50mm 𝒇2 MC FLB, starting at £2750, will be available at
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.
Light Lens Lab outlined ambitious goals for 2025 and shared more samples of their newly formulated black-and-white film.
“This emulsion reflects the heart of our film project: to create film materials without historial [sic] baggage, third-party patent entanglements, or manufacturer dependency. It is built from the ground up — powered by creativity and user feedback. Our prototype assembly line is set to begin operation in June 2025, with V3 emulsion production following shortly thereafter.” — @lightlenslab.com/blogs/upc…
Light Lens Lab (located in Shangrao, China) is on the cusp of releasing a newly-formulated black-and-white film which, according to their blog post, would feature “the widest colour sensitivity range among civilian black-and-white films, achieving a range of around 380-700nm.”
The new film should be available in 135, 120, and sheet formats. But there’s more:
LLL is working on peel-apart film, an ISO 400 traditional grain film (the emulsion that’s nearing production is an ISO 125 T-Grain; what is T-Grain: analog.cafe/r/ilford-delta…), motion picture formats, inc. 70mm, and researching colour slide films, including the possibility of resurrecting the K-14 process (a.k.a., the Kodachrome process).
In an unconfirmed announcement published by Memorylab on Instagram (instagram.com/p/DKQpkdhS6EF), it appears that Kodak may be forgoing the remjet layer in their future products.
Technically, this would mean that unmodified Kodak Vision 3 films will be suitable for normal C-41 development, although the ban on bulk purchases remains in effect (analog.cafe/comments/up67). The remjet layer’s anti-static and anti-halation properties will be integrated using another technology: Anti-Halation Undercoat or “AHU.”
Cinema Shorts and other brands that sell repackaged Kodak Vision 3 film warn that those films can not be developed in normal colour chemicals.
The remjet backing is designed to counter static discharges and halations. It’s the black carbon layer on the back of the Vision 3 films that can ruin developer chemicals if not properly removed, as described here: analog.cafe/r/how-to-remov….
Remjet is a defining quality of those Kodak films, and its absence is also defining for films like CineStill 800T, which are the same films but with remjet removed after the fact, creating a unique look: analog.cafe/r/cinestill-80….
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.
PANO uses a single AAA battery for flash, although it shouldn’t need it for most shots. Its shutter is fixed at 1/100s and its lens is a fixed focus acrylic 22mm 𝒇9.5.
First, an update to the earlier posts about @aymenfilmm, an account that shares AI-generated images and labels them as film. They have disabled comments and quotes on their account.
I don’t know who’s behind @aymenfilmm, but it seems understandable, given that many of the comments call them out for posting AI images and tagging them as film. Some of those comments are mean, though their previous actions suggest that they simply do not want to reveal how their images were created. Still, this community cut-off hasn’t stopped @aymenfilmm from sharing; in fact, they’re posting more often.
Meanwhile, another post came across my Threads stream where @scanmyphotos used an AI-generated image to promote their services (of scanning film). The camera in that image has no take-up spool chamber, the film canister has a very strange font and no branding, and the whole scene concept is ripped off from the One Hour Photo film by Mark Romanek, starring Robin Williams.
A further look at @scanmyphotos’s reveals more AI-generated promos.
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.
A Threads/Instagram account is trying to pass AI-generated content as photos shot on film.
I believe that the manner and the tools used to create images matter. It’s why we celebrate film photography, marvel at the technique/timing, and shun ill-gotten content.
This belief is the reason I felt deceived and disappointed to learn that one of the accounts I follow hides behind plausible deniability to present their work as if it was shot on film.
The images the account is posting are edited to look like they were shot on film, which in itself is impressive. Unless you zoom in on every photo, examine their portfolio, and find some shots where the physics don’t quite make sense (like in the image attached here), you may, like me, assume that the poster is genuine.
Unfortunately, instead of showcasing their skills to folks who would appreciate them for what they are, @aymenfilmm chose to delete comments that ask them to do the same. And to the commenters who ask about their technique and equipment, they reply with seemingly AI-generated responses that mention film stocks and cameras that can not create the sorts of images they refer to.
This is major bad vibes for folks like me, who may now have even more trouble trusting what they see online.
Of course, this is not the worst thing that could happen, ever, but it sucks to see this deceptive attitude manifest within a niche built around physical medium meant to brings us closer to the real world.
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).
The Instax Wide version of Jollylook’s development unit is now another thing I want. These units make building film cameras from scratch a lot easier, thanks to the instant (film) feedback and the chassis, which are usually the most difficult part of simple film cameras to get right.
For example, the LEGO camera had to implement a very intricate lockable system to work, which took a lot of parts: analog.cafe/r/hands-on-wit…).
Dmitri Jul 11, ‘25
Dmitri Jul 1, ‘25
Dmitri Jun 28, ‘25
Dmitri Jun 26, ‘25
Dmitri Jun 24, ‘25, edited on Jun 24, ‘25
Dmitri Jun 18, ‘25, edited on Jun 18, ‘25
Dmitri Jun 17, ‘25
Dmitri Jun 16, ‘25
Dmitri Jun 11, ‘25
Dmitri Jun 9, ‘25
Dmitri Jun 4, ‘25
Dmitri Jun 2, ‘25
Dmitri Jun 2, ‘25
Dmitri Jun 1, ‘25
Dmitri May 26, ‘25
Dmitri May 22, ‘25
Dmitri May 21, ‘25
Dmitri May 16, ‘25
Dmitri May 15, ‘25
Dmitri May 9, ‘25