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…).
New film, Kentmere 200, and the state of BW film manufacturing 🌅.
Ilford released a new budget-friendly ISO 200 black-and-white film, Kentmere PAN 200. This is their first addition to the monochrome film range in a long while.
The challenge in marketing and selecting BW film is that it’s hard to visually identify. A survey of nearly 600 analogue photographers revealed that most of us can’t tell our BW films apart: analog.cafe/r/photographer… ¹.
However, there are consequential differences between black-and-white films, even if they’re hard to see, which can make or break a photo: analog.cafe/r/how-to-choos….
Thankfully, BW film production has been recovering from setbacks and even thriving lately, giving us more tools to produce great images. Film Ferrania is back on track (kosmofoto.com/2025/04/film…), which is great because their film has the most recognizable look (see ¹,☝️). Light Lens Lab made a post describing their progress with a new film sensitizing equipment: lightlenslab.com/blogs/upc…, and I even saw freshly-sensitized Film Washi in the wild (now mostly sold out). Meanwhile, Kodak has dropped prices on Tri-X: analog.cafe/r/colour-film-…
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. 🧑💻
I first learned about Pentax working on a brand new film camera in 2022: analog.cafe/r/film-photogr…. But the company must’ve begun the process much earlier than that, starting with recruiting engineers who worked on film cameras like K1000 (analog.cafe/r/asahi-pentax…).
However, there had been a recent setback. The president of RICOH (which owns Pentax) resigned (asahi.com/ajw/articles/150…), and so had TKO (kosmofoto.com/2025/03/rico…). Pentax is now reconsidering whether it should pursue its PENTAX Film Camera Project further.
Now, it appears the Pentax 17’s continued success in the turbulent market must define the fate of the Film Camera Project.
I would advise against using any of the press kits, or “simplified” kits, as they are often marketed today. The bleach fix is a bit problematic with films — especially in a setting where the chemistry is not replenished. For best results, I suggest sticking with Fuji Hunt, or similar, professional quality chemistry.
I read in your recent article that areochrome is difficult to photograph with. I respectfully disagree, I’ve made some nice images with this particular emulsion without any issues. Areochrome remains one of the films for which I remain grateful to have had an opportunity to work with. And I should point out, I used this film before the prices became crazy unreasonable.
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.
Polaroid film reacts to sun exposure by fading, which has long been considered its downside. But this disadvantage (common amongst most printed materials) can be used creatively to make fun designs that reveal themselves after a few days of exposure, while saving birds from hitting a window.
I made a short video to demonstrate how easy Sol Prints are, what they look like, and how does it feels to reveal them after all the time spent waiting for a result: youtube.com/shorts/tjlqrhC….
For more details on how this works and how to make one (or a few) Sol Prints yourself, see this article: analog.cafe/r/how-to-make-….
Given the response Sissi received, her simple, well-designed pouch has been a success — at least when it comes to her fans’ desire to have one. Eventually, she got overwhelmed by the number of orders and had Roberts Distribution step in to help.
“I used to make small batches of the pouches in multiple sizes, and I’d love to offer that again. But as this project grew into something bigger, I had to be mindful of what was realistic for a wider launch.”
“Since this pouch started as a personal need and has helped me so much in my own journey, I’m really hoping the pouch will be accessible wherever people need it, and I’m definitely open to expanding stockists based on community feedback and demand.” — Sissi Lu.
The only way to avoid having film exposed to X-rays is to ask.
Luggage gets X-rayed (some say with greater intensity), and lead-lined pouches you may’ve seen on sale may only cause trouble. Sissi’s design includes multiple languages, which may not always be necessary as many agents around the world will speak English, but it can’t hurt either. I’ve had a few language-caused misunderstandings that led to unwanted X-ray scans of my film stash.
“The original pouch design included just the language of the city I was flying into. But when I decided to introduce this product to a wider market, I asked both my friends and the online film community which countries they travelled to most often with film—and I ended up receiving over 30 different languages and dialects.
To keep the design clean and readable, I had to narrow it down to the seven most frequently mentioned destinations. But I didn’t want to leave any languages out, so I created a bonus travel card that comes with each pouch. It includes translations in 21 additional languages!”
“If you know me, you know I love things that are both functional and aesthetically pleasing. Inspired by an old Kodak label and tips from Tim Ryugo, I designed my own version. I didn’t expect anything of it, but it’s now become a little side business!”
Flying with film can be tricky since we have to ask busy and sometimes intimidating security agents to do extra work. Many people still don’t know about film and how X-rays can damage it. Sissi’s solution was to print an appealing label that clearly explained in the local language what’s inside and why it can’t go through the scanner:
“Asking for a hand check at airport security can feel overwhelming—for both travellers and agents—so I wanted to make the process as smooth and straightforward as possible.
To my surprise, the pouch and its design were actually really respected by the agents. It made travelling with film feel a lot more ‘official,’ and it took the pressure off having to explain myself at every checkpoint.”
Flying with film? DO NOT X-RAY — a new travel pouch by Sissi Lu may help.
Sissi Lu, a New York-based photographer, has just launched her DO NOT X-RAY Film Pouch product, available at most camera stores in the US and Canada, and directly from Sissi’s website: sissilu.com.
The pouches are designed to organize your film rolls/packs and communicate with the security agent at an airport where you’d like to have your film hand-checked in 27 languages.
I asked Sissi a few questions about her creation ahead of launch. In turn, she revealed a success story of a well-received product for photographers intending to travel with film.
My first question was about the motivation behind it. Here’s her reply:
“It started from a personal need. I had a long international trip planned at the end of 2023, and it was my first time travelling with only film cameras—110, 135, 120, and Polaroid. I was honestly so stressed about X-ray and CT scanners damaging my unexposed and undeveloped film. To protect them—and to avoid the language barrier at airport security—I printed a simple label in multiple languages asking for a hand check and stuck it on a clear pouch.”
“When I shared a photo of it on my Instagram story, my DM was flooded with people asking where it was from.”
Last year, Daren, Yvonne, and I proved that you can. We tried a whole range of unconventional developers, and our “Sativa Cannanol” mixture proved to be very effective for low-grain, high-quality results with Ilford HP5+.
This pot-based recipe has a development time of 420 seconds at 69℉ (no joke). We tested it with our wonderful model, Lily, who helped us build a chart of exposures used to determine its effective ISO.
You can find the instructions for developing your black-and-white film with “Sativa Cannanol” and other unusual mixtures here: analog.cafe/r/i-developed-….
Polaroid had included some sample scans in their promo materials. This is a very nice photo by Isadora Kosofsky.
If I were to guess about the quality of the lens, I’d say it’s sharper than Now but not as sharp as I-2. This guess is based on the technology that drives the plastic resin lens (2-step autofocus for Now, 4-step autofocus on Flip, and stepless on I-2) and the samples I’ve seen so far. I’ve only shot with Now.
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