Film Photography News — July 2023 Recap

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What’s new?

This month, Lomography launched a new colour-negative film — Color’92 — I’ve got a test roll and an exclusive interview that covers it. And Hollywood actor Jeff Bridges teamed up with SilvergrainClassics to create a new panoramic film camera.

Plus, Fujifilm takes film production back to Japan, and Kodak makes a special film for Oppenheimer.

Lomography Lomochrome Color’92.

The process of creating colour film is awe-inspiring. If you’ve ever seen the three-part documentary about the Kodak factory, you may remember them mentioning that a single facility (out of many) cost over two billion. It’s no surprise then that we haven’t seen much new colour film entering the market since the 2010s.

I appreciate the value-added creations by CineStill and rebranded films, too. Where I live, they can often cost less than the original Kodak or Ilford emulsion they’re based on. But a true-new film, formulated on unique chemistry and built at a factory not owned by the big three (Kodak, Fujifilm, Polaroid), is impressive.

Last year, Lomography turned 30. That is remarkable, given that the young company thrived during the mass exodus to the digital realm and continued to do so in the recent times of analogue revival. They outdid themselves back in 2019 by launching a new colour emulsion formula — the first time anyone has done that in a decade. And this month, they’ve released a significant improvement over that film: the new Lomochrome Color’92.

This new film produces more realistic results than any of the new independent original colour emulsions (Metropolis, NC400/NC500). And I’ve got a detailed preview of Lomochrome Color’92, featuring an exclusive interview with Birgit Buchart on this blog.

A new flat-brim hat for film photography lovers.

Earlier this month, I added a new item (a hat) to the store. I spent about a month designing it, finding a reputable/fair producer with the options needed to make it great. You can find full details of this journey in a post dedicated to it.

Today, I’d like to use this space to promote another (hat) product that’s much wittier but just as good-looking:

Introducing the “120MM 100% Gold” hat!

If you’ve been hanging out on film photography socials during the past few years, you may know what this is about. 😉

Whichever hat you choose, you’re supporting this blog. Thank you!

A new panoramic swing-lens film camera from Jeff Bridges and Silvergrain Classics.

Film photography is making a comeback thanks, in part, to high-profile celebrities flaunting their cameras and big-time directors purchasing miles of colour and monochrome emulsions from Kodak. Jeff Bridges is one of such celebrities.

This month, Silvergrain Classics, a German English-language printed magazine, announced their collaboration with Susan and Jeff Bridges to create a Widelux camera copy. Their website announcement includes bits of interviews with Jeff, images of the prototype, and some information about the camera’s features.

It looks like the team has the rights to the name and some of the technical documents for the camera; however, the magazine did not divulge this information on its website.

What’s Fujifilm and Kodak been up to?

Kosmofoto recently shared excerpts from a recent Fujifilm announcement that mentioned price increases and the resumed production of their colour and reversal films in Japan.

Fujifilm is known for gradually and unceremoniously extinguishing its legendary film products through similar announcements. Nevertheless, it appears that the company, now known for cosmetics, pharmaceutic products, and digital cameras, is still interested in selling film. Perhaps its Instax brand, which makes up a huge chunk of Fujifilm’s total earnings, inspires them to keep making the emulsive products.

The “Heimer” part of the Barbenheimer is a massive Hollywood project directed by Christopher Nolan, who collaborated with Kodak to make a unique emulsion just for his film. It’s a 65mm Double-X 5222 for IMAX screenings.

Though Kodak has been making 35mm Double-X film for years, changing the film’s width isn’t the only technical challenge they had to overcome to deliver — the thickness of the emulsion and its ability to handle extremely high frame rates in IMAX cameras had to be considered. Full story on PetaPixel.

Latest on Analog.Cafe.

Kowa E Review — a Cheap Mechanical Fixed-Lens SLR — this camera is affordable and unique; it sports a decent lens and a built-in leaf shutter.

Peak Design “Cuff” Camera Wrist Strap Review — one of the most-loved camera accessories and brands I’ve ever come across. The product is indeed that good.

Arista C-41 Liquid Color Negative Dev Kit Review — I managed to develop my 35mm film for $1/roll using this kit. Though it’s not recommended to push it this far, you may be able to do that, too.

Kodak Retina IIa Camera Review — a German-made (somewhat) pocketable foldable Kodak rangefinder.

“Blend 35” — a New Flat-Brim Hat for Film Photography Lovers — for sun protection. I wear this hat almost every day.

How to Test Your C-41 Film Chemicals — it’s best to be sure before dipping your film into something that may ruin it forever. This article explains how.

Fujifilm Cardia Tiara/DL Super Mini Camera Review — this is one of the smallest full-frame 35mm film cameras ever built, and it features a sharp 28mm lens — kind of like the Minolta TC-1 (but cheaper).

Lomochrome Color ’92 Film Preview — my initial impressions of the new film, including an exclusive interview with a GM at Lomography USA, Birgit Buchart.