Film Photography News — June 2024 Recap

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What’s new?

The first film camera by a major manufacturer in decades, Pentax 17, dropped this month. Meanwhile, this generation’s first premium film point-and-shoot, Rollei 35AF, is slotted for September.

GOLD members: Portra 800 isn’t cheap, but what about Lomo 800 or Aurora 800? This month, we compare all the fast daylight colour films to see if the Kodak-branded one is worth it. In this Community Letter: What’s new? Rollei 35AF is coming… this September! Project story, sample photos, and specs. Half-frame, whole fame: Pentax 17’s affordable alternatives. Fujifilm moving production to China. Portra 800 vs. Aurora 800 vs. FunSaver vs. Lomo 800. Latest on Analog.Cafe. Support this blog & get premium features with GOLD memberships!

Rollei 35AF is coming… this September! Project story, sample photos, and specs.

Rollei 35s are some of the best-known film cameras ever made. Designed to be the smallest full-frame bodies (in the 1960s), they were so popular their production didn’t stop until 2015.

The latest camera bearing the Rollei name was designed by MiNT, a Hong Kong-based camera maker known for modifying Polaroid SX-70 cameras and their line of Instax film TLRs and a rangefinder. It was an improved TL70 with a brighter viewfinder, thanks to the insights Gary Ho (MiNT’s founder) has gained during the collaboration.

But the MiNT’s most ambitious project became public early last year: a premium point-and-shoot camera. It, again, carries the Rollei 35 name and uses similar chassis.

If you happened to follow film photography trends for the past few years, you may’ve noticed that quality compact camera prices have skyrocketed. The most expensive one I tried, the Minolta TC-1, cost me $1,000 — and it came with no warranty. It has brittle thirty-year-old electronics, a titanium body, and one of the best 28mm lenses ever made.

TC-1 isn’t the most expensive film point-and-shoot. A good condition Contax T3 can easily fetch three times as much.

The complex mechanics and electronics within those cameras gave them unparalleled power for capturing outstanding images on the go. But the same electronics made those very expensive cameras difficult or impossible to fix and prone to unexpected “bricking.”

A brand-new premium point-and-shoot camera would eliminate the dangers of sudden death; at least it’ll come with a warranty, and there would be parts to make repairs with. But that’s a tall order for the modern camera makers to fill.

The task of building a premium point-and-shoot is so complex no one considered taking it on until MiNT announced they did last year. To give you an idea of how difficult this could be, consider that Pentax, a large Japanese corporation that’s currently in the business of making very popular cameras, would not touch point-and-shoots. Instead, they focused their efforts on mechanical components, like the manual film winder, based on mid-century technology.

I think Rollei 35AF, MiNT’s premium point-and-shoot project, is great news for all photographers. Some of us will love it and be happy to pay the expected $650-$800 ticket. And those who don’t may either find prices for vintage cameras ease up as new copies enter the market or opt for another new film camera that’s surely to follow. After all, we’re now entering the phase of competent manufacturers pouring resources into film gear.

Those who will get the AF should expect a compact metal body construction with a 35mm 𝒇2.8-16 five-element fully-coated glass lens, lidar-powered autofocus system, 1/500s top shutter speed, built-in flash, and aperture controls.

The sample photos taken with a Rollei 35AF Gary sent me suggest that this camera has a very capable lens and autoexposure system. There’s a touch of pleasing bokeh and a decent amount of contrast.

But best of all, I’ve noticed an impressive control over flaring when this camera was shot against direct sunlight. One thing modern optics have that older cameras couldn’t is better quality coatings. My TC-1 had some of the best anti-reflective properties on camera glass and what I’m seeing here feels very close.

If you’re interested in this camera, MiNT started an open waiting list here.

Half-frame, whole fame: Pentax 17’s affordable alternatives.

I loved seeing the Pentax 17 camera launch. The event generated so much excitement I couldn’t get away from images of the camera online for the next two days.

But not everyone was happy to see the hefty price tag of $500. I didn’t get to test one, but I bet it’s worth the price. The body of ‘17 is covered in magnesium alloy, and it’s designed for 2024 with “bokeh” as a dedicated feature. It even uses the utensils icon 🍽️ for close-up lens setting — because of the food photography we love to do today.

Still, it’s not the only capable half-frame camera you can buy. There are still plenty of vintage SLRs, point-and-shoots, and viewfinder-type bodies made for the format. Some, I’d argue, are even more impressive.

I’ve put a list of 10 such cameras together with their key specs, sample photos, and brief reviews here.

Fujifilm moving production to China.

Last week, Kosmo Foto reported that Fujifilm is planning to restart production of Fujifilm C200 and C400 films in Nanning, Guangxi (China).

Along with that report, there was some speculation it may still be Kodak master rolls that are simply to be cut and finished in China before shipping to the rest of the world.

Fujifilm is the least talkative company out of all remaining producers, and thus, we may never know how they actually make their film or where. It’s likely that the story is a lot more complex than what’s suggested online. For one, they have recently sued Kodak (not that would stop them from still doing business). On top of that, there’s another factory in China that’s to start production of its own colour film — based on Kodak technology.

Portra 800 vs. Aurora 800 vs. FunSaver vs. Lomo 800.

It’s not just Fujifilm that has secrets. Kodak and many other film brands will absolutely not reveal where their film is originating from. It may be due to contracts meant to prevent market cannibalization or other reasons, though it’s not necessarily bad news for us photographers. Rebranded films can be cheaper than the original for a number of reasons.

This month, Daren, Yvonne, and I took on the task of peeling the veil on some of the most valuable colour films in production today: the ISO 800 daylight-balanced stocks.

Kodak Portra 800 is a fantastic film for subdued light and harsh shadows. Its extreme dynamic range (12.5 stops!) makes the negatives easy to work with — even if you made exposure mistakes. But it’s not kind to the wallet.

There are cheaper alternatives: Lomography Color Negative 800, Flic Film Aurora 800, and the ISO 800 film stuck inside the reusable FunSaver cameras.

In our experiment, we shot all films through Daren’s Hasselblad camera on a tripod with interchangeable backs, ensuring that we’re using the same lens, camera, and angle of view. We scanned the film using three methods and even used a control stock to make sure we could clearly identify the differences, if any. Of which, there are some — details in the article!