Tag: #believeinfilm

Rollei 35AF

Back in March 2024, Rollei announced the Rollei 35AF. A newly redesigned version of the Rollei 35 film cameras. The pre-orders will be opening 10 September 2024.

What is the Rollei 35? It’s a long line of high-end (it’s called “premium” these days) compact 35mm film camera that sold over 2 million units since the late 60s. The Rollei 35AF is a redesign, developed by MiNT over the last few years (read all the updates, it’s interesting).

With a newly designed 35mm f2.8 fixed lens, a built-in flash, it features auto-focus (hence the AF moniker), auto-exposure, and retain mostly the appearance of its predecessors. At around USD650-800, this provides a new alternative for film shooters that is less expensive than the Leica and that is not doomed to break down due to age like most vintage camera are.

The Rollei 35 AF: What is new & what is not

Official website.

News: Kodak photo businesses sold to private equity

DPReview: Kodak photo businesses sold to private equity

Well….

This is not good news. Private equity are the corporate looters. And this one is the one that removed “Co-op” from “Mountain Equipment Co-op”…

I don’t expect Kodak film product to be developing. Maybe it’s time to stock up. And when some Fujifilm are suspected to just be Kodak, I wonder about the broader impact.

NONS instant cameras

I just learned about the NONS SL42, a SLR for Instax Mini film. It’s a US$399 camera, currently out of stock. It has an passive EF mount, a light meter and shoots Instax Mini film.

After reading a few reviews from Emulsive and Phoblographer, this feel it might be a winner. The camera has its quirks, but then the Fujifilm Instax also do, differently.

So why a NONS instead of the Fujifilm cameras? Controls, controls, CONTROLS!

The Fujifilm Instax camera only have auto exposure, some with “creative” modes. Also their lens isn’t very fast, stopped down at f/12.7. With the NONS you get to have much faster and interchangeable lenses. The passive EF allow Canon EF lenses (wide open only) and, with adapter rings, you can use Nikon F, Pentax K, Contax CY and M42 lenses. These adapted lenses offer a tremendous quality for an affordable price on the used market, and with the faster aperture the possibilities are broader..

You can read an interview of the team on phoblographer.com about the design of the SL42. It explain that the number 42 isn’t about the answer to life, universe and everything, but rather because the original plan was to release a camera with a M42 mount, the screw lens mount one used on original Pentax SLR and that other camera makers adopted. It also explain why the switch to EF mount, which is the mechanical mount that presented the best versatility in term of further adaptations, and the story behind the NFE (NONS Format Extender).

I was getting excited. It’s out of stock ; turns out it’s no longer made.

The good news is that NONS decided to followup with the SL645 and SL660 cameras. While the SL645 still take Instax Mini, the SL660 takes Instax Square. At US$499 and US$599 respectively they are a bit more pricey. These new models seems to improve a lot. You pick one over the other depending on the format you want to shoot. There is even a back for Instax Square to use on an Hasselblad CM.

The idea of a more sophisticated camera that supports Instax film isn’t new.

When the Polaroid was created, the goal was to offer instant pictures at a time where even 1 hour photo was a pipe dream. So much that today the term “Polaroid” is still commonly associated with instant photography, even though the company died and later was reborn. The process was used in various areas, from identity pictures, to test shots for exposure in the studio, to document reproduction or slide show preparation. The idea of using a Polaroid on an Hasselblad isn’t some sort of sacrilegious practice, it actually was part of the workflow. Setup the shoot, test the exposure with a Polaroid back and then once everything is fine go one with using the regular film.

Instax becoming popular, the choice of Fujifilm cameras is definitely in the space of consumer: inexpensive and all automated. So alternative started to appear. For example the 2016 MINT InstantFlex TL70 is a dedicated TLR that shoot Instax Mini and comes at US$399. Also Lomography has a range of Instax cameras supporting the Lomographic style, as well as Lomo Graflok, a back for large format. While relegated into a corner product category of what I would call novelty, they represent an incredible venue for creativity associated to the medium of instant photography, and fill the niche of photographers looking for a more flexible tool.

Kodak, Kodak, film cameras

When I wasn’t looking, 2 different model of film cameras where released under the Kodak brand. Just to be clear these are inexpensive and marginally better than the disposable counterparts, and Kodak is just a brand on top of it. This is not the Ricoh Pentax 17 at CAD$680.

From 2022, the Kodak Ektar H35 Half Frame Camera is manufactured by Retopro. It’s 35mm film half-frame camera, with a 22mm acrylic lens, f/9.5 fixed aperture, and 1/100 sec fixed speed and a flash. The frame is vertical in the natural camera orientation as the film transport is horizontal. About CAD$80. Comes in various colours in a design reminicent of older Kodak camera.

In 2023, a follow up Kodak Ektar H35N still made by Retopro, brought the lens to a fixed f/8 aperture with one of the element made of glass, and now has a bulb shutter speed and a tripod mount, and can perform multiple exposures. Still has a flash. About CAD$100. Comes in various colours with a slightly different design.

From 2024, the Kodak i60, manufactured by Meta Imaging Solutions is a 35mm film camera with a 31mm acrylic lens, f/10 fixed aperture with a minimum focusing distance of 1 meter and 1/125 sec fixed speed, and a flash. Really feels like a disposable camera you can refill. About CAD$80 as well. Comes in various colours in design directly inspired by the Instamatic 100 from 1963. Reading Kodak own website saying it uses “135mm film”, I want to scream. Beside the design it looks like all the others on Kodak website.

All in all it seems like competition to Lomography, both in quality and and price, albeit with maybe Lomography trying to provide more “fun”.

News: Fujifilm Set to Restart Color Film Production in China

PetaPixel inform that Fujifilm Set to Restart Color Film Production in China:

Fujifilm reportedly held a color film launch event in China where it announced it would restart the production of its C200 and C400 color negative film through production partner Yes!Star.

C200 and C400 are the successor of the Superia line of films: consumer grade (but high quality) colour negative film. With film prices rising, and choice reducing, it seems like good news.

More supplies is better. With Ricoh releasing a new film camera, it seems that film is not dead.

Pentax 17

I previously mentioned the Pentax film renaissance. Today Pentax announced the Pentax 17 (via DPReview).

This gives the details we didn’t previously have.

It’s a vertical half frame (17 mm wide, 24 mm tall) 35mm millimeter compact camera, with a manual focus fixed prime lens. It has program exposure with a few modes, and built-in flash with sync at 1/125. It will be priced at USD$499.95, to be available in late (aren’t we already in the second half?) June 2024.

The manual focusing is zone based, reminiscent of non auto-focus compact cameras, and the viewfinder is parallax corrected, and centered on the lens in the middle of the camera. This is neither a reflex (through the lens) nor a rangefinder.

The body construction has metal, i.e. it’s not a cheap plastic blob. The leaf shutter goes from 4 sec to 1/350 sec, with also a bulb mode. The lens is a fixed 25mm (37mm equivalent) with f/3.5 aperture closed down to a max of f/16. Film advance is mechanic with a lever, so is ISO setting (no DX). The camera uses a CR2 battery for the metering and the flash.

The half frame allow 48 and 72 shots on 24 and 36 exp rolls respectively. If you want to shoot in landscape mode, just flip the camera.

This camera could totally be from the late 1970s, minus a couple of things. According to Ricoh-Pentax, the lens is based on the 1994 Pentax Espio Mini, but using the same attribute as was used on the 1962 RICOH Auto Half

At USD$500 I am not sure whether this is right-priced or not.

Where to buy in Canada

I have put up a curated list of Canada camera stores and film processing labs. This came from the need to know where I could get film processed, or get supplies for it.

There is a lot of reasons why you’d want to buy from a Canadian store (when living in Canada), including that some of the supplies, like chemicals for film processing, are not easy to import. Also the prices are mostly MSRP which mean that patronising a local business won’t cost you more.

I hope this is useful.

Link: Pentax film renaissance

DPReview has an interview with the team behind Pentax upcoming film camera:

Everything analog is suddenly cool again, and photography is no exception: There’s an incredible renaissance happening in film photography, led by a generation who grew up never knowing anything other than digital cameras.

Yes. There is room for a few new film cameras that produce quality images (that’s a stab a Lomography). While things are moving in the world of film supplies, not always to the taste of aficionados, the stock of used film camera is just getting older. And older mean breakage, difficult to repair.

The first announcement came in December 2022, but in April 2024, the publication date of the interview, we have a bit more detail. It will be a half frame 35mm camera, vertical, in a compact format. But every other details remain elusive, including exposure modes.

To be continued…

Developing black and white slide film

Kelly-Shane on the Go Everywhere channel made a 7 minutes video to show us how develop black & white slide film, only using regular black and white film, black and white chemistry, and some household chemicals to perform the reversal process.

I am actually surprised it is that easy. I always wanted to try black and white slides but the availability of Agfa Scala always made it a hard sell.

The end of Polaroid Spectra film

This is not the first time Polaroid Spectra film becomes discontinued. The first time was when Polaroid went under and the remaining stock depleted. DPReview now reports that Polaroid Originals is stopping the production of Spectra film because the remaining cameras are now aging, unrepairable, and there is nothing they can do about it.

This is a bigger problem with film photography in general that I wrote about previously: the whole production supply chain, from cameras to film processors and scanners is in danger. Nobody develops new hardware, because it requires a lot of R&D and the old one is becoming harder and harder to repair, non withstanding for processors and scanner where the software is antique and only runs on obsolete systems.