Leica turned some heads today with the unveiling of their new Sofort instant camera—a compact, stylish model with an array of both automatic and manual features and a choice of color and black-and-white instant film.
In case you haven’t noticed, there’s been a big resurgence in film photography lately among both students and more experienced shooters. Manufacturers are getting in on the action too, with a growing number of discontinued films being reintroduced, as well as new emulsions appearing on the market.
One of the products that flew under the radar when Nikon introduced the now widely acclaimed D850 DSLR about a year ago was the Nikon ES-2 Digitizing Adapter ($150), which works in concert with the D850 to turn 35mm slides and negatives into digital images. We haven’t gotten a chance to try it ourselves, but photographer David Flores has, and in the below video he gives you a step-by-step demonstration of how it works.
Shooting three film types at the same time was an impossible dream back in the days of film photography. But today with my Fujifilm X100F it becomes standard operating procedure.
Ilford Photo recently confirmed reports that there are no plans to discontinue production of their XP2 SUPER film. The product is in free supply globally from Ilford Photo distributors and retailers.
It may seem improbable, but the long-rumored instant film camera from The Impossible Project is finally a reality, with the introduction of the Impossible I-1, scheduled to begin shipping within the next two weeks. This reimagined camera uses Impossible’s new I-type film as well as standard 600-type film.
Instant photography is enjoying a resurgence among both young snapshooters and even some pros, with several makers — from established brands to startups — offering cameras and films to scratch that instant itch. Most photo buffs know the Polaroid story; how the company went bankrupt and is now operating as essentially a brand licensing company putting the Polaroid name on everything from TVs to Blu-Ray players to tablets to, yes, cameras and film.
It was back in the 1880’s when Swiss chemist Hans Jacob Schmid developed Polachrome technology—a unique color printing process enabling black-and-white photographs to be reproduced in full color. These stunning images were provided by the Swiss Camera Museum in Vevey and are on display at their “Tour of the World in Photochrome” exhibition running through August 21.
In case you haven’t noticed, there’s been a resurgence of interest in film photography lately, not only among old-timers with 35mm cameras in their closets, but with photography students and young camera hipsters as well. And after last week’s news that Ekachrome will be back on the market later this year, Kodak Alaris CMO Steven Overman has hinted that everyone’s beloved Kodachrome may follow.
It is interesting that as digital imaging began its ascendancy film reached an all-time high in quality: hue, saturation, and sharpness, all of which meant digital had to try harder to be better. One of the films that stood out were the Kodak Professional Portra color negative emulsions, which in the last 10 years have become a favorite for photographers worldwide.
Film photographers are a cantankerous and ungrateful crew, often greeting revised films with suspicion and resentment instead of hope and pleasure. To some extent this is understandable, because they usually have to establish new development times and possibly new exposure indices, too; but the manufacturers' claimed improvements are usually honest, and without them...
One of the many tragedies in the aftermath of a major flood is returning home to find your irreplaceable photographs completely submerged. Whether you’re a working pro or an enthusiast, having years of memories seemingly destroyed can be truly heartbreaking.