The Best Things Happening in Analog Film Photography Right Now

Last Updated on 03/13/2017 by Chris Gampat

It’s an incredibly exciting time to be working in the film photography world right now: analog is post-digital! A lot has been going on and to celebrate that, we’re rounding up some of the best new things happening!

Fujifilm Instax Mini Monochrome

One of the absolute best things that’s happened in the Instant film photography world is Fujifilm Instax Mini Monochrome coming to market. It’s been way too long and we’re not quite sure why it took this long to hit the market. But it’s here now, and the film is highly capable and delivers a look with mild contrast.

I really recommend it to be used in the Mint Camera TL70 (review) or the Diana F+ (review). Check out our review of the film.

Kodak Ektachrome’s Return Later in 2017

Arguably the most exciting thing to hear this year is Kodak bringing back Ektachrome. The film was their last slide emulsion left before it all got canned. However, it’s slated to return to the market in 35mm format around the Holiday season of 2017. So why is this film so incredible? Well, it’s partially a badge of honor to shoot slide film and do a good job with it. The dynamic range of the film isn’t what a color negative is capable of but it’s got better colors typically than a color negative.

So we’re super hyped to see a slide film return from the dead.

Japan Camera Hunter Street Pan 400 Coming in 120

Bellamy Hunt, otherwise known as the Japan Camera Hunter, has made his own film in the form of Street Pan 400 (review). It’s a fantastic film when shot and developed correctly. So later on this year, he’s going to be bringing it back in the form of 120 film. That means lots of photographers will be loading up their cameras with the film and running it through at a bigger format.

The fact that it’s coming in 120 means the 35mm format was and continues to be successful.

ADOX’s Factory Expansion to Keep Making Agfa Film

ADOX, the folks behind Agfa film, have announced they’re expanding their factories in order to do things like make more film under the Agfa brand. Agfa has always been a well loved alternative to both Fujifilm and Kodak. It isn’t expensive and in the right situations the film can look really incredible.

Bergger Pancro 400

Then there are some brand new film emulsions coming onto the market. Here’s what you need to know about Bergger Pancro 400 from our blog post. According to Bergger’s website, Bergger Pancro 400 is:

“two emulsions based on silver bromide and silver iodide which differ from one another in the size of their grain. This allows the film to reach an extremely wide exposure posture. The crystals are precipitated by a double-jet process controlled by a computer. Both emulsions are panchromatic and are stabilized by systems that are among the most elaborate.

BERGGER Pancro400 in 135 is coated on an acetate substrate of 135 microns and has DX coding. It has an anti-halo layer which becomes clear during the treatment, and an anti-tiling layer on the back of the film.”

Ferrania P30 Alpha

Then we’ve got a new ISO 30 film. Here are the important details.

“FERRANIA P30® ALPHA reproduces, with modern techniques developed by FILM Ferrania scientists, the exact film that made Ferrania world-famous more than 50 years ago.

With its cinema pedigree, ultra fine grain, and very high silver content, FERRANIA P30® ALPHA has no peers in the modern analog film market.”

The Jollylook Potentially Coming in Bigger Formats

Finally, one of the best things to keep your eyes open for: the Jollylook is going to be coming in larger formats later on. In an exclusive interview with the creator, we found out the bigger formats were already made, but that Fujifilm’s film discontinuation announcement stalled things. So sooner or later we should be expecting an Instax Wide format camera.