I’ll die on this hill: the Nikon F5 is the best 35mm SLR camera you can buy.

Camera opinions are rarely worth dying over, but I have one that I will defend for as long as there is breath in my body and film in my refrigerator: the Nikon F5 is the best 35mm film camera out there. It is not the prettiest, the lightest, or the most discreet film camera ever made, but I firmly believe it is the best.

Furthermore, it can be bought surprisingly cheaply secondhand – I have seen bodies on sale recently for around £300 / $400 (although obviously actual prices will vary hugely depending on condition).

I know that statement will immediately upset the Leica faithful, Nikon F3 owners, Canon EOS-1V devotees, and anyone who believes a “proper” film camera should be fully mechanical, covered in brass, and operated entirely through dials. That is fine. You are welcome to meet me on this hill, but I am not moving.

The Nikon F5 represents the moment when 35mm photography reached its professional peak. It arrived in 1996 as Nikon’s flagship autofocus SLR, built primarily for photographers who had to return with the picture rather than those who simply enjoyed the process of trying to take it. Nikon designed the camera around speed, reliability, and professional use, giving it five-area autofocus, Dynamic AF, 3D Color Matrix Metering, and a 1,005-pixel RGB metering sensor.

With the dedicated MN-30 battery, the F5 could advance film at up to eight frames per second. That might sound financially irresponsible now that every press of the shutter carries a noticeable cost, but you do not have to burn through an entire roll in a matter of seconds to appreciate what that specification represents. It tells you that the F5 was engineered without compromise.

This was not a camera designed to look attractive on a shelf or appear tastefully beside a flat white on Instagram. It was built for sidelines, press pens, racetracks, war zones, fashion studios, and any other environment where missing the photograph was not an acceptable outcome. That is why I believe it remains the best 35mm camera to buy today: the F5 does not ask you to romanticize inconvenience. It simply gets out of the way and lets you take photographs.

Film photography has become strangely obsessed with limitations. We praise cameras for slowing us down, forcing us to concentrate, and making every frame more deliberate. There is truth in that, of course, but sometimes I think we confuse inconvenience with creativity.

A camera does not make you more artistic simply because it lacks autofocus. A light meter that requires a separate handheld device does not automatically produce better photographs, and manually winding the film does not make the final image more meaningful. Those things can make the experience enjoyable, but they do not necessarily make the camera better.

Sample images

The Nikon F5 gives you the character, latitude, grain, color, and unpredictability of film without requiring you to abandon the practical advantages of a modern professional camera. Its controls feel familiar, its autofocus works, its metering is remarkably dependable, and the body is shaped like something designed to be held for hours rather than admired through a glass cabinet. It is, in many ways, the perfect bridge between analog and digital photography.

That matters because the F5 allows someone accustomed to a DSLR to begin shooting film without first having to relearn the entire process of operating a camera. Load a roll, set your exposure mode, select your focus point, and start shooting. The image is still being recorded onto 35mm film, but getting it there does not have to be unnecessarily difficult.

Some film photographers will consider that a weakness, but I consider it one of the F5’s greatest strengths. I have owned and used mine for more than 15 years, and during that time I have never felt creatively restricted by it.

I have used the F5 with relatively modest lenses, fast primes, professional zooms, a Nikon 200mm f/2, and even a huge 600mm f/4. The fact that a camera released in the mid-Nineties can still communicate with such a wide selection of Nikon F-mount lenses remains one of its greatest practical advantages.

That enormous lens selection means the F5 can become almost anything you need it to be. Fit a 50mm prime and shoot everyday documentary work, add an 85mm lens and use it for portraits, attach a 70-200mm and photograph sports, or put a 600mm lens on the front and turn it into an analog wildlife machine. There are more romantic cameras, but few are more versatile.

Naturally, the F5 has its critics. It is big, it is heavy, and it requires eight AA batteries in its standard configuration. Nobody is going to mistake it for a pocket camera, and carrying one around your neck all day will certainly make its presence known. However, I would argue that its size is part of the appeal.

The grip is substantial, the controls fall naturally under your fingers, and the integrated vertical shutter release makes portrait-orientation shooting feel just as natural as holding the camera horizontally. With a larger professional lens attached, the body provides the balance needed to make the entire setup feel manageable. It feels purposeful because it is purposeful.

The use of AA batteries is often presented as another sign of the camera’s age, yet it may be one of the most practical power solutions ever fitted to a professional camera. You can find AA batteries almost anywhere, with no discontinued proprietary battery to hunt down, no specialist charger that becomes useless when it fails, and no need to worry about whether a decades-old rechargeable pack can still hold a meaningful charge.

Put eight batteries into the F5 and get on with taking photographs. It really can be as simple as that, and there is something reassuring about using a camera that does not depend on an increasingly rare power source to remain functional.

Yes, the F5 relies heavily on electronics, and eventually every electronic camera carries the possibility that something will fail. However, mine has endured years of use and abuse, while other cameras I have owned have long since given up. The F5 was never intended to be disposable technology; it was a professional investment designed to survive the demands of photographers who worked every day.

There is also the question of the Nikon F6. On paper, Nikon’s final professional film SLR is arguably the more technically advanced camera. It is newer, more refined, and equipped with a more sophisticated autofocus system, but I would still choose the F5.

The F6 feels like an exceptional film camera created at the beginning of the digital age. The F5 feels like the camera that conquered the film age, and there is something gloriously uncompromising about it.

Nikon did not build the F5 as a nostalgic tribute or a luxury object. It built the camera to become the new professional standard, and almost three decades later, that intent remains obvious every time you pick one up.

Other cameras may offer a purer analog experience. A Nikon F3 provides beautiful simplicity, a Leica M offers discretion, precision, and one of the greatest viewfinder experiences in photography, while a compact camera can fit into a coat pocket and accompany you everywhere. However, if you asked me to choose one 35mm camera to photograph everything for the rest of my life, I would take the Nikon F5.

I could use it for portraits in the morning, street photography in the afternoon, and professional sports in the evening. I could attach decades of Nikon glass, rely on its autofocus when the subject started moving, trust its metering when the light became difficult, and know that the body was built to handle more punishment than I would ever reasonably give it.

That, to me, is what makes a camera the best. The best camera is not always the one that creates the most romantic shooting experience; it is the one that gives you the greatest chance of making the photograph you saw in your head.

The Nikon F5 might not make you look like a fashionable film photographer. It might not match your vintage camera strap, and nobody will describe it as small or elegant, but it will take the photograph. I will die on the hill that, when it comes to 35mm film cameras, nothing does that job better.

Shop the Nikon F5

In 1994, Carl Zeiss unleashed their Contax G1 on the world. While it pioneered the concept of an autofocus rangefinder, its passive-only focusing system struggled in low light.

The solution was the Contax G2, which followed a couple of years later. The G2 resolved the problem by implementing a hybrid autofocus system combining active infrared triangulation with passive contrast detection, making it significantly faster and more reliable.

Both cameras were beautiful and beautifully made. The titanium bodies were entirely designed and built by Kyocera, in Japan, while the body was styled by Germany’s Porsche Design Group.

Each model was offered in black and silver, though the silver (often described as a “champagne color”) with its dark grey accents was by far the more popular of the two. An array of seven lenses was offered, and all were designed and made by Carl Zeiss in Germany.

The G1 came equipped with a Planar 45mm f/2 lens, while the G2 came with a wider 35mm Planar f/2. Also on offer were a 16mm f/8 Hologon, a 21mm f/2.8 Biogon, a 28mm f/2.8 Biogon and a Sonar 90mm f/2.8.

These were followed, in 2000, by the Vario-Sonar 35-70mm f/3.5-5.6 zoom – the first zoom for a rangefinder camera. All were autofocus except the Hologon, which was manual focus with a fixed aperture.

Optically, the Zeiss G-mount (unique to the Contax G1 and G2) lenses were widely considered equal to their Leica counterparts. No third-party lenses were ever made for the G-mount.

Now, I’ve said that the 35-70mm Vario-Sonar was the first zoom lens for a rangefinder camera – but some will point to Leica’s 28-35-50mm Tri-Elmar that came out in 1998, a full 24 months earlier.

While it’s true that the Tri-Elmar is essentially a zoom design under the hood, it has click-stops and is only really usable at the three preset focal lengths – as opposed to the Zeiss Vario-Sonar, which was a true zoom lens and able to be used at any focal length in its range.

The Contax G1 and G2 had unique, highly electronic viewfinder displays that were radically different from traditional rangefinders. Unlike all earlier rangefinder cameras, they had no “focusing patch” as focus was done by an AF system that used rangefinder-esque triangulation, rather than mechanical rangefinding.

Both models featured a sophisticated electronic viewfinder, which automatically adjusted magnification and frame lines based on the attached lens, offering 90% coverage with full parallax correction.

When the Vario-Sonar was mounted, the optics in the viewfinder zoomed to match – showing you the exact framing at every focal length.

The G2’s viewfinder was considered a significant upgrade over the G1, featuring a green readout below the main viewfinder display (which showed the focused distance and AF confirmation) and a manual focus aid (showing small dots on a line scale, to indicate the direction to turn the lens for correct focus when it was in manual mode).

The G2 has often been compared to the Leica M6. In build and optical quality, that’s likely a fair comparison – but they offer fundamentally different experiences.

The G2 had an "electronic rangefinder", featured auto-loading, auto-rewind, aperture priority autoexposure and a motor drive capable of 4fps. So, while the Leica offered a brighter viewfinder and a much wider selection of lenses (including faster apertures like f/1.4 and even f/1), the G2 provided superior convenience.

Unfortunately, all the electronics and motor drive capabilities have become, over time, their Achilles heel. Sadly, in the near 30 years since they came out, the G series has proved a wee bit failure-prone.

Despite its high-quality titanium build, the G2 in particular has been vulnerable due to its complex electronics and a scarcity of replacement parts.

Common failure points include an autofocus mechanism that can fail due to dried lubricants or stripped plastic gears, while the vertical metal focal plane shutter is known to develop issues. And the viewfinder’s electronic overlay can become faint or flicker over time.

Because few technicians are equipped to repair these electronic rangefinders, repairs are expensive and difficult (though not impossible) to find. Thus, examples in good working order now often sell for more than their original new price!

If you’re looking to purchase a used G2, buy only in person or with full return / refund privileges. Check the autofocus at multiple distances (namely infinity and 5m), verify that the frame counter LCD stays lit with the power off, and confirm that the film advances properly through a full roll and rewinds properly.

The number made is not known, but production continued until 2005 when Kyocera abruptly discontinued the entire Yashica / Contax camera division. This left both Zeiss and Leica (for whom Kyocera also made the superb Vario-Elmar-R 80-200mm f/4) in the lurch, while Kyocera concentrated on camera modules for smartphones.

This instantly transformed the G2 from a modern tool into a collector's item. If you have one, you have my envy!

Read more of David Young's ongoing series on classic cameras, as well as his book A Brief History of Photography.

You might also like…

Take a look at the best point-and-shoot cameras you can buy today.

Kodak’s viral Chamera is a throwback to early digital cameras, but the latest camera bearing the Kodak name is a full-frame 35mm film option with a similar price point. The Kodak EC35mm is a compact film frame that, unlike the Kodak Ektar H35, uses the full frame instead of a half-frame.

The Kodak EC35 comes in at a list price similar to the viral Kodak Charmera at about $35 / £35 (which is about A$55 / CA$49).

The new film camera uses a slide-out cover to protect the lens, much like some popular retro cameras like the Olympus Stylus Epic (Mju II), the Contax T3, and Fujifilm Cardia Mini Tiara.

The EC35 is a point-and-shoot style without any complex manual controls. The front cover slides open to prep the camera. Auto exposure, auto flash, and fixed focus handle the settings.

The camera uses a built-in 25mm f/10 lens for wide shots with much of the frame in focus. That lens is made with acrylic, not glass. That hints towards the image quality of a retro disposable film camera, despite the EC35 being reusable, as disposables also use plastic lenses.

The Kodak EC35 comes from Reto, the same Kodak licensee behind the viral Kodak Charmera. The EC35 isn’t Reto’s first film camera, but joins the likes of the Kodak Ektar H35 half-frame camera and the Kodak Snapic A1 35mm film camera.

While the camera is built for beginners, the film winds manually, unlike the autowind on the pricier Kodak Snapic A1. The A1, while it doesn’t have manual exposure, has two different focus zones and a double exposure option, but sits at a higher price point.

The Kodak EC35 falls under the compact camera category with a lightweight 102g / 3.6oz design and a depth of under 42mm / 1.65 inches.

The Kodak EC35 is available to order now, listing for $35 / £35 (which is about AU$55 / CA$49) for the camera only or $45 / £45 when bundled with film and a camera strap. Orders have already opened on Amazon in the US and the UK.

You may also like

For more analog inspiration, read about the best film cameras or the best 35mm film.

Tom Cruise is so dedicated to his craft that he rarely surprises me anymore, and I mean that entirely as a compliment. Heck, he learned to pilot a helicopter in his mid-50s for a single stunt in Mission: Impossible – Fallout. He famously broke his ankle in another stunt for the same film and still managed to limp off-screen and nail the take. And the less said about that knife stunt in Mission: Impossible 2, the better.

Cruise has long built a reputation for being one of the most meticulous and dedicated actors and producers in Hollywood, but I had no idea that dedication extended to the gear that’s used on set. While promoting his upcoming film DIGGER, directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, film journalist Kevin McCarthy (above) got to chat with the Top Gun actor about the film’s use of the Beaumont VistaVision, a classic film camera that uses Paramount Pictures’ VistaVision format that was developed in the 1950s as an alternative to 20th Century Fox’s widescreen CinemaScope format.

VistaVision’s genius was to load film horizontally, instead of vertically. This allowed for a larger surface area covering eight film perforations instead of the previous method’s four, resulting in better quality footage. VistaVision has been used in some huge classics, such as Vertigo and North by Northwest, but has enjoyed something of a resurgence in recent years via films such as The Brutalist and One Battle After Another.

But what really got me during Tom Cruise’s interview, was why he is so passionate about the format’s use in DIGGER: “We want flaws. You want things that have an emotion. It just has a different kind of feeling to it,” he says. In another short from the same interview, posted by Kevin McCarthy (above), Tom talks about lens characteristics. “Everything used to be hand-cut glass, so we would do a lot of testing on lenses (...) you have to know the character of the lens”.

It’s especially refreshing to hear Tom’s dedication to the craft, following an interview with filmmaking legend, George Lucas, whose passive stance on AI I completely disagreed with. I really think that as AI worms its way further and further into filmmaking, a core contingent of creatives will push back by prioritising character and imperfection over clinical slop. It certainly sounds like Tom Cruise is on board.

Above: the official tailer for DIGGER

You might also like...

Filmmaker finds lost CinemaScope lens that could have sunk Walt Disney, brings it back from the deep. Tom Cruise backflips out of helicopter while wearing Snorricam rig to film death-defying Mission Impossible POV. Panavision turns 70, reveals 16 innovations it brought to legendary movies.

Launched in 2020, the Instax Square SQ1 joined Fujifilm's growing family of instant cameras. Now, six years later, the quirky model exceeds sales expectations in Japan, with Fujifilm admitting that "production cannot keep up" with demand.

The resurgence has caught many by surprise. The one-button point-and-shoot camera wasn't a runaway success when it first launched, but renewed interest in instant photography and nostalgic technology appears to have transformed the SQ1 into one of Fujifilm's most sought-after cameras.

The company has temporarily suspended new orders for the SQ1 in Japan, while the camera has seen a significant revival globally. In the US, demand has surged, with stock limited to Amazon ($199.83 in blue, $198 in orange, $199.95 in white). In the UK, availability is better, with Wex having the SQ1 in stock (£119 in blue, £199 in orange), although regional shortages and sell-outs are beginning to appear.

Why the Instax Square SQ1 is suddenly popular

When the Instax Square SQ1 launched in 2020, it received a mixed reception. Designed as a simpler alternative to the Instax Square SQ6, it offered an easy-to-use, analogue shooting experience with just a single shooting mode and a dedicated selfie setting.

Unlike the SQ6, it favors a streamlined point-and-shoot design. While that simplicity appealed to some users, many photographers gravitated towards Fujifilm's hugely popular Instax Mini range, helped by its lower film costs and more affordable overall system.

So why is the SQ1 suddenly selling out six years later?

Fujifilm hasn't explained exactly what's behind the renewed demand, but the timing coincides with a broader resurgence in analogue photography among younger photographers and content creators.

The SQ1 may also benefit from its distinctive 1:1 image format. While the square format carries a nostalgic appeal of its own and is also associated with Instagram's original aesthetic.

The SQ1's simplicity is likely another factor. With automatic exposure, a single-button operation and a dedicated selfie mode, it's approachable for first-time instant camera users while still delivering the unmistakable look of analogue instant photography.

Statement

Notice and Apology Regarding Domestic Supply of instax ™ "Cheki" "instax SQUARE SQ1 ™"

Dear Customers

We would like to express our sincere gratitude for your continued patronage of Fujifilm products.

Regarding the instax ^™ instant camera "instax SQUARE SQ1 ^™", sales have continued to far exceed initial expectations, resulting in a situation where production cannot keep up.

Because it is difficult to ensure sufficient supply, we will temporarily suspend order acceptance starting today. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause our customers.

At this time, the resumption date for orders is undecided, but we will announce any updates on our website. We kindly ask for your understanding.

Target Products
instax ^™ "Cheki" "instax SQUARE SQ1 ^™"
*1 instax, Cheki, and instax SQUARE SQ1 are registered trademarks or trademarks of Fujifilm Corporation.

Shared by Fujiaddict

You might like...

Browse the best instant cameras and the best hybrid instant cameras.

Disposable film cameras have ridden the analog resurgence as a simple, low-commitment way to try film photography. But now, Lomography, the company known for quirky, colorful film and film cameras, is introducing a reusable, cheap compact film camera that shoots twice as many photos per roll.

The Lomography Simple Use Half-frame is a reusable film camera, but like Lomography’s other “Simple Use” series cameras, using one is close to the experience of working with disposable film. The camera comes pre-loaded with film, so users don’t need to worry about learning to load the camera until the second roll.

While reloadable, the new camera is a straightforward point-and-shoot without any manual controls. The camera uses a 21mm lens with an f/9 aperture and fixed focus.

The built-in flash also feels like a classic disposable – except that it also comes with colored gel filters to create colored lighting effects.

As a half-frame camera, each photo is spliced in half, which means users get twice as many photos from each roll of film, effectively cutting the cost of each photo. The pre-loaded film contains 40 shots, while loading a new 36-shot roll yields 72 images.

Half-frame cameras can also create a diptych – or two images next to each other – or can be developed, printed, or scanned as two photos, depending on how the images are developed.

Lomography says that the pocketable camera is made with 100 percent recycled materials.

The Half Frame Simple Use camera will be available pre-loaded with two different film options: ClassiColor (including colored flash gels) or black-and-white Lady Gray (which naturally doesn’t include the colored flash gels).

Pre-orders have opened for both variants, with shipping estimated to begin later this month. The color variant is set to retail for $34.90 / £24 / AU$44.90 / CA$39.90, with the black-and-white option at $29.90 / £21.90 / AU$37.90 / CA$33.90.

You may also like

Take a look at the best film cameras or the best instant film cameras.

Today, the folks at Fujifilm have given an existing Instax camera a rather fetching glow-up. My colleague, Gareth Bevan, called the Instax Mini 99 the “best-looking Instax camera,” and the newly released silver paint job has only increased the desirability of this already charming instant camera.

For a brand known for its wide range of pastel Instax Mini cameras, in hindsight, it was perhaps a little surprising that the Instax Mini 99 was only ever available in black. The new silver look retains a strip of black leatherette, while the top and bottom plates and power ring (situated around the lens) are all silver, as well as a few decorative accents. The result is a classy retro SLR aesthetic that will sit alongside Fujifilm’s coveted X-Series cameras perfectly.

What is the Instax Mini 99?

The Instax Mini 99 is Fujifilm’s flagship Instax Mini camera, ahead of the Instax Mini 12, Instax Mini 13, and Instax Mini 41. As such, the Instax Mini 99 has a rather packed featureset. You have two shutter buttons, strategically positioned for comfortable landscape- and portrait-orientation shooting. Three focusing modes for sharp subjects at long distances, medium distances, and close-ups. A Colour Effect Dial, allowing you to select between six different color effects, including Sepia, Light Leak, and Warm Tone.

A Manual Vignette Switch also narrows the aperture to force a retro vignette, but perhaps the most useful feature on the Mini 99 is Exposure Control, which is essentially an exposure compensation dial with five levels of brightness. The camera also comes with five shooting modes: Auto, Indoor, Sports, Double Exposure, and Bulb, so you can capture a range of subjects. And of course, there’s a self-timer for hands-free selfies and a built-in flash.

The Instax Mini 99 retails for £174.99 / $234.95 / AU$279, with the Silver edition available from July 29.

You might also like...

Ever wondered how instant cameras work? It’s both incredibly complicated and remarkably simple. Tour the world’s last Polaroid factory where heritage recipes run through every pack of instant film. I wrote off the digicam as a temporary trend, but three years later, "crappy cameras" have only become more popular.

There seems to be a growing belief that enjoying film photography in 2026 requires a Leica M6 around your neck, a bag full of Kodak Portra and a bank account healthy enough to cover the cost of every shutter press.

I love beautiful cameras as much as anyone, but film photography does not have to be an exclusive club reserved for those willing to spend thousands on equipment. In fact, I think the best way to enjoy film today might be with the cheapest compact camera you can find.

Cheap compact film cameras are fantastic. They fit inside a coat pocket, weigh almost nothing and are generally ready to shoot the moment an opportunity presents itself.

Many have surprisingly sharp fixed lenses, while others offer autofocus, automatic exposure, built-in flashes and zoom ranges that would have looked incredibly impressive when they were first released.

They might not have the mechanical romance of a classic rangefinder camera, but they make taking photographs wonderfully simple.

That simplicity is important. Film already forces us to slow down because every frame costs money, so I do not necessarily want to spend even more time worrying about light meters, interchangeable lenses or whether I have selected the perfect aperture.

Sometimes I want to pull a camera from my pocket, point it towards something interesting and press the shutter. A cheap compact enables the photograph to take priority over the equipment used to capture it.

I was recently reminded of this while visiting a car boot sale and swap meet, where I found a black Konica Minolta Pop in amazing condition, both inside and out. The asking price was a mere $4 / £2.

It is the sort of camera that could easily be overlooked beneath a pile of cables, old phone cases, and forgotten household electronics, but that is exactly what makes hunting for these cameras so enjoyable. You never quite know what might be sitting at the next table.

On the same stall, I also found a Samsung Vega 140S. This little compact has autofocus and a huge 38-140mm zoom lens made by Schneider-Kreuznach, giving it far more versatility than its unassuming appearance might suggest.

Its other party trick is the ability to “shoot” panoramic photographs, using a cropped panoramic format that gives your images a wonderfully cinematic shape. That camera cost me the enormous investment of $6 / £3.

For a total of $10 / £5, I walked away with a pair of compact film cameras that I can genuinely use and enjoy. That is less than the price of a camera strap from many premium brands, yet I now have two completely different photographic experiences waiting to be explored.

One can live in a jacket pocket, the other can offer everything from wider everyday views to tightly framed details with its built-in zoom. Even if one eventually stops working, I will have had more than my money’s worth from it.

Of course, the camera is no longer the most expensive part of this process. Film itself has become a heavy investment, particularly if you are buying popular color emulsions and paying a laboratory to develop and scan every roll.

However, even this can be made more affordable if you are willing to learn a little about home development. You do not need a professional darkroom or a room filled with expensive equipment to get started.

I love shooting black-and-white film, and my own development setup is incredibly simple. All I really needed was a developing tank and a monobath solution, which enables the film to be processed without juggling a shelf full of different chemicals.

Once the negatives are dry, I place them into my Canon CanoScan 9000F Mark II, scan them and take the images into my digital workflow. From there, the rest is history.

There is also something satisfying about being involved in the entire process. I choose the camera, load the film, take the photographs, develop the negatives and scan the finished frames myself.

It makes each photograph feel more personal, yet it does not require an extravagant collection of premium equipment. There may be imperfections, missed focus and the occasional strange exposure, but those are all part of the charm.

The best film camera is not necessarily the most expensive one, nor is it the camera currently attracting the most attention online. It is the camera you are happy to carry, the one you are not afraid to use and the one that encourages you to take photographs.

A $4 compact can do that every bit as effectively as a camera costing hundreds or thousands.

There is nothing wrong with owning a Leica M6, and there is certainly nothing wrong with loading one with Kodak Portra. Both are desirable for very good reasons. But they are not the entry ticket to “proper” film photography, and they should never make anyone feel that shooting film is financially out of reach.

Film photography can still be cheap, spontaneous and enormous fun. Search through car boot sales, charity shops, swap meets and the forgotten camera drawers of relatives. Pick up something inexpensive, check that it works, load it with a roll of film and put it in your pocket.

You might be surprised by how much photographic enjoyment $10 / £5 can buy.

You might also like…

Take a look at the best cheap cameras and the best cheap mirrorless cameras for more low-cost options.

Film has made an epic return – but how much has the craving for analog impacted the price of it? The developer behind a program that tracks film prices put together a six-month analysis to find the answer – and found that film prices may not have shifted as much as many think.

The film photographer and programmer behind the blog Analog Cafe programmed a tool that tracks film stock prices across a handful of different stores. Monitoring prices from the first half of 2026, the analysis showed that film’s price change, on average, fell under the typical annual inflation rate of 3% at 2.5% – though that change was across 6 months.

While the inflation on film prices is only for half of a year, the previous six months before that had the same rate, suggesting that film prices are remaining steady. In fact the study suggests that, considering the US had a 4% inflation rate in 2025, film prices were fairly stable.

The digital camera is more of a one-time purchase than analog, which tends to make the cost of film photography feel like a luxury.

But the analysis also pointed out that a 24-shot roll of the popular Kodak Gold cost $4.60 in the 1990s. With inflation and changing wages, that’s like $11.40 in today’s dollars. Kodak Gold’s average film price over the past 6 months, however, was $10.34 – and that’s for a 36-shot roll.

While on average film prices have remained behind the annual inflation rate, price changes can vary widely by film type as well as the country. In Europe and Canada, film is on average 6% more expensive. By comparison, Europe’s June 2026 inflation rate was 2.8% and Canada’s sits at 3.2%.

According to the analysis, a handful of films are a bit cheaper than they were half a year ago, including Kodak Extapan T-Max 400, Ilford Delta Professional, Kodak UltraMax 400 and Fujifilm Neopan Across 100.

On the flipside, a handful of film stocks are now more expensive than they were six months ago. Among the worst offenders are Kodak Kodacolor ColorPlus 200 with a 10.5% price hike, followed by Ilford XP2 Super 400 and Ilford FP4 Plus 125.

For more data across more film types, visit Analog Cafe’s Film Price Index.

You may also like...

Out of all the film we've tried, these are the best film stocks. Or, take a look at the best film cameras.

I was surprised to find the Nikon F100 trending on Google, but the more I think about this ‘modern’ film camera the more I understand why.

The Nikon F100 was released in 1999 and discontinued in 2006, making it a relatively recent example of the format. It was launched as a more affordable alternative to the Big N’s range-topping Nikon F5, making it an incredibly capable body for 35mm film photography.

But what makes the Nikon F100 such an attractive prospect is that it represents a sweet spot between specs and affordability. If you’re looking for what is technically the very best film camera Nikon ever made, look no further than the Nikon F6, which was released in 2004 and remained in production right up until 2020.

Because the F6 was never surpassed, it still commands extremely high prices on the used market. I’m seeing them priced in and around the $1,700 / £1,400 mark. The Nikon F100, on the other hand, goes for around $300 / £300. That’s a big difference.

Ultimately, the Nikon F100 gets you close enough to the Nikon F6’s specs that all but the very hardcore of film photographers would benefit from the difference. Don’t get me wrong, the F6 is the more advanced and better camera – but for most film uses, the Nikon F100 will do the job.

Nikon F100 vs Nikon F6

Using both the Nikon F100 and Nikon F6 will feel somewhat familiar to Nikon DSLR users. They’re not a manual film camera like the Nikon FM; they feature a variety of automatic modes, making them more complicated initially but overall easier to operate.

When it comes to the two cameras stacked up against each other side by side, there are a few big differences. Firstly, the Nikon F100’s 3D Matrix Metering is inferior to the F6’s 3D Color Matrix Metering and autofocus is a similar story.

The Nikon F100 featured Nikon’s Multi-CAM1300 5-area AF module, while the F6 debuted the more advanced Multi-CAM2000 11-area AF system.

Both cameras are well made, but the Nikon F6 comes out on top with extensive weather sealing and an all-metal body, compared to the Nikon F100’s largely metal build and only partial weather sealing. The Nikon F100 can also suffer from Nikon’s infamous sticky rubber/leatherette, much like the Nikon D70.

Lens compatibility is another win for the F6 over the Nikon F100. Make sure you look up exact lens compatibility before buying any film camera. While both cameras can accommodate most Nikon F-mount lenses, the F6 boasts better all-around compatibility. For example, the F6 can retain Matrix Metering when using manual F-mount lenses; the Nikon F100 cannot.

The viewfinders are slightly different, too, with the Nikon F100 featuring 96% coverage to the Nikon F6’s 100%. And while it won’t matter to most users, and could even be seen as a plus to some, the Nikon F100’s shutter is much louder than the Nikon F6.

If that seems like a lot of differences, it most certainly is. The Nikon F6 isn’t regarded by many as the greatest film camera ever made for nothing. But when it comes to film photography as a hobby, the vast majority of film photographers will get by with the Nikon F100 just fine.

If you’ve got the money then, by all means, pick up a fine piece of film photography history. For everyone else, the Nikon F100 is all the film camera you could ever need and provided you can find a good example, you cannot beat current used prices.

You might also like...

Want something that looks cool but boasts more mod cons? Take a look at the best retro cameras. If you're looking for a more authentic retro film camera experience, the Nikon FM could be all the camera you'll ever need. And to stay up to date on the most recent imaging advancements, here's the latest camera news.

One of the rarest Rolleis ever made is up for auction – but whether its limited edition looks reek of class or crass might be up for debate.

At its heart, the Rolleiflex Aurum is a twin-lens reflex camera with an 80mm f/2.8 Schneider-Kreuznach Xenotar lens… but obviously, the Aurum isn't content with being an ordinary twin-lens reflex.

Its brass is plated in gold and the body is wrapped in brown African lizard-skin leather – and only 1,500 of these were ever made, back in 1983 after the production of Rolleiflex F series was suspended, one of which is currently being listed by LiveAuctioneers.

It has to be said that the auction's listing images do the camera no favors, making it look like one of the cheap Chuzhao TLR cameras or the even gaudier Hasselblad-styled version.

But look up the Rolleiflex Aurum listings on eBay and you'll get a much better idea of how the camera really looks. The Aurum looks leagues more tasteful, with much less yellowy gold and a better rendition of the tone of the leather.

You might even find a more appealing price, too, if you're happy taking a chance trusting an eBay seller with a camera like this.

And that's really the story here. Sure, the folks at LiveAuctioneers might not know how to take a decent photo (even, ironically, when it's a luxury photographic device) but they're very reputable and you know that you're going to get a quality item. Or, indeed, that you're going to get an item period.

There's little information on the auction listing, other than the condition is "great" and the starting price is $4,000 (approximately £3,020 / AU$5,800) with an estimate of up to $6,500 (£4,900 / AU$9,430). Bidding begins on July 13.

And, of course, the note that this model is outfitted with a Schneider-Kreuznach taking lens instead of a Zeiss Planar (which is arguably the more desirable of the two).

If you're interested, check out the LiveAuctioneers listing for more information.

You might also like…

For a TLR experience that won't break the bank, take a look at our Chuzhao TLR Camera review. And for old-school looks with new-school tech, check out the best retro cameras.

I was over the moon to see the Polaroid Go Gen 3 for, fittingly enough, a trifecta of reasons.

Firstly, the Go – a teeny-tiny instant camera series launched to challenge the monolithic Instax Mini line – has clearly been a success to warrant a third outing. Secondly, because the Polaroid Go Gen 3 comes in the best selection of colors yet.

Most importantly, though, Polaroid has made the decision to switch up the focal length – going from a 34mm equivalent on the Polaroid Go and Go Gen 2 to 42mm here. But that's not all; the flash is more powerful, the aperture is more measured and the shutter is faster.

The net result is that the Polaroid Go Gen 3 is the company's best miniature camera yet, with the most consistent and best-quality results – and as an owner of both previous Gos, I'm happy to make the upgrade. So what's different, and is it a better buy than the Instax Mini 13? Let's take a closer look.

Polaroid Go Gen 3: Specifications

Polaroid Go Gen 3: Price

The Polaroid Go Gen 3 is available now at a price of $89.99 / £79.99 / AU$159.99. The Polaroid Go Gen 2 is still an active product (at least for now) and carries the same price tag.

The latest version of its rival from Fujifilm, the Instax Mini 13, was released around the same time and is similarly priced at $93.95 / £79.99 / AU$139.99.

It's important to note, however, that there is a difference in the price of film for each camera, with Polaroid Go film working out more expensive (US$1.24 per shot) than Instax Mini film (US$0.79 per shot).

Polaroid Go film can only be bought in double-packs of 16 shots, while Mini film can be bought in single packs of 10. Either way, you'll spend more per pack and per shot with the Polaroid.

Polaroid Go Gen 3: Build & handling

As I've alluded, there are some physical differences with the Polaroid Go Gen 3 compared to the Gen 2 (and Gen 1) – both internally and externally.

Obviously the lens DNA is chief among these, with the modification of optical components contributing to the slight increase in size and weight. In particular, the lens housing protrudes further forward (with less of a "lip" on the front) while the viewfinder extends further to the rear.

While Polaroid is still calling this "the world's smallest instant analog camera", the Gen 3 is a couple of millimeters bigger and almost 13g heavier than its predecessor.

In my hand this was basically imperceptible – but a slight rearrangement of buttons threw my muscle memory for a moment.

The flash and power buttons have both moved. The biggest change is that the flash button is now black and lives below the LED shot counter, rather than on top next to the shutter. This led to a bit of phantom finger as I instinctively searched for a button that wasn't there, but it didn't take long to adjust.

The power button now sits directly below the shot counter and flash button, and is the same color as the body. Again, other than trying to find where to turn the camera on the first few times I used it, this was no big deal.

Otherwise, the Polaroid Go Gen 3 handles just like its predecessors. It's small but perfectly formed, like holding a tiny slider hamburger, and can be pinched and operated between your thumb and forefinger. It's also the perfect size for children's hands, making it a great camera for kids.

Other features include a selfie-mirror and a built-in, USB-C-rechargable battery. The latter is obviously much better for the environment, but does mean that you can't slap in fresh batteries if you run out of juice during a shoot. And the integrated battery can't be replaced (at least, not without dismantling the camera) which puts a lifespan on the camera.

Polaroid Go Gen 3: Performance

It may seem like a strange comparison on the surface, but when I started using the Polaroid Go Gen 3 it felt a bit like the Leica Q3 43. Just as the Red Dot Brand took the Leica Q3 and replaced its 28mm lens with a 43mm one, Polaroid took the Gen 2's 34mm equivalent lens and replaced it with a 42mm option.

That change in focal length alone makes the Gen 3 a completely different beast to its predecessors, with a longer lens that better suits what and how I like to shoot.

I mainly use my Go to shoot people pictures, so the slightly longer lens is better suited for close-ups, and it's also much more useful when I want to snap items of interest while I'm on vacation without having to run right up close to them. There was only one occasion where I missed having the wider lens.

However, the biggest performance boost to the Polaroid Go Gen 3 comes in the improvements to exposure – especially in bright outdoor environments.

While there was a fair amount of sample variation, both the OG Go and the Gen 2 had a habit of completely overexposing in bright conditions. But the Gen 3 has hit the sweet spot in balancing the aperture (with f/14 and f/32 options, compared to f/9 and f/32 on the Gen 2 and f/12 and f/52 on the Go) and shutter speed (1/500, compared to 1/300 and 1/125).

I found shots to be much more evenly exposed, as well as noticably sharper, in all conditions. Polaroid is quite proud about the fact that the flash is also much stronger, which I can't say as I particularly noticed in and of itself, though it undoubtedly plays into the overall improved exposure.

As I mentioned at the top of the article, photographs taken on this camera inescapably have the "Polaroid look". This is characterized by cyan- and magenta-heavy hues, deep punchy shadows and washed-out – sometimes even overexposed – highlights.

You'll either see this as "delightfully characterful" or "poor image quality". Personally, I love this look; Polaroid's photochemistry is more volatile and unpredictable than Instax's, so you don't get the crispness and consistency but you definitely get a better vibe and true uniqueness – and an aesthetic that's impossible to replicate with editing software.

In terms of functionality, like previous Gos the Gen 3 offers both a self-timer and double exposures. It's worth noting that the Instax Mini 13 has caught up in terms of adding a self-timer, but it still doesn't offer multiple exposures – which I think is a big feather in the cap of the Gen 3.

Shooting with the Go has always been an absolute joy, as are the inevitable conversations and friendships that are struck up when people catch sight of it. It really is so small and so cute that it's an excellent ice breaker – which makes it particularly suited to parties and other social environments.

Polaroid Go Gen 3: Samples

I figured the most useful thing I could do is take a bunch of shots to illustrate the Polaroid Go Gen 3's photographs compared to those on the Gen 2.

Directly below are a selection of shots on the Gen 3, then the following two selections show the same shots – taken in the same position – on the Gen 2. This was the best way to show the difference in field of view between the two cameras, along with the differences in how they expose. As you can see, they're pretty significant!

I loaded both cameras with film from the same pack (and, thus, the same batch) to make the closest comparison possible. I think it's pretty clear to see that the Gen 3 shots are sharper and better exposed.

Polaroid Go Gen 3: Verdict

As soon as I was done testing the Polaroid Go Gen 3, I ordered one of my own. I think it's a brilliant little camera, which earns its place on my shelf next to its predecessors thanks both to its improved image quality and its different focal length.

Visually I do prefer the look of the Gen 2 and OG Go, at least as far as solid colors go – but the black "visor" of the Gen 3 actually makes a really cool accent for the color options. (I've gone for the purple version, which I think looks the business.)

If you already own a Go, I don't know that there's enough here to warrant upgrading unless you're really unhappy with your current model's image quality or you really want a bit more reach.

If you own an Instax Mini (as I did before getting my first Go) you might want to make the switch if you like the traditional square image format, the more "characterful" image quality and the ability to take double exposures. Not to mention a smaller, cuter body and the ability to recharge via USB-C.

The best instant cameras are still the full-size options like the Polaroid Flip, but as far as the mini options go this is by far my favorite. The only thing that's missing is a black-and-white Go film stock. Come on, Polaroid – let me shoot mono on the go!

You might also like…

Check out the Instax vs Polaroid differences to see which brand is right for you. Make sure to pay attention to what type of instant film you need for your camera, along with the different instant camera film sizes.

Disposable film has made a comeback alongside retro tech. But Fujifilm is refreshing its QuickSnap compact one-time-use film cameras with a brand first: black and white film. Two new QuickSnap cameras will arrive this fall – and one of them is the first time Fujifilm has put black-and-white film inside a disposable.

Fujifilm announced the QuickSnap Black and White and the waterproof QuickSnap Active in celebration of the disposable camera line’s 40th anniversary. While black-and-white disposable film cameras exist from other brands, the move is the first time in the line’s 40-year history that Fujifilm has launched a disposable film camera pre-loaded with black-and-white film.

The disposable film camera comes with black-and-white ISO 400 film preloaded inside. Fujifilm doesn’t specifically name what film stock it is, though Fujifilm’s Across is a well-loved monochrome film that inspired a film simulation on the brand’s digital cameras by the same name.

That’s a notable launch, as QuickSnap cameras have historically used color negative film. Fujifilm says this particular film stock is designed for rich contrasts and textured grains – a look that will likely prove popular for its even more retro look over color.

The new Black and White includes a built-in flash, which can also be powered off, unlike the new QuickSnap Active, which doesn’t include a flash.

The QuickSnap Active replaces the brand's earlier waterproof disposable film camera as an all-weather disposable that can head underwater up to 35 feet. That’s thanks largely to the camera’s protective housing.

Without a flash – and designed to head underwater – the Active comes preloaded with a higher ISO color film than the Black and White, using a color negative ISO 800 film.

The QuickSnap first emerged in 1986 as the first widely produced one-time use camera, though a few snap-and-mail cameras existed before then. The QuickSnap stripped down film’s complexities into a simple point-and-shoot camera that didn’t need to be loaded or unloaded.

That simple design could be one of the reasons that disposable film is seeing a resurgence in popularity. The format doesn’t require learning how to load or handle film, yet it still snaps photos that are all analog.

Both QuickSnaps come pre-loaded with film good for 27 images. Like all disposable film cameras, the film comes pre-loaded, but the cost doesn’t include development.

Both of the new QuickSnap cameras are expected to begin shipping later this year; Fujifilm US estimates a fall 2026 shipping date, while Fujifilm UK says the cameras will arrive in September. The QuickSnap Black-and-White retails for $22.90 / CA$34.99 – about £21 / AU$23. The waterproof housing makes the Active slightly more expensive, sitting at $24.75 / CA$36.99 – about £22 / AU$25.

You may also like...

Take a deeper dive into beginner film photography with the best disposable cameras or the best instant film cameras.

Even just a few years ago, picking up retro tech required scouring the internet or garage sales. But the trend for disconnected, nostalgic tech is now so big that I can buy anything from vinyl records to disposable film cameras at my local superstore.

Film photography is one of those surging nostalgic trends – but the reason behind the trend may actually be quite modern. The trend isn’t new, as it has been steadily growing over the last few years, but I just came across a survey that highlighted one of the reasons why film photography is making a comeback: social media.

Japan Today notes that film photography is trending alongside vinyl records, as well as 'kissaten' coffee houses and the Japanese candies and snacks, 'dagashi'. But the article also highlights a survey suggesting that nearly half of those shooting film attributed social media as the reason behind doing so.

Another study suggests a similar social media influence. A global market report notes that more than a third of global film camera users are between 18 and 30 years old, and are heavily influenced by social media trends.

The rise of analog photography today mixes a longstanding format with modern technology – which means that, unlike the early days of consumer film cameras, photographers are being influenced by social media posts.

Social media is likely serving as both an inspiration to try analog, but also could be influencing which film cameras are getting picked up – and what format, whether that’s disposable film, instant film, 35mm or even large format.

I’m part of the generation that grew up with film cameras, but ended up with a digital camera before leaving high school. When I returned to trying film as an adult, YouTube tutorials on how to properly load the film have been invaluable.

Film may be making a comeback as a part of a slower, digital minimalist mindset, but its return in a modern era means that there’s a wealth of knowledge on the topic – and it doesn’t matter that the 1970s SLR that I picked up at a garage sale had long lost its user manual.

You may also like...

Browse the best film cameras, or, for film without the developing, the best instant film cameras.

This year is the 40th anniversary of the Fujifilm QuickSnap, called the Utsurun-Desu in Japan (which translates as “It takes pictures”). The QuickSnap was introduced in 1986 as a “disposable” camera – though the term was quickly changed to “single-use” for a better public image.

The QuickSnap is credited with being the first camera in what became a huge success story. It was an amazing success, but was it really the first single-use camera? Not quite.

Back in 1886, an American, AP Whittell, created his Ready Fotografer – a lightweight pinhole camera that used a heavy paper box and a roughly 2x2-inch dry plate. The camera had to be cut open to remove the plate for development, rendering it unusable after one shot.

Although it sold for just 25 cents, at a time when regular cameras cost $50, it was an idea before its time and disappeared after just a couple of years.

Things stayed pretty quiet until 1948, which saw the Picture-Box – a cardboard camera that featured a simple lens, an everset shutter (around 1/25 second) and a method to wind the 35mm film. When done, the photographer mailed the camera back to have the film developed and prints made.

The cardboard camera was destroyed in the process, so very few remain today.

ABOVE: Watch this vintage commercial for the Kodak Fling from 1987!

The next year, another American, HM Stiles, invented a way to enclose 35mm film in an inexpensive cardboard enclosure without the costly precision film-transport mechanism. The Photo-Pac took 8 photos on 35mm film and sold for $1.29, including a prepaid mailer for developing and prints. The instructions read: “Aim – Snap – Mail.”

It was more durable than the Picture-Box, as it used some plastic parts, though exactly which bits are unclear today. It too was a bit before its time and, like the PictureBox, the Photo-Pac failed to make a permanent impression on the market.

The Encore Camera Company, in California, made upscale disposable cameras. Rather than bright colors and graphics, the cardboard casings of the various Encore Cameras were designed to mimic leather or lizard skin.

Introduced around 1950, these snap-and-mail disposables took 12 exposures on 127 film and were used by banks and airlines, as premium incentives. Users would insert $1.25 into a slot in the camera’s bottom, along with a 6-cent stamp and a mailing label with their address for the return trip, and mail it away for prints.

The company would then develop the film and return the prints, often recycling the lens and shutter mechanisms into new cameras. Exact dates are not clear, but Encore and its camera were gone by the end of the decade.

In 1951, the IMP camera was a plastic, single-use camera priced at $1.79, pre-loaded with 12 exposures of 35mm film. Like those before it, it offered low-cost simplicity. It was followed by The Pro, which sold for $3 plus a $1 processing fee. And in the early 1970s, the Mini-Mate became the first disposable camera offered with color film!

But the IMP's big innovation was that, while the camera was disposable for the user (and mailed back for processing), the plastic body was actually reusable. The company could reclaim, reload and resell the body, making it an early form of recycling.

In 1972 Technicolor Inc threw its hat into the ring, introducing the “returnable” Techni-Pak camera in 1972. Made in Hong Kong, the Techni-Pak was the first disposable to feature variable exposure stops. The focus-free, 35 mm camera took 20 color photographs and included aperture settings for “bright” and “cloudy”.

Designed so that only Technicolor agents could open the cameras, they were reusable. A reloaded Techni-Pak was returned to users with their printed photographs and the system lasted into the mid-1980s.

In 1973, a Canadian company introduced the 16mm color Lure, which was sold in the United States as the Love. Offering 12 exposures, the Love included a mount for Magicube flashbulbs and users advanced the film in the camera by rotating the mount.

Although a contemporary of the Techni-Pak, the Love was not built with reusability in mind; in order for the film to be processed, the camera had to be “cracked open like a walnut.”

Sales of the Love camera (sold in the USA, Canada, United Kingdom and Italy) dried up by the late 1970s. The design was sold to a Brazilian firm in 1981 and disappeared altogether in the middle of the decade.

The problem for all these makers was that “disposables” were a niche market without a big name like Kodak, Fujifilm, Ilford or Agfa. But that would all change in 1986.

It was then that Fujifilm introduced its QuickSnap line. The QuickSnap is the first truly successful “disposable” or "single-use" camera. Loaded with 27 exposures of Fujifilm's Superia color film, it became immensely popular throughout the 1990s and 2000s, with Japanese sales peaking at over 89 million units in 1997.

Kodak responded the next year with its Fling, but the smaller format of its 16mm film meant lower-quality images (especially in enlargements) than Fuji's offerings, which used the larger 35mm film. Thus, within a year, the Fling was flung and replaced in 1988 with the Kodak FunSaver, still sold today.

Despite being made largely obsolete by the rise of camera phones, both the QuickSnap and the Funsaver have survived the digital transition.

Sales declined to less than 5 million annually by 2012 but rebounded to over 9 million in 2019, cementing its status as a staple for weddings, travel and retro-style photography. It’s estimated that in 2025 single-use camera sales reached $1.02 billion globally.

So they’re not going away any time soon. And even the FLing lives on, spiritually, as the inspiration for the Kodak Charmera's most popular design!

Read more of David Young's ongoing series on classic cameras, as well as his book A Brief History of Photography.

You might also like…

Take a look at the best disposable cameras available today, along with the best screen-free digital cameras that ape the experience.

Many of the retro-inspired cameras built today are inspired by the 1970s, 1980s, and even Y2K, but one small French company is bringing back an even more historic camera format: the wooden field camera with folding bellows.

The Fasquel & Co. 4x5 Heritage is a new large-format field camera that pays homage to photography’s roots while creating a durable, portable camera for modern film artists.

The field camera is a folding bellows camera format that first appeared in the 1840s, and began gaining popularity in the 1850s. The bellows focus the lens, which is mounted to a lens board. This classic camera format has no viewfinder; instead, a ground glass screen projects an upside-down image of what the lens sees at the back of the camera.

Once the photographer composes and focuses the camera, a sheet filter holder slides into place in the back – or, in the earliest cameras, a freshly prepared wet plate collodion.

The Fasquel & Co 4x5 Heritage doesn’t take inspiration from one specific historic field camera, though the company says the US brand Deardorff (1923-1988) and the UK brand Gandolfi (1885-2017) served as inspiration. Instead, the new camera focuses on quick setup, easy alignment, and durability.

Fasquel & Co – founded by Emilien Fasquel and Enzo Luca in 2002 in France – has previously designed 8x10 and even an 11x14 Heritage camera. The newly launched 4x5 Heritage is designed to be a more portable system. Folded, the camera measures 94 × 192 × 230 mm – about 3.7 x 7.5 x 9 inches. The camera weighs about 1.6kg or 3.5 pounds.

The field camera allows photographers to use 4x5 sheet film using a sheet film holder, but the camera is also compatible with even older techniques, including wet plates. The camera can use a variety of large-format lenses mounted on Linhof Technika-style lens boards.

Despite being hand-assembled, the camera is weather-resistant, the company says. The camera is built largely from mahogany, but some special orders also use ebony, cherry, or walnut. The wooden pieces are protected with a traditional varnish to add durability.

Those wooden components are mixed with black anodized aluminum and steel, while the bellows are made with a synthetic material that the company says is also durable and weather-resistant.

The durability and size, the founder Emilien Fasquel said, are designed to give outdoor photographers access to the 4x5 format.

“Large-format photography has always been about slowing down, being intentional, and creating images with extraordinary detail and character,” Fasquel said. “With the 4x5 Heritage, we wanted to make that experience more accessible without compromising on craftsmanship. Every camera that leaves our workshop is built with the idea that it should not only be a photographic tool, but also an object that photographers will enjoy using and owning for decades.”

Slowing down isn’t just a part of using the camera – the company’s Heritage models are individually assembled in a workshop in France, which also allows the company to offer several customization options.

“Our process combines traditional craftsmanship with modern manufacturing methods,” Fasquel said. “Many operations require specialized machinery for precision and consistency, while assembly, finishing, fitting, adjustment, and quality control are carried out by hand. We believe this combination gives us the best balance between accuracy, durability, and the character that comes from a truly handcrafted product.”

The new 4x5 Heritage, as well as the company’s earlier larger format cameras, are available to custom order from the company’s website. The 4x5 is available starting at €1,790 – which converts to about $2,045 / £1,544 / AU$2,922 / CA$2,897. Fasquel & Co ships internationally; additional duties, taxes, and import fees may apply outside of Europe.

You may also like...

Browse the best film cameras in 2026. Or, read about the world's largest SLR film camera.

After all the excitement of the launch of the Pentax 17 a couple of years ago, things have gone very quiet in terms of any new 35mm film cameras.

You may remember that Ricoh was promising another Pentax film model, but that looks to be on the back burner for the moment. Yet the volume of 35mm film being processed at commercial labs around the world continues to steadily rise – as do, logically, the sales of both color and B&W film.

Darkroom equipment and materials continue to tick along, too, so shooting film continues to grow in popularity. But what are these film fans actually shooting with?

The Pentax 17 – quite a curiosity in some respects – was primarily designed to appeal to a particular audience who were not only new to film, but new to using a camera rather than a camera phone.

Consequently, interesting though it is, it doesn’t have any appeal to more experienced photographers who either want to return to shooting film or who want to try it for first time. Either way, what’s needed is a more mainstream design – and that’s either a more conventional compact camera or, better still, a 35mm SLR.

The Pentax back-catalog should provide rich pickings for recreating the latter, assuming that there’s basic tooling still available (which the main chassis of the 17 suggests is indeed the case), so why has Ricoh’s film camera project seemingly pressed pause? And, subsequently, is anybody else in a position to make a new 35mm SLR?

It’s no secret that, after being in very high demand initially, sales of the Pentax 17 have slowed. Much of that early demand was driven by the curiosity factor, and people bought the camera because of its historical significance and because it was “something different”.

However, it was always one of those products that would reach the point where everybody who wants one has got one.

My opinion is that Ricoh should have kicked off with a more mainstream 35mm design and followed with the quirky half-frame camera. I suspect the potential customers for the former are far larger in number than whatever unit sales the Pentax 17 has achieved so far.

That said, Ricoh is reportedly happy with how the 17 has sold, and it’s still available with only a smallish reduction in price compared to when it was launched. But would the balance sheet have looked a lot better with a 35mm SLR or a full-frame film compact?

Ricoh says it hasn’t dismissed the idea of a revived 35mm R/GR series compact, which perhaps makes more sense given just how big the line’s following is now courtesy of the last few digital models (including the new Ricoh GR IV). Nevertheless, I still feel what’s really needed now is a 35mm reflex.

It needs to be priced at under $750 body-only and, while a fully mechanical and manual design has some appeal, I think it should have automatic operations – such as exposure, focus and film transport – because that’s what we’re all so used to now. Okay, manual focus is probably fine. But too much nostalgia might just be too much, period.

If you’re a purist, there are plenty of pre-loved classic mechanical cameras available to scratch that itch. But a reasonable degree of automation – backed by a new camera warranty and, of course, with manual overrides – would make jumping into film less of a culture shock.

There is the question of the lens mount, but the ubiquitous K bayonet would seem the obvious choice given the huge reservoir of lenses available, old and new.

Right now, though, we seem to have reached an impasse. An affordable 35mm SLR is what’s needed to kick the film revival up a gear or two, but the current numbers probably look a bit marginal in terms of profitability. I’m convinced that "build it and they will come", but somebody somewhere needs to take a leap of faith.

You might also like...

Want to get into film? Take a look at the best film cameras and make sure to load the best 35mm camera film.

Who’s on first? With apologies to Abbott and Costello, when it comes to autofocus SLRs, it gets a little convoluted – for the company that was first, was also the company that was last.

Ernst Leitz Company (now known simply as Leica) had been quietly working on autofocus technology since the late 1950s, and received its first patent in 1960.

At the 1976 Photokina, it made the world’s first demonstration of a working autofocus system built into a Leicaflex SL2 body. At that stage, it was more of a focus confirmation system; the photographer focused manually, while watching two LEDs visible in the top of the finder. Both were lit when in perfect focus.

Leica showed improved versions at the 1978 Photokina and a further improved one at the Minneapolis convention of the Leica Historical Association of America (now known as the International Leica Society) in 1980. This iteration was built into a Leica R4-Mot body and had a servo-motor-driven Summilux lens, for true autofocus.

Despite its innovations, however, Leica never commercialized its Correfot system. It seems that Leica viewed itself as catering to skilled photographers who preferred manual focusing.

It believed that the early AF mechanisms compromised the "precise focusing" made possible by the renowned lens mounts (accurate to 1/100mm). And at that stage of autofocus development, it may have been right.

It’s not clear if Leitz sold or simply gave its patents to Minolta, under a technical cooperation agreement between the two firms that ran from 1972 to 1997. Either way, Leica did not bring out an autofocus SLR until its medium format S2 in 2008.

While the Konica C35 AF of 1977 was the very first AF camera (using patents licensed from Honeywell), it was Leica’s Correfot technology that enabled Minolta to build the first truly successful SLR with autofocus in 1985.

It was sold as the Minolta 7000 AF in most of the world, and as the Minolta Maxxum in North America.

Curiously, the Maxxum 7000 was considered "advanced" because it placed the focus motor in the camera body. Earlier efforts by Leica, Pentax and others all used motors built into or attached to the lenses, making them both heavy and bulky (for example, the Pentax ME-F of 1981).

Ironically, the best modern AF cameras now have the motors built into the lenses – but then these newer motors are much, much smaller.

The Maxxum 7000 was the first 35mm with automated film handling, as it loaded the film, sensed the film speed, advanced the film and then rewound it, all under motor control. Power was supplied by four AAA batteries housed in the large grip.

The Maxxum 7000 was also the first SLR to have the body made entirely of plastic. The 7000’s body is light, but doesn’t feel cheap – its tough, almost unbreakable ABS gives it the advantage of reduced weight while avoiding any feel of flimsiness.

Over 40 years on, though, that old ABS plastic can turn yellow from UV exposure. The result is that Minolta’s white often appears beige.

The Maxxum 7000 was also the first camera to use Minolta’s new, larger A-mount, as its earlier SR/MC/MD mounts could not handle the needs of AF. This mount was used on Sony’s A-mount cameras produced between 2006 and 2020, and many of the old Minolta A-mount lenses will still work on them.

In 1987, Honeywell sued Minolta claiming that the Maxxum autofocus system infringed Honeywell's patents. Though mostly based on the Leica patents, in 1992 a jury found that Minolta had infringed on two of the Honeywell patents and awarded some $96 million in damages. Minolta also received a license to continue to use the Honeywell technology.

That crippling financial blow was one of the reasons that eventually led to Minolta merging with Konica in 2003.

In 2004, the new Konica-Minolta company introduced its Maxxum 5D and 7D cameras (sold as the “Dynax” outside the USA and the “A-7” in Japan), the first SLRs with sensor-shifting in-body image stabilization (IBIS), which it called “anti-shake.”

This had the advantage that the purchaser bought the system once, with the body, rather than re-buying the IS system with each lens.

Pentax would follow suit in 2006 and Olympus in 2007. All three firms adopted the IBIS system, in part because they had the engineering knowhow – but to a greater degree because they did not have any image-stabilized lenses and thus had no reason not to.

However, the 5D and 7D were the only DSLRs to bear the Konica-Minolta name before it sold the camera business to Sony and left the industry in 2006.

Read more of David Young's ongoing series on classic cameras, as well as his book A Brief History of Photography.

You might also like…

Take a look at the best Leica cameras and the best Sony cameras today.

The legendary Coney Island Beach in New York probably isn’t the first place you’d expect to see a billboard about AI, but the sand, water, and sky create an unusual backdrop for Polaroid’s newest message: “Go jump in the water before the data centers drink it all up.”

The words are just one of Polaroid’s continued push to embrace analog in what the company calls an “over-digitized” world. The billboard, installed at Coney Island beach on June 18, re-ignites the analog photography brand’s radical campaign that last year put sayings like “AI can’t generate the sand between your toes” outside major tech stores.

Along with the billboard in Coney Island, Polaroid is sharing a similar message in London, England, including a tube station billboard at King’s Cross, as well as in Bethnal Green and Hackney.

Along with the striking statement about growing concerns over AI’s water use, the campaign also includes phrases like “You can’t bask in blue light” along with “dance like no one is recording” and “What a glorious day to stare into various screens for hours on end.”

The new campaign, “The best of summer is analog,” is both a rebellious celebration of a slowed-down summer with fewer screens and a way to promote the new Polaroid Go Generation 3, Polaroid's smallest instant camera yet.

“For Polaroid, the simple act of existing is already an act of rebellion,” said Polaroid Creative Director Patricia Varella. “While our campaigns are provocative and challenge our relationship with technology, we’re not anti-digital. We know we have to live alongside it, but we’re deeply pro-human, and know what humanity gives us. And we know what we stand to lose if we don’t protect it. That’s a fight worth fighting.”

The billboards aren’t the only rebellious way Polaroid is pushing analog – the company also convinced a dozen influencers to go offline. The company sent influencers a Go Gen 3 camera in a box that resembles a miniature garden.

The Coney Island billboard isn’t just an advertisement; Polaroid calls it “a metaphor for our over-digitization and the increasingly human need to step away from it.” The campaign, Polaroid says, encourages a break from scrolling for “imperfect” but tangible photographs.

You may also like...

Take a look at the best instant cameras for more analog inspiration.

Some heritage brands nowadays are in fact ‘heritage’ in name only. Decades of history crammed into a logo that might connote quality and evoke a sense of nostalgia but, in reality, has been licensed out and slapped onto a product that bears little or no tangible link to the brand’s illustrious past.

And while I never thought Impossible Project’s acquisition of Polaroid fit that category, I had no idea just how much genuine Polaroid DNA courses through its modern films and cameras. A delightful documentary film by instant camera aficionado Ben Fraternale (In An Instant) takes viewers on a tour through the Polaroid factory, accompanied by his guide for the day, Senior Vice President of Film Manufacturing, Andrew Billen.

This isn’t just any old factory; it’s the world’s last Polaroid factory. A bastion of instant camera history that opened in the early ‘70s in the city and municipality of Enschede in the Netherlands. And while there’s a lot of new machinery, there’s still old machinery and throwbacks to decades gone by. Remarkably, although the company has replaced all of the old cassette molding machines, it still uses the original tooling.

Another thing that struck me is this modern iteration of Polaroid’s mantra regarding film. Andrew explains the complexities of the chemistry behind Polaroid’s instant film and that, despite incremental improvements being made to the formula every day, a generational overhaul is a huge, potentially catastrophic task.

One major upgrade to the formula can cause huge ramifications further down the line. As he puts it: “A generation change is multi-million, right? And it’s a huge commitment of resources; it’s not something you do lightly. You’ve got to prepare well for it, very clear scope, and then roll it out.”

Ultimately, Polaroid’s goal is to make the most user-friendly, robust and consistent instant film possible, but these aren’t changes that can be made overnight. The team is also aware that Polaroid film needs to look like Polaroid film; the goal isn’t perfect image fidelity.

And it doesn't seem like the team will be swayed by modern 'retro' aesthetics. As Andrew puts it: “When you photograph a red Ferrari it should look red, not orange, right? You can call it pastelly and analog, but we prefer it a little bit more red.”

What I’ve mentioned here is just the tip of the Polaroid iceberg, so make sure you watch Ben's full video to find out more about the production line and the incredible team of people that’s keeping Polaroid's unique brand of instant film alive.

You might also like...

Have you ever wondered how instant cameras work? Perhaps you’re torn between the two giants: Instax vs Polaroid, which instant camera is right for you? And if you’re looking for something even more traditional, check out the best film cameras.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that early digicams and dedicated compact cameras are resurging in trends at the same time that computers can “create” AI images. Experimental film giant Lomography has a new option for photographers trading modern tech for analog: The Fisheye No. 2 35mm Camera La Mer.

The Fisheye No. 2 takes circular photos, thanks to its built-in 10mm 170-degree view fisheye lens. That allows creators to fit more of the scene into the photo, or use the unusual distortion as a creative effect.

Lomography says that the Fisheye No. 2 La Mer is designed for experimental photography, embracing the exaggerated perspective of a fisheye and mixing it with film imperfections like grain, unusual color mixes, and light leaks. And yes, the camera is also capable of snapping multiple exposures.

The Fisheye No. 2 has a fixed f/8 aperture and only two choices for shutter speed: 1/100 or bulb. A built-in flash allows those settings to keep shooting indoors and at night.

As a 35mm camera, the Fisheye No. 2 takes a readily available film format, opening up more flexibility and experimentation based on what film is inside.

Those features are wrapped up in a compact camera – although the bulbous lens on the front adds to the size and gives the camera a rather unusual appearance. The camera uses a detachable viewfinder that slides into the hot shoe slot.

Lomography’s Fisheye No. 2 camera has actually been around since 2009 in multiple different colors and special editions, but the June 2026 refresh brings a seashore-inspired makeover to the analog compact camera. The new version of the camera features a pastel periwinkle body and a soft yellow color to the viewfinder.

Like the existing colorways, the experimental camera isn’t made to take a major hit on the budget (at least not on the camera itself). It retails for $69 / £69 / CA$89 / AU$109. The camera is available from Lomography and needs to be purchased along with 35mm film.

You may also like...

Ready to ditch modern perfection? These are the best film cameras still available in 2026.

Over the years, a number of waterproof cameras have been produced. Likely the best-known of them is Canon’s AS-6, the “Aquasnappy”. But for serious underwater photographers, there has only ever been one choice.

Back in the mid-1950s, legendary oceanographer and explorer Jacques Cousteau wanted an easy-to-use, compact, amphibious camera that could be carried on the research vessel Calypso and used both on land and at depth.

Conceived by Cousteau and designed by Belgian engineer Jean de Wouters in the late 1950s, it is widely regarded as the first practical, fully waterproof 35mm camera that could be used directly underwater without a bulky external camera housing.

De Wouters built a prototype, which he called the Spiro in 1957, and that eventually evolved into the Calypso camera, manufactured by Atoms in France and distributed by La Spirotechnique in Paris starting in 1960.

The Calypso (sometimes called the Calypso-phot) was named after Costeau’s famed research ship, the RV Calypso.

The Calypso used a simple bayonet lens mount, whereby mounting the lens also pulled the two body halves into a single, watertight unit.

Both 28mm and 35mm lenses (often by SOM Berthiot) and a 45mm lens (by Angenieux) were made, and de Wouters designed a simple, two-bladed, focal-plane shutter that ran from 1/30 to 1/1000sec.

Aperture and focus were set via knobs marked on the lens barrel, rather than on the body. Later Nikonos versions gained a flash port in the base, for underwater flash units, making it a complete system for underwater photography down to about 60 meters (200 ft).

The Calypso’s most distinctive feature is a combined wind-on and shutter release lever. A small top-front rocker locks the lever and, once unlocked, the lever swings forward to its operating position.

Pushing it forward wound the film and cocked the shutter. Pressing it back into the body released the shutter. This layout minimized the number of seals needed and was carried over into Nikon’s Nikonos series.

In the early 1960s the design was licensed to Nippon Kōgaku (now Nikon), which refined it and sold it from 1963 onward as the Nikonos – later expanding it into a long-running series of underwater cameras. Thus, the Calypso is the direct ancestor of the Nikonos line and sometimes referred to as the “proto-Nikonos.”

Nikon produced several models, each adding modest but useful improvements, culminating in the Nikonos RS in 1992. It was a top-line autofocus SLR, waterproof to 100m, with a built-in motor drive, DX‑coded film sensing and a dedicated underwater AF lens set.

The system used Nikon’s special Nikonos / UW-Nikkor lenses, some of which were “water-only” designs optimized for shooting submerged.

These lenses are tuned so that the water itself becomes part of the optical path, giving very sharp, colour-rich images underwater – and they generally do not focus correctly above water. Popular focal lengths included 28mm, 35mm, 50mm macro, 13mm fisheye and the RS‑era 20-35mm zoom and 28mm zoom.

The autofocus Nikonos RS, the most advanced model, was quietly discontinued around 1996-1997 after only a few years of production. Nikon continued to manufacture and sell the Nikonos V until October 2001, when the company formally announced the end of the entire Nikonos series.

It cited the rise of high‑quality underwater housings for standard SLR and DSLR cameras, plus the shift toward digital imaging, as the main reasons for stopping new Nikonos development.

A small number of Nikonos RS bodies were modified by Kodak for the US Navy around 1995-1996, fitted with a digital-back-style rear unit similar to the Kodak DCS 420/425 series; thus becoming the Nikon/Kodak DCS 425 Underwater System.

But it was a one-off military project, not a consumer camera. The exact number made is not known, but believed to be quite small – and the price likely astronomical.

Nikon never did produce a dedicated, digital Nikonos-style camera. Enthusiasts still talk about the idea of a “digital Nikonos,” but Nikon has never brought such a camera to market. At least, not yet…

Read more of David Young's ongoing series on classic cameras, as well as his book A Brief History of Photography.

You might also like…

Take a look at the best waterproof cameras available today, along with the best underwater drones and ROVs – and even the best underwater fishing cameras.

In 1976, Polaroid built a massive instant camera that stood 6.5 feet / 2 meters tall and weighed 235 pounds / 107 kg – roughly the size of an average refrigerator. That camera would go on to be used by names like Ansel Adams, Sally Mann and Andy Warhol.

Now, fifty years later, the camera is once again being used by modern artists.

The oversized bellows camera uses specially made 20x24 Polaroid film. Polaroid originally built five of the cameras, designed to be an eye-catching piece at shows and events. But when it found new ownership through the Impossible Project, one of the massive cameras was discovered collecting dust in a storage room.

Polaroid decided to not only refurbish the oversized camera, but also make the large 20x24 sheet film for it. Now the Polaroid Foundation is taking the camera on tour, giving artists around the world the opportunity to use the rare camera while filming an ongoing documentary called the 20x24 Project.

The camera follows the classic design of a field camera with folding bellows – but it sits on a wheeled base and, unlike field cameras, was only ever meant to be used in a studio.

The film creates a 20x24 image. Like smaller Polaroid cameras, the its rollers rupture a chemical pod to develop the film without a dark room. But unlike the more classic instant film, these 20x24 images are cut from rolls after the image is exposed.

The 20x24 Project, with the support of Polaroid, is now taking the restored camera around the world. John Reuter, a former Polaroid employee, is accompanying it with protégée Harriet Browse. Traveling with the camera is no easy feat, however, as it’s too large to even fit on an airplane.

The organization has been taking the camera across the globe to be used by artists, including visiting the oldest art exhibition in the world – the Venice Biennale.

The organization’s modern goal in 2026 echoes the camera’s past. While originally built as a showpiece, the camera went on to be part of the Polaroid Artist Support Program. The program provided Polaroid cameras and film to both emerging and established artists.

The program was established in 1949 and, while modern camera brands now offer ambassador programs, the concept at the time was unique. The photos that the artists created using the free film and cameras would go on to be part of what later became called The Polaroid Collection.

According to the 20x24 Project, that history means the newly restored camera now on tour with modern artists was once used by artists like Robert Maplethorpe, Mary Ellen Mark, William Wegman, Chuck Close, Richard Prince, Peter Beard, Jullian Schnobble, Barbara Kassen, Lucas Mars, Helen Chap, Carrie Williams, Luigi Gary and others.

The Guinness Book of World Records notes that the 20x24 Polaroid, first built in 1976, still holds the world record for the world’s largest Polaroid camera. Film fans and camera nerds can watch the oversized camera’s travel adventures on the 20x24 Project’s YouTube Channel.

You may also like…

Polaroid recently made its smallest instant film camera yet! Or, read about the best instant film cameras, as tested by our in-house instant film experts.

The Minions are bringing their legendary mischief to the Fujifilm House of Photography in London, England. A Minion-Instax event will mix the mischievous characters with instant film, including photo opportunities, giveaways and even the chance to customize an Instax camera for free.

The event, which is set for June 18 to July 12, celebrates the upcoming Illumination Minions & Monsters movie (opening on July 01) by allowing the characters to take over the first floor of the Fujifilm House of Photography located in Covent Garden.

Guests will be treated to Minion-themed photo opportunities, including monster Irene. Fujifilm’s new Spot AR photobooths will also be available to try with Minion-themed templates for the instant film.

For two days only, on July 1 and 2nd, viral creator Matt B Customs, a Manchester-based artist known for handcrafted sneaker designs, will be on hand to customize cameras, free of charge.

Fujifilm notes that the customization is only for Instax cameras, and guests will need to choose between a variety of Minion-themed designs. Guests are welcome to bring their existing Instax or purchase a new camera at the House of Photography – no doubt including the Instax Mini 13.

It's not the first time that Matt B Customs has customized Fujifilm cameras – he previously also offered customization during a Fujikina event in 2005.

The event will also include several giveaways, including a trip for two to Rome (which is, of course, also Minion-themed), custom Instax camera giveaways and other Minions merchandise.

The event is free to attend and will continue from June 18 to July 12, with the customizations available only on July 01 and 02. The Fujifilm House of Photography is located at 8-9 Long Acre, London WC2E 9LH.

You may also like...

Take a deep dive into the best instant film cameras or the best hybrid film-digital cameras.

I’ve taken a lot of selfies with gear from tripods to, yes, an iPhone with an outstretched arm. But I recently snapped a selfie with an unusual accessory: a camera strap. The Instax Mini 13 has an unusual selfie feature that’s unexpectedly hidden right in the instant film camera’s strap.

As the photographer in my family, I wouldn’t be in my own family albums without selfies – but I have to admit, I hate the awkward outstretched arm in the corner of the photo. But Fujifilm’s newest instant camera has an unusual hack for selfies without the awkward hold or bringing a tripod.

The instant camera’s strap has what looks at first glance like just a cute Instax logo. But this plastic piece is actually a wedge. Placing this wedge underneath the camera, I could actually prop the camera on a tabletop and still angle the camera just right to take a selfie without hauling a tripod along.

That unusual but clever feature comes along with the Instax Mini 13’s selfie timer. Instax’s higher-end cameras have had selfie timers before, but Fujifilm is now finally bringing it to the most affordable, party-ready instant film camera.

That’s a welcome change, as the Instax Mini 13 is the camera that’s more likely to wind up in the hands of casual users. Those selfie-focused changes have arrived as the camera maintains its simple point-and-shoot use and iconic instant film images.

No, the images aren’t going to be perfect. Timing a selfie on instant film is a challenge. But a slowed-down imperfection is the point of shooting with a retro format in the first place.

The Instax Mini 13 was originally unveiled back in March, but wasn’t expected to start shipping to the US until June, with no expected shipping date for the UK. Now, the ship month is here – and UK availability has finally been announced with pre-orders open today.

I’ve long loved the Instax Mini series and, while I think pricier options like the Mini 99 or the hybrid Mini Evo are better for serious photographers, I think the Mini 13 is an easy favorite for parties and snapshots. Instant film is a fantastic way to buck the modern tech trends and AI in a classic format – and the perfect way to slow down while taking snapshots.

The Fujifilm Instax Mini 13 retails for about $94 / £79 / AU$129 / CA$110. Pre-orders for the camera have now opened in multiple regions including the US, UK, Australia and Canada. Shipping is estimated before the end of June.

You may also like...

Read my full Instax Mini 13 review, or take a deep dive into the best instant film cameras as well as the best hybrid instant cameras.

The original half-frame Olympus Pen was a huge success, because it was small, inexpensive and had a fast, razor-sharp lens – and the half-frame camera format was thrifty on film.

But even the mighty Olympus Pen died, as people discovered the difficulties in getting a good quality enlargement from the cropped negatives. Yet it still had an amazing 24-year run over various models, finally biting the dust in 1983 after 17 million had been sold.

So why would someone, four years later, try to revive the half-frame film format in a much larger, oddly-shaped camera – one equipped with a nice zoom lens but terrible autofocus, and all at a considerably higher price? That’s a good question, for which I don’t think anyone has a good answer.

To give the Yashica Samurai full credit, the 25-75mm f/4-5.6 zoom lens was really sharp, and faster than the ones in most point-and-shoot cameras at the time.

It featured an inter-lens leaf shutter, programmed auto-exposure, built-in motor drive (claimed to reach 4.5fps) and a built-in electronic flash. The Samurai was a true SLR, exposing half-frame (17 x 24 mm) images on 35mm film.

On the plus side of the ledger, the film ran vertically through the camera – so the photos were in the classic horizontal format, something quite unusual for half-frame cameras.

The Samurai was a nice camera to hold, felt really solid and was fun to use. And the pictures were good, so long as the autofocus cooperated… but the autofocus was its Achilles heel, best described as loud, slow and inaccurate.

The Samurai series of bridge cameras were intended for convenient, one-handed operation, and their style, shape and size were inspired by early camcorders.

They were difficult to shoot with, as the contrast-detection auto-focus was painfully slow and would hunt for several seconds – even with a brightly lit, high-contrast scene. Anything less, and it was worse.

There was, however, one group of people who liked the Samurais, for Yashica did something rarely seen: it made the Samurai S-L, with the plastic case molded for left-handed operation. Lefties loved it!

But, sadly, that was not enough. Introduced in 1987 at $488, Samurais were being advertised by 1989 at just $239. Despite the addition of a pair of lesser-featured models in 1990, that year was also the end of the Samurai series. By 1991 they were gone.

Today they are collectors' items, and can be found in both Yashica and Kyocera branding with accents in either red or teal blue. But, even here, they are coveted only by camera collectors keen on unusual oddities.

Read more of David Young's ongoing series on classic cameras, as well as his book A Brief History of Photography.

You might also like…

The left-handed camera is one of the most common April Fools for photographers. Read more about the rise and fall of Yashica and check out the best film cameras worth looking at today.

Lomography has just released the new 2026 colors for its unique Sprocket Rocket 35mm Panoramic Camera. We have gotten used to this unusual panoramic film camera coming in new colors every year, and this year we are getting mint green and pink duotone versions, that mix it up by having different colors on the front than the back.

What makes the Sprocket Rocket different is that it exposes the full width of the film – including the two borders of the emulsion with the sprocket holes. The compact camera device can use any 35mm film and produce 1:3 panoramic images. First introduced in 2011, the camera can give you up to 18 images per roll, and has now been made in a dozen different colors and special editions.

You do need to use a specialist lab that can provide you with prints that actually show them, rather than cropping them off – but Lomography offers this service themselves, and also offers scanning solutions so that you can digitize your holey panoramic images once they are processed

The camera itself is about as simple as you can get, with few controls. Rewind and advance knobs are the only top-plate controls and there’s no shutter button. Instead, you fire the shutter by activating a small lever on the lens. Shutter speed and aperture are set via the lens, too. A reverse gear means you can creatively combine multiple exposures on the one frame.

Exposure is fixed at 1/100sec or via bulb mode and the only apertures available are f/10.8 and f/16. Focusing is similarly simple, with two settings: 0.6-1m for closer subjects and 1m to infinity for everything else. You do get a hotshoe, however, so you can attach a flash. No battery is needed, as everything is mechanical.

The Sprocket Rocket is available from Lomography and selected retailers for $69 / £45 / AU$69.

If you’re interested in film photography, check out the best light meters or the best film cameras.

What's better than having the smallest analog instant camera in the world? Having the smallest analog instant camera in the world but with longer, sharper lenses and a more powerful flash!

The Polaroid Go Gen 3 takes everything that was great about the Polaroid Go Gen 2 (which is one of the best instant cameras you can buy – and I've bought a couple of them!) and further refines the micro-sized shooting experience.

The main thing here is that the lens system has been revamped. Where the Gen 2 had a 34mm equivalent focal length, with fixed f/9 and f/32 apertures, the Gen 3 replaces this with a longer 42mm equivalent focal length and apertures at f/14 and f/32.

The result? Sharper shots and slightly more reach – which means slightly more flattering portraits (albeit slightly less width for selfies, unless you have long arms).

Polaroid has also amped up the "genuinely powerful flash" for "better shots in any lighting" and more even exposure. This is what has enabled the lens system to stop down to f/14 to enable those sharper shots – and it also pushes the shutter speed to 1/500 sec (from 1/300 sec). The stronger flash doesn't affect battery life, though, so you still get about 120 shots / 8 packs worth.

All of this has slightly inflated the weight and dimensions of the Gen 3 – so technically the latest model isn't the world's smallest, but I guess the product line itself is. That said, the new camera measures a still-diminutive 106.5 x 83.8 x 64.6mm (up from 105 x 84 x 62mm) and weighs 251.9g without film (up from 239g).

Obviously it still takes the same micro-sized Polaroid Go film, with prints small enough to fit in your phone case. And it still packs the same key features that made its predecessors essential party companions: a self-timer, selfie mirror, double-exposures and that "Oh my god your camera is so small!" factor that makes it an instant talking point.

While the Instax Mini 13 remains the most ubiquitous, for my money (literally) the Polaroid Go is a far more fun camera to use – and the latest version is an instant purchase for me. I'll have a review on the site soon.

The Polaroid Go Gen 3 is on sale now, priced $89.99 / £79.99 (Australian pricing to be confirmed). It comes in five colors: black, white, and two-tone purple, teal and light blue.

You might also like…

Check out my Polaroid Go Gen 2 review and my original Polaroid Now review to see how the previous generations compare. And take a look at my Polaroid Flip review if you want a slightly beefier camera.

I was not exactly quiet about how much I liked the original Valoi easy35. Before using it, I had largely written off camera scanning as one of those workflows that sounded great in theory, but in practice involved too much setup, too much faffing, and too many opportunities to get something slightly wrong. The first easy35 changed that for me. It took the most annoying parts of camera scanning, such as holding film flat, keeping the camera aligned, blocking stray light, and setting the right distance from the lens, and packed them into a single, compact system.

The easy35 v2 is not a complete rethink of the concept, and I do not think it needed to be. This is still a compact film-scanning unit that screws onto the front of a macro lens and lets you photograph 35mm negatives or other small film formats with a digital camera. The resulting files then need to be inverted and processed separately in software, but the capture stage is about as simple as camera scanning gets.

What Valoi has done for the second generation is focus on refinement. The easy35 v2 has a redesigned light source, smoother materials, simplified controls, a new holder system, magnetic accessories, and better battery life. On paper, these might sound like quality-of-life changes rather than a revolution, but after scanning multiple rolls with it, they make the easy35 v2 feel like a more mature version of a product I already relied on.

Specifications

Price

The Valoi easy35 v2 is available now through Valoi and selected retailers. Pricing sits at $272 / £199 / €229. That makes it more expensive than some of the very basic camera-scanning adapters available online, but still significantly cheaper than building out a more elaborate copy-stand setup, and cheaper than many dedicated high-end film scanners.

The bigger question is not just the price of the easy35 v2 itself, but the cost of everything needed around it. You need a digital camera, ideally with enough resolution to make the exercise worthwhile, and you need a true 1:1 macro lens. If you already own both, the easy35 v2 feels like very good value. If you are starting from scratch, the total cost can mount up quickly, and a dedicated scanner or lab scans might make more sense depending on how much film you shoot.

Design & Handling

The most obvious improvement with the easy35 v2 is how much nicer it feels. The original easy35 worked brilliantly, but its rougher finish had one particularly annoying habit: it picked up fluff and general debris far too easily. The new model switches to a smoother plastic that feels cleaner in the hand, looks more polished, and is much easier to keep presentable.

This might sound superficial, but for a product that is going to spend a lot of time around film – avoiding dust matters. It is still utilitarian rather than luxurious, but it is a clear step forward. The small red accents around the power button and extension tube thread also help give the v2 a bit more identity, and the matching red USB-C cable is a nice touch.

Valoi has also simplified the controls, and I think that is the right move. The previous version had brightness and color temperature controls. On the v2, the controls are reduced to a single on/off button. That makes it much easier to understand, and it absolutely lives up to the “easy” part of its name. There is less to get wrong, less to think about, and less temptation to fiddle when you could just be scanning.

The film holder has also had an update. It grips the film more tightly than before, and I found it slightly tougher to pull a strip through, though still nowhere near difficult. The benefit is that the film feels more securely held and better controlled.

The magnetic duster is a useful addition too. It snaps on securely for storage, and the magnets are strong enough that I never felt it was going to fall off in use. My only design gripe is that the duster seems to use the same finish as the first-generation easy35 than the smoother v2 plastic, which looks a little odd attached to the more polished main unit.

The extension tubes appear to be the same as before, and that is mostly a good thing. They are solid metal, they feel robust, and they allow you to set the right distance between your lens and the film plane. However, they are still magnets for fingerprints and oils.

More importantly, I did notice a little flex once everything was mounted. With my Fujifilm X-T5, the camera sits just a few millimeters lower than the easy35 v2, so I had to wedge something underneath the camera to get the sensor and film perfectly aligned. It is an incredibly simple fix, but it is something to be aware of.

Performance

The easy35 v2 is designed to make camera scanning faster and less intimidating, and in that respect, it does exactly what is promised. I scanned six rolls of film over two sessions, and the process was almost comically quick compared with traditional film scanning. Once everything was set up, I could scan a roll of 36 frames in around two minutes. That means the six rolls I scanned represented only around 12 minutes of actual capture time.

The battery is also more than enough for this kind of use. Valoi claims around four hours of battery life, and based on my experience, that is going to last an age. It can also be powered over USB-C while in use, and Valoi includes a long braided cable.

While there are a lot of factors at play, including the camera, lens, and film you're scanning, but for its part, the easy35 v2 does everything right to maximize image quality. I found the light to be consistent across the frame, with no obvious light leaks around the edges and no distracting shifts in color or brightness across a roll, and the illumination is plenty bright enough to expose the film clearly without introducing unwanted blooming.

There are still a couple of practical caveats. The big one is the same as before: you need to already own, or be prepared to buy, the rest of the system. The easy35 v2 is not a complete scanner in the same way a Plustek or Kodak scanner is. It still depends on you owning a digital camera, a macro lens, and software for inversion. If you do not own that kit, the cost equation changes.

Using my very cheap TTArtisan macro lens combined with my Fujifilm X-T5, I was still getting results that were comparable with, if not slightly better than, my Plustek film scanner. Although that is not to say every easy35 v2 setup will automatically beat a dedicated scanner, as it will depend on your equipment, technique, and conversion software.

And conversion software will play a big part. The easy35 doesn't come with any sort of conversion software included. There are some of the free conversion software options available, but I can't personally vouch for their quality and consistency – although there are plenty of positive reviews online. However, I used Negative Lab Pro, which is a paid extension to Lightroom (which itself requires a subscription) and is excellent, so both add to the cost of the overall package.

The new film holder helps here as well. It feels more secure than the previous holder and holds the film flatter and tighter. I would rather have a slightly firmer pull through the holder if it means better consistency, and that is the trade-off Valoi seems to have made.

The second issue is dust. Dust getting onto the light source is still a bit of a nuisance, and because the light is more closed off now, cleaning it is not quite as straightforward as I would like. You can use an air blower or cotton swabs, but I would love a quick way to snap the light section on and off for cleaning. With film scanning, dust is always going to be part of the fight, but anything that makes cleaning quicker would be welcome.

Verdict

The Valoi easy35 v2 is exactly the kind of upgrade I wanted. It does not change what made the original so good, but it fixes a lot of the little things that made it feel like a first gen product. The new smoother body is less prone to picking up fluff, the simplified controls make it easier to use, the film holder feels more precise, and the light gives consistent results across a roll. It is still fast, still compact, and still one of the least frustrating ways I have found to scan 35mm film at home.

It is not for everyone. If you do not already own a suitable digital camera and 1:1 macro lens, this is not a cheap all-in-one solution. But for anyone already invested in camera gear, especially photographers who shoot film regularly and are tired of slow dedicated scanners, the easy35 v2 is easy to recommend.

Alternatives

As I recall, the year was 1964. I was still a teenager, but a teenager with a camera. It was just a basic fixed-lens SLR, a Nikkorex 35/2, but it made me the family expert. My mother wanted a new camera and said to me, “I don’t want one that’s foolproof. I need one that’s mother-proof!“

My solution was a Kodak Instamatic. A better-quality, basic box camera. A point-and-pray camera with a plastic 35mm f/9 Kodak lens that was quite sharp in the center, if not so sharp at the edges.

She loved it, and used it frequently until she passed away a few years later. It was expensive, at $27.50 (about $245 in today’s dollars) and I still have it. But, I’m getting ahead of myself.

Back in 1934, Dr August Nagel at Kodak AG in Germany invented what we now know as the standard 35mm film cartridge. It eliminated the need to load film into either Leica or Contax-style cassettes in total darkness.

This new 135 film made 35mm cameras usable for the masses – and, thus, popular. But there were many people who still found loading 35mm film awkward. And my mother was one of them.

At Kodak, Hubert Nerwin (formerly the chief designer at Zeiss Ikon) and Frank Zagara had been hard at work solving this problem. Newin's solution was a strip of 35mm film with a single perforation per frame, backed with a paper strip and tucked into a plastic cartridge that held both the feed and take-up spools.

Film speed could be set by a notch in the plastic, and the whole thing became a simple ‘open back, drop in the film and close the back' operation. Anybody could it, even my mother!

Zagara designed the camera to go with this new 126 film cartridge. It was a very basic box-style camera that took 28 x 26mm square photos.

His Instamatic 100, and its matching Kodapak 126 film, were introduced in 1963 at a retail price of $15.95, (or roughly $160 today), making it an affordable entry-level snapshot camera with the new 126 cartridge system.

This new format really did revolutionize the point-and-shoot camera market. The Instamatic 100 offered a fixed-focus 43mm f/11 acrylic lens, with shutter speeds of 1/90 second or 1/40 with flash, and sunny / flash selector made it point-and-shoot ready for anyone, much like the earlier Brownie series from Kodak.

It also featured a built-in pop-up flash for AG-1 bulbs (powered by two AAA batteries), and a compact metal-and-plastic body with wrist strap. Later models (from 1965) would feature the flashcube, while the X series (starting in 1970) used the Magicube, eliminating the battery and reducing costs even further.

All along, the Instamatics were intended for the “beginner” or “consumer” market. Four firms (Minolta, Rollei, Yashica and Zeiss Ikon) made a few high-end models, but none of them met with great success.

By 1970, Kodak had sold over 50 million Instamatic cameras! Millions more were made and sold by other companies. But the quality of the plastic cartridges was uneven, making it difficult to keep the film flat, which resulted in lower quality images – and the 126 format was almost dead by 1972.

Kodak’s last Instamatic was the X-15F, last made in 1978. Film production ended in 1999, though Ferrania (Italy) periodically made batches until 2008.

The Instamatic name was used again, in 1972, when Kodak introduced its Pocket Instamatic with more compact, "pocket-sized" cameras. Advances in finer-grained film enabled smaller 13 x 17 mm frames on 16mm-wide stock, versus 126's bulkier 28 x 28 mm on 35mm-wide film.

But similar problems with film flatness in the plastic cartridge and the lack of resolution from the very small negatives and plastic lenses meant that the 110 format was essentially dead by 1994. Kodak ended 110 film production by 2006, though Fujifilm continued color negative film until September 2009.

In the 1980s, both formats lost ground rapidly to the Japanese 35mm camera makers who offered better image quality, automated film loading (think Canon’s QL system) and fully automatic exposure control at ever-decreasing prices.

Today, collectors and enthusiasts can find both “print-it-yourself” cartridge designs (using 3D printers) or ready-made, reloadable ones from specialist retailers.

One firm, the Film Photography Project, is currently offering both black-and-white and color (Kodak Gold 200) films as “126 hand-perforated rolls in a black canister”, which you can load, in total darkness, into older or newer reloadable plastic cartridges.

Certainly neither convenient nor cheap. But doable, if you’re dedicated. And anyone using these cameras today certainly is that!

Read more of David Young's ongoing series on classic cameras, as well as his book A Brief History of Photography.

You might also like…

Take a look at the best Kodak cameras and best film cameras available today

If you’re in the business of technology it pays to not only move with the times but, if you can, get ahead of them.

At the end of the 1990s, when digital cameras started to become both affordable and ‘good enough’ to be a mass market proposition, Fujifilm chose to bring out its first Instax instant camera (alongside initial attempts at digicams): the credit card-sized print-outputting Instax Mini 10.

It was a point in time that coincided with Fujifilm and Kodak becoming concerned that digital photography would kill off their traditional film businesses.

As it has turned out, though, Instax is precisely what Fujifilm now largely owes its continued existence to – and what helped it through that dark period, when consumers abandoned the digital point-and-shoots that the company piled high and sold at volume through the 2000s.

Yes, its mirrorless cameras have been critical successes. But even considering recent viral hits like the Fujifilm X100VI, sales of Instax still massively outstrip mirrorless. Indeed, Instax alone is said to contribute up to two-thirds of the company’s annual income.

Famously, Fujifilm could only launch its Instax range when Polaroid’s instant print photography patents expired in the late 1990s (though there are differences in the chemical formulae involved).

But it has provided a steady stream of sales alongside the APS-C mirrorless and X100 compact cameras we all tend to focus on. It's become an absolute goldmine for the brand, with little innovation required, bar a few tweaks to filters and formats here and there – including eventually making the obvious introduction of an instant film / digital camera hybrid with the SQ10.

Instax is one of those famous cases of a company not necessarily initiating or inventing an original concept, but nevertheless being the one to most dramatically benefit from it. See also Kodak’s early doors development (and just as rapid shelving) of a digital camera prototype way back in the mid-1970s.

While Kodak kicked itself as it faced bankruptcy at the height of digital’s popularity, decades later, Fujifilm has reached a cumulative milestone of 100 million Instax units sold.

By contrast, the original Polaroid company also went bankrupt in 2001 – though the brand has been revived by a group of investors headed up by the Polish Smolokowski family since 2017. Despite the nostalgia factor being in its favor, the modern ‘Polaroid’ has some distance to go to hit the heights of success and sales enjoyed by Instax.

And though the principles and chemistry remain the same, Fujifilm’s offerings have become incrementally broad, now encompassing Instax Mini, Square and Wide camera and printer combos – plus standalone Instax Link portable printers enabling smartphone users to output an Instax print, even if they don’t own an Instax camera.

Add Instax photo booths not just camera in stores but high street retailers, and it seems that world domination is now complete. Surely, I believe, personalized Instax cameras for Gen Z users, not just prints, are the next step in Instax’s ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ formula.

Check out our full guide to the best instant cameras

Recycling is typically associated with green – but Polaroid is turning waste into psychedelic purple images. Polaroid Purple 600 Film is a limited-edition instant film created using reclaimed materials from Polaroid’s last remaining factory.

The new film is part of Polaroid’s Reclaimed series, a series of limited edition films created using leftover chemicals from the Polaroid film factory in the Netherlands. The line of limited-edition films typically comes from experiments by Polaroid scientists, like earlier limited edition films for Reclaimed Blue 600 and Reclaimed Green 600 that, as the names suggest, created strong blue and green-toned images.

Now, Polaroid has concocted an instant film that creates a largely purple image. Polaroid calls the results “dreamlike” and psychedelic” – and also says the look is completely new. The film comes from mixing Acid Red dye with the Blue 600 chemistry from the earlier film in the series.

Like the other runs in the Reclaimed Series, the film uses reclaimed materials from the Polaroid factory, which the company says gives waste a second chance at life.

As a 600-type film, the new film is comparable with cameras like the Polaroid Now, Now+, I-2, Flip, and the Polaroid Lab.

Because the film is experimental and made with reclaimed materials, the Polaroid Purple 600 is a limited edition film, and it’s unclear how many packs of film Polaroid will sell of the unusual chemical concoction.

The film is currently a Member Exclusive at Polaroid’s online store, but some retailers, including B&H in the US, have opened pre-orders for the limited-edition film. The film sells for $18.99 / £16.99 for a single pack (8 exposures).

You may also like

Dive deep into the world of instant film with the best instant film cameras.

With the football (yes, soccer) World Cup right around the corner, Harman has started the celebration early with the launch of Football Collector's Editions of two of the best 35mm camera film.

And, proving that it's not just strikers who shoot, the project is a collaboration with Miles Myerscough-Harris – aka Expired Film Club – whose brilliant black-and-white football photos will adorn the sides of the limited-edition packaging.

"With a World Cup around the corner, and as a company full of football (soccer) fans, we wanted to celebrate football fever by teaming up with Miles on this project," said Giles Branthwaite, Harman's sales and marketing director.

"A couple of years ago we released limited-edition retro packaging for our HP5 Plus and FP4 Plus films and the feedback from the community was fantastic. Film shooters by their very nature are collectors and wanted more."

This time it's Ilford XP2 Super and Ilford HP5 Plus that get the special treatment, and both are now available in the collector-friendly format.

(It's worth noting that the emulsions themselves have not changed, so the film will behave no differently, and the cassettes do not bear any limited edition branding.)

For those unfamiliar, Expired Film Club is renowned for shooting sport on analog film cameras, from NBA basketball and Major League baseball to snooker, tennis and, of course, football.

"I am so excited to announce that my photos are being featured on the cartons of the films!" said Myerscough-Harris. "Can't believe it… [it's] still blowing my mind

"I am unbelievably excited about this, not only because it's so cool seeing my photos on boxes of film, but it also happens to be on my absolute favorite black-and-white film that I use on every single shoot I ever do. If you've seen my black-and-white photos on my profile, they probably would have been shot with Ilford HP5."

You can find more information at the Ilford Photo website.

You might also like…

Take a look at the best film cameras and the best 35mm film for them. If you want to shoot your own football (yes, soccer), check out the best cameras for sports photography and the best lenses for sports photography.

The names of popular Kodak film stocks have just changed – and they're being distributed by a different branch of Kodak.

Two lines of Kodak Alaris film, Portra and TMax, have been rebranded as Ektacolor and Ektapan by Eastman Kodak. Which means that Kodak Portra 400, for example, is now called Kodak Ektacolor 400 and so on.

Confused?

Let me try to give you the crib notes version. Essentially, Eastman Kodak – the branch of the company that actually manufactures camera film – is now distributing stock directly.

Previously, Eastman Kodak film stock was distributed by Kodak Alaris – a private equity-owned division that was divested from Eastman Kodak in 2013, following the company's bankruptcy.

As part of bringing the distribution back "in-house", Eastman Kodak has rebranded two of the best camera film stocks according to its old naming conventions – but, crucially, the emulsions will remain the same.

As described by 35M Pro lab in Los Angeles (based in my old stomping ground, Sherman Oaks):

"Before Portra, Kodak's professional film line was called Ektacolor. This 'Ekta' was a distinguishing premium from the consumer lines like Kodacolor or Gold. The other professional film lines associated include Ektar, Ektachrome and Ektapan."

So that explains the rebranded names themselves, but why the rebrand and change in distribution in the first place?

"After over a decade of Kodak Alaris distributing Kodak’s pro films, Eastman Kodak is bringing distribution back in-house. Shorter supply chain and potentially more stable pricing and same legendary quality.

"… rather than profits going to private equity (Alaris), film profits will be reinvested back into the company making film manufacturing more sustainable."

If for some reason you love or trust the old Alaris branding more, fear not – it looks like Portra and TMax versions will still be available. Though it's likely that they will carry at least a somewhat higher price than the alrternatives distributed directly by Eastman Kodak.

Flip through the slides on 35M Pro's Instagram post for more info, but here's a quick guide to the film stocks that have been rebranded:

You might also like…

Take a look at the best film cameras with which to use your Kodak film, and check out the best Kodak cameras in both the analog and digital realms.

Compact cameras are arguably one of the biggest photography trends of 2026 – but one analog photography startup is taking the opposite approach. The Smartflex 8x10 is a large format film camera – and the company says it's the largest SLR yet.

The Smartflex 8x10 measures 310mm / 12.2 inches wide, 380mm / 14.9 inches wide, and 410mm / 16.1 inches high. To put things in perspective, if you stacked four Nikon D3500s on top of each other, the Smartflex 8x10 would still be taller with the viewfinder closed.

The Smartflex 8x10 weighs 12.3 lbs / 5.6kg – and that’s without a lens attached. That's more than the weight of 24 Ricoh GR IV cameras put together. The company says the camera is constructed with a robust chassis that allows for handling even lenses of around 8 to 10 kg.

But of course, it's unfair to compare a digital compact camera or even a DSLR to a large format film camera that uses massive 8x10 sheets of film. Even among 8x10 film cameras, however, the Smartflex 8x10 is unusual because it is an SLR.

While large format photography is considered more niche than the widely accessible 35mm roll film, a handful of cameras still support the 8x10 sheet film. These large-format 8x10 cameras typically use a ground glass screen instead of a viewfinder.

But, the Smartflex 8x10 has a viewfinder, made possible using an internal mirror and prism system that qualifies the camera as an SLR, or single lens reflex. The Smartflex 8x10 uses a waist-level viewfinder, but the company says an optional eye-level viewfinder will also be available.

The last time a camera company built a large format 8x10 film camera that qualified as an SLR was in 1901 with the Graflex 810, Smartflex says.

The camera uses a lens board that the company says allows it to work with "virtually all common large-format lenses” without an adapter. The camera can be paired with a specially designed 300mm f/2.8 lens. An optional extension board will allow the body to expand in order to work with 600mm lenses.

The Smartflex 8x10 supports 8x10 Sheet Film and 8x10 Polaroids, but it also works with wet plates. The company explained that wet plate photography requires a very large shutter curtain. The camera uses a cloth focal-plane slit shutter. That supports shutter speeds between 1/40sec and 1/1000sec, as well as a T-setting for wet plates.

While the Smartflex 8x10 has a viewfinder, the camera uses bellows for focusing, much like historic large-format cameras. The camera uses a multi-rail design for the bellows, which allows the camera to support heavier, large-format lenses.

The Smartflex 8x10 comes after the start-up successfully launched the 4x5 last year on Kickstarter. Now, the company has built 15 Smartflex 8x10 SLRs – and if market demand is strong, the company says additional cameras will be available. The company is also considering a 5x7 camera for the future, Smartflex told Digital Camera World.

The Tokyo-based startup is listing those first few samples for a trial price of $5,715 with a lens – that converts to around £4,250 / AU$7,975 / CA$7,895.

You may also like

For more analog inspiration, visit the best film camera guide.

There are a lot of beautiful cameras on the market right now. The Sigma BF, the Leica D-Lux 8 100 Years of Leica Edition, the new Panasonic Lumix L10… but there's a new kid in town. Well, it's really an old-school kid.

This is the first prototype of a film camera using the Leica M39 mount, being made entirely by hand by the Suzuki Handmade Camera Factory.

My first thought was that this looks like the Cybertruck of Leicas, which I mean in the most complimentary way possible. Hand-milled and drilled from carbon steel, with the glass lens and prism cut and polished from glass ingots, the question might be… why?

As the enigmatic ingénieur behind the Suzuki Handmade Camera Factory states: "I am pursuing the creation of the finest mechanical 35mm film camera – researching, developing, and prototyping entirely on my own."

The project began back in 2021, establishing the workshop and means to create all the components. The first prototype design was completed in October 2024, after which there was a long period of refining and fine-tuning.

Now "Prototype No 1" is 70% finished, with completion forecast for June, with Prototype No 2 scheduled between June and December, followed by Prototype No 3 – the first production model – set to get underway in 2027.

The current model boasts a metal-curtain horizontal-travel focal-plane shutter, 1/1000 to 1 second shutter, a rangefinder with 1.0x magnification and 120mm base length, and dimensions of 140 x 72.5 x 32 mm.

The Suzuki Handmade Camera Factory has added a new section to the website called Manufacturing Archive containing newly uploaded videos that showcase the manufacturing process of each component of Prototype No 1.

These videos are hosted on the manufacturer's YouTube page as well as its Instagram account. If you're even remotely interested in how cameras are made, or how film cameras work, or even just watching in amazement as somebody builds cool stuff, I definitely recommend checking out Suzuki Handmade Camera Factory.

You might also like…

Take a look at the best film cameras and make sure you're using the best 35mm film.

In 1959, the Nikon F revolutionized the photographic world. Its maker, Nippon Kogaku (now Nikon) had done its homework well, asking hundreds of photographers from across the world what they liked and what they didn’t like about their cameras.

Using the remarkably sturdy chassis of its S2 rangefinder body as a base, it then set out to create an SLR that gave the pros everything they wanted. Almost overnight, Nikon went from an obscure Japanese camera maker to the professional’s choice in SLRs.

It offered different backs, motor drives, changeable viewfinders and screens. In short, it could be configured to do virtually anything a photographer might want. And it was so tough that you felt you could pound nails with it.

The F2 followed, in 1971, offering a number of new features including a quicker shutter, with a 1/2000 sec top speed, a swing-open back for easier film loading, a wider assortment of detachable finders and metering heads, a 250-exposure film back, a larger reflex mirror to ensure no vignetting, and a shutter release nearer the front of the camera for better ergonomics.

It also offered a detachable motor drive, something that the F only had as a custom modification. It quickly became the camera of choice for photographers covering the Vietnam War. It was also the last all-mechanical, professional-level Nikon SLR.

Which brings us to the remarkable Nikon F3, introduced in March 1980. The F3 was the first professional camera to offer both manual control and aperture priority automation. (You set the aperture, the camera selects the shutter speed.) This is still the most used method by professionals, even today.

It was also the first of many Nikon cameras to be styled by the famed Italian automotive designer, Giorgetto Giugiaro, who added a red stripe on the handgrip – a feature that would later become (with variants of stripes and various other shapes) a signature feature of many Nikon cameras.

Many consider the F3 (and sometimes the later F4) to be among the most beautiful 35mm SLRs ever made.

It was also beautifully made. Not only were mechanical tolerances even tighter than in the F and F2 models, the engineers used ball bearings to mount its shutter and film transport mechanisms – and additional ball bearings were added to the film advance. to make one of the smoothest operating cameras ever built.

Users reported that resistance was so low when winding the film that it was difficult to tell if there was film in the camera or not!

The F3 was as durable, capable camera, with an optional motor drive that could handle 4fps shooting. In the digital age this may not seem great, but it was stellar performance at the time.

But all good things must come to an end, though, and in 1988 the F3 was superseded by the Nikon F4 – the first professional-grade Nikon to offer autofocus and focus tracking.

The F4 was again styled by Giugiaro and offered a new, more robust Copal Square vertical-run shutter, with a top speed of 1/8000 sec and flash sync at 1/250 sec. It featured an integral motor drive with speeds up to 5.7fps.

The F4 bothered many photographers as it was also the first F-series camera lacking a manual film-advance lever, and its first-generation autofocus (single focus point and somewhat slow) failed to win people over. The F3 remained so popular that it stayed in production until 2001 – a full 4 years after the F4 was gone!

But the F4 was not without its good points. It would accept any and all Nikon F-mount lenses, both manual and AF. Its one bugaboo was that it (obviously) did not support the later Nikon lenses with image stabilization. The lenses would mount and work perfectly in AF or MF modes, as required, but lost the IS function.

In some ways, the F4 was well ahead of its time – indeed, NASA used it to create its Electronic Still Camera (ESC), one of the first and rarest of digital cameras.

Sources differ, with some saying Nikon did the mechanical mods while NASA did the electronic work. Others maintain that Nikon did all the mods for NASA. Either way, the ESC was used from 1991 on board the Space Shuttle. It was based on a heavily modified F4 with standard F-mount, and had a digital camera back with a 1MP monochrome CCD image sensor just 15 x 15mm in size.

In all, the F4 was a beautiful, really quite capable camera – but one that, perhaps too far ahead of its time, saw photographers stick with the F3 or wait for the F5, which arrived in late 1996.

Read more of David Young's ongoing series on classic cameras, as well as his book A Brief History of Photography.

You might also like…

Take a look at the best Nikon cameras and best film cameras available today, along with the best 35mm and roll film.

The world has long had a penchant for sweeping vistas. Even before photography was invented, large dioramas took people’s breath away.

So much so that, in 1844, a German by the name of Friedrich von Martens created his Megaskop-Kamera – incorporating precision gearing to ensure smooth lens movement and thus, even exposure. Numerous plates attributed to his Megaskop still exist, making it the first of its kind.

While the Al-Vista and Kodak Panoram cameras of 1898 and 1899 were produced in small, though significant quantities, the first truly successful panorama camera was the 1905 “Cirkut Camera” that captured a panoramic image by pivoting horizontally along a vertical axis while a roll of film moved across the film plane.

There were several models – No 5, No 6, No 8, No 10 and No 16 – each named according to the maximum length of the film they used, measured in feet.

Cirkut Cameras could produce 360° photographs measuring up to 20 feet long. Both the camera and the film rotated on a special tripod during the exposure. Manufacture of the camera continued until 1949.

In 1952 a small Tokyo camera maker, the Panon Camera Co, introduced its Panon panoramic camera for 120 film. It was followed, in 1959, by the better-known Widelux for 35mm film.

Instead of a shutter, both cameras expose the film as the lens pivots on a horizontal arc through a fixed slit onto a cylindrical film gate. Shutter speeds were determined by the speed of rotation. The viewfinder covered roughly 60% of the frame, so users rely on a top-mounted spirit level and lines drawn on the top for framing.

It was the first camera of its type, but production ended when the factory suffered a fire in the mid-1990s. In all some 21,000 were produced, in various versions, until 2000.

Like all swing-lens cameras, the lens is fixed to its hyperfocal distance, though range of focus can be increased by stopping down the lens.

The problem with all of these cameras is that they really require a tripod for good results. So, in 1998, Fujifilm came out with its fixed lens TX-1 – which was sold in Europe and the USA as the Hasselblad XPan.

It was a dual-format camera that could be changed at will from 24 x 36mm to 24 x 65mm in panoramic mode. In this mode you get 21 shots from a 36-exposure roll or 13 shots from a 24-exposure film. A trio of lenses were produced, in the form of a 30mm, 45mm and 90mm.

It was replaced by a somewhat improved TX-2 / X-Pan II in 2004, which was produced until 2006.

Digital cameras today have almost eliminated the panoramic camera, as high-resolution sensors enable you crop to a 16x9 format while still leaving pixels to spare. Since 2017, the Fujifilm GFX series has offered a built-in 65:24 panoramic crop mode that produces a 50MP image mimicking the IMAX 2.7:1 format of the TX1 and TX2.

And of course, with any digital camera you can use photo editing software to join multiple images for that great panoramic shot.

Lastly, there is still hope for fans of film panoramas. In 2024, actor Jeff Bridges teamed up with Germany’s Silvergrain Classics magazine to produce a new, more reliable version of Panon’s 35mm WideLux.

Based on the Widelux F8, but with small “upgrades” to make it more reliable (the original was somewhat fickle) and more user-friendly. Called the new WideluxX (note the second X) it has just become available to preorder for $4,400 / £3,720.

Read more of David Young's ongoing series on classic cameras, as well as his book A Brief History of Photography.

You might also like…

Take a look at the best film cameras available today, along with the best 35mm and roll film.

I think I have finally let go of film photography – and writing that sentence feels far harder than I expected it to.

For years, I have been a true advocate of film. Not in the fashionable, surface-level way where people buy a point-and-shoot, load a roll of Portra 400 and call it a personality trait, but in the full, messy, hands-on, deeply rewarding sense.

I bulk-loaded my own film, loaded cassettes, shot the frames with care, developed them at home in the peace of my own space, scanned the negatives, edited the files, and finally shared the work.

Film was never just the image for me. It was the ritual, the discipline and the relationship with the process.

But over the past few months, something quietly changed. Without really admitting it to myself at first, I found I was reaching for my digital Leica more than my film camera. The film body would sit there, still loved, still admired, but increasingly left behind.

That realization eventually led me to sell my 1965 Leica M2, which in my opinion, remains one of the finest film cameras ever made. It was a beautiful machine, perfectly mechanical, wonderfully simple and full of soul. So why let it go? The honest answer is sharpness and ease.

Sharpness has always been the quiet reason I kept a digital camera in my kit. Film and digital could both give me the contrast, mood and atmosphere I wanted, especially in black-and-white.

But whenever I compared the images side by side, I found myself leaning toward the digital file. Not because the film images lacked feeling, because they certainly did not, but because the digital images had the clarity and bite I was looking for.

If I had only shot film, I probably would have been perfectly happy because there would have been nothing else to compare it to. But once the comparison was there, I could not unsee it.

Of course, some of this may well have been down to my own process. I often shot Fomapan 400 and developed it in Bellini Monobath, which gave me results I enjoyed, but perhaps not always the full potential of the negative.

The bigger issue, I suspect, was scanning. My Canon CanoScan 9000F Mark II was a perfectly useful tool, but I do not think it ever gave me the true professional resolution I wanted from my negatives – certainly not in the way a pro lab scan or a modern digital camera file could.

So I started looking into camera scanning. I began thinking about copy stands, light sources, macro lenses, film holders and all the extra bits needed to pull the maximum detail from a negative. Then I had one of those lightbulb moments. I stopped and thought: this is going too far. Just use the digital Leica.

That was the moment, really. It was not dramatic. There was no grand goodbye, no emotional final roll, no ceremonial packing away of the darkroom gear. It was just a practical realization that digital photography now suits the way I work, the way I see, and the way I document my life.

It is a bittersweet thing to admit, because film has been part of my photography for years, and consciously stepping away from a system that has worked, inspired and shaped me is never easy in any creative field.

I know some people will say I am decades late to the party. They might be right. Even when shooting my Leica M240 alongside my M2, I often found myself thinking, “Why don’t I just keep using this?”

The answer, for a long time, was romance. Film gave me a sense of craft, patience and tradition that digital could not quite match. But romance can only take you so far when the practical realities of life, work and family start to matter more.

The change became especially clear when photographing my daughter. Being able to quickly take an image, send it to my phone, edit it if needed and share it with family almost instantly has become hugely important to me.

Those small, spontaneous moments do not always wait for a roll to be finished, developed, dried, scanned and processed. Sometimes the value of a photograph is not just in making it, but in being able to share it while the memory is still fresh.

A good example came from one of our family camping trips. We go away every year for a week or more and, on one occasion, I decided to take only my Leica M2.

The images that came back were magical, and I still love them. But it took me another two weeks after the trip, once work and daily life allowed, to develop the film and finally see what I had captured. Had I taken my digital Leica, I could have reviewed, edited, and shared those images as the week unfolded.

More importantly, I would have known what I had already photographed, how I had approached it, and what I wanted to capture next.

That is where digital has won me over again. It is not because film is bad, or dead, or no longer relevant. Far from it. Film remains beautiful, tactile and creatively rewarding.

But digital is simply a better workflow for the way I now shoot and document the world around me. It gives me speed, consistency, sharpness and immediacy, without removing the creative choices that matter most to me.

Will I miss film? Of course I will. I already do. Do I still have rolls waiting to be developed? Yes, about 12 of them. Do I still have film waiting to be shot? Absolutely, there is a whole bag full of it.

So, have I truly given up film forever or am I simply going cold turkey for the time being? That is harder to answer. For now, I am enjoying digital photography again. I am enjoying the ease, the sharpness, the freedom and the simple pleasure of using a camera that fits the rhythm of my life as it is today.

But I also know myself well enough to say that the film may not be finished with me just yet. After all, I still have rolls to shoot – and it would be a terrible waste to leave them to rot.

You might also like...

If you're still spellbound by the magic of analog, take a look at the best film cameras along with the best 35mm film to use with them.

Harman Technology has just given large format photographers exactly what they have been asking for, with the launch of Ilford Pan F Plus in 4x5 and 8x10 sheet film formats for the very first time.

For anyone who loves black-and-white photography, Pan F Plus needs little introduction. This is one of Ilford’s most iconic films, a gloriously slow ISO 50 emulsion known for its ultra-fine grain, exceptional sharpness, rich contrast and beautiful tonal range. It has long been a favourite for 35mm and 120 shooters, especially those working in landscapes, portraits, studio photography and fashion, but until now large format photographers have been left looking on from the sidelines.

Pan F Plus samples in 4x5 and 8x10

That changes from 7 May, with Pan F Plus joining Ilford’s growing large format line-up in 25-sheet packs of both 4x5 and 8x10 film. It is the sort of announcement that will have darkroom lovers, large format landscape shooters, and studio photographers reaching for their film holders with genuine excitement, because this is not just another format release. It is one of the most requested Ilford products, finally becoming a reality.

Giles Branthwaite, Sales & Marketing Director at Harman Technology, said that while Pan F Plus has been available for many years in 35mm and 120 formats, a sheet-film version has long been on photographers’ wish lists. In fact, he described it as possibly the single most requested product the company has received, adding that Harman has listened and finally delivered it on behalf of the film photography community.

It is easy to see why there has been so much demand. Large format photography is all about detail, control, and slowing down the process, and Pan F Plus feels like a perfect match for that way of working. Its extremely fine-grained, gorgeous tonal character should really come into its own when paired with the sheer resolution and discipline of 4x5 or 8x10 cameras, particularly in controlled lighting, dramatic landscapes, carefully composed portraits, and fashion work where every shade of grey matters.

Pan F Plus now joins Ilford's existing professional black-and-white sheet film range alongside HP5 Plus, FP4 Plus, Delta 100, and Ortho Plus. For film photographers, this is a genuinely lovely moment: one of the oldest continuously manufactured black-and-white emulsions in the world has just been given a new life in large format, and that feels like exactly the kind of news the analogue community deserves.

Check our guide to the best film you can buy for your camera today

The Zeiss Contaflex cameras are well known to, shall we say, more "mature photographers". They were a series of leaf-shuttered SLRs in the Fifties and Sixties.

What most people don’t realize is that the first Contaflex was a very unusual twin-lens reflex (TLR) camera that used 35mm film rather than the usual 120 (6x6) roll film, and featured a focal plane shutter and interchangeable lenses – at least for the taking lens. The fields for other lenses were etched into the viewfinder screen.

It was also the first camera with a built-in selenium exposure meter, which was hidden under its nameplate. Zeiss had already patented a coupled meter at the time, but it was not included in the Contaflex as the engineers deemed it “too complicated”.

Thus the meter (seen on the top, to the left of the viewfinder) required the photographer to read the meter and manually transfer the shutter and lens settings to the camera.

This first Contaflex appeared in 1935, though production stopped at the start of World War II.

After the war, in 1953, Zeiss Ikon (based in Stuttgart, West Germany) produced the first of what would be a long line of Contaflex 35mm leaf-shuttered SLR cameras, employing the newly-developed Compur reflex shutter.

Such shutter mechanisms require the shutter to be open for viewing. When the shutter release is pressed, they close and allow the mirror to lift out of the way, before reopening and closing again, to make the exposure. If it sounds complex, well, it is!

The reason a leaf shutter was chosen, rather than the focal-plane shutters favored by the Japanese, was simply because by then, Zeiss owned both the Prontor and Compur shutter-making factories.

These first Contaflex cameras had a fixed 45mm f/2.8 Tessar lens with simple front-element focusing. (The Tessar brand name comes from the Greek word “tessar”, meaning four, as the Tessars are a four-element design.)

Later models had a proper helical thread, which moved the entire lens for focusing, along with “convertible lenses” where the rear element remained behind the shutter, but the front elements could be exchanged for different ones, changing the focal length.

This limited the designs to between 35 and 115mm with a maximum f/4 aperture. At the time this was not considered a drawback, as almost nobody but pros ever bought accessory lenses.

The last hurrah for the Contaflex line came in 1967, with the introduction of the Zeiss Contaflex 126 – whose only relation to the rest of the Contaflex family is its name. It accepted Kodak 126 (Instamatic) cartridges, one of very few ambitious cameras to use that film. It had a focal plane shutter and seven dedicated lenses.

Lenses for the Contaflex 126 are often confused with lenses for other Contaflex cameras, but they can only be used on the 126 body. It, of course, can only use the obsolete 126 cartridge, so the value of these lenses is not very high despite their famous names.

Zeiss presented its new, top-of-the-line Contarex at Photokina in the fall of 1958, with deliveries promised for spring 1959, but it was not generally available until March 1960.

The Contarex was the first 35mm, focal-plane-shutter SLR to provide direct meter coupling to the shutter, aperture and film-speed settings, which were interconnected by cords.

The camera had an “aperture simulator”, or iris, in front of the selenium meter cell. It was a “match-needle” system, in which the user aligned the meter needle with an index triangle that is visible both in a top plate window and, to the right, in the viewfinder.

This original Contarex quickly gained the nicknames of the “Bullseye” or “Cyclops” due the prominent position of the selenium light meter.

The Contarex was a wonder (or a nightmare) of German engineering and manufacture, with a weight and a cost to match. Including the 50mm f/2 Carl Zeiss Planar standard lens, it sold for DM1,450 – or roughly $450.

That’s over $100 more than a Nikon F that had reached the market a year earlier, in March 1959 – and it's the equivalent of roughly $4,000 today!

Read more of David Young's ongoing series on classic cameras

You might also like…

Take a look at the best film cameras available today, along with the best 35mm and roll film.

Ever wanted a hand-painted Gundam-themed film camera? Well, now’s your chance. Taiwan-based camera-customizing guru, David C W, has produced 58 units so far, all based on the RX-78-2 Gundam suit’s iconic white, red, blue and orange color scheme.

If you’re not familiar with Gundam, it’s a huge Japanese franchise that kicked off in 1979 with the anime feature-length film Mobile Suit Gundam. This spawned a huge merchandising machine that consistently tops toy sales in Asia today.

What makes these custom cameras so special is that they’re lovingly hand-customized using spray paints and Gundam-themed decals. Each camera starts its life as an IUTD Studios TBC (To Be Continued) 35mm Reusable Film Camera, which retails for $114 / £84 / AU$158.

This pocketable little camera is built around a 28mm f/8 lens, has a 1/120 sec shutter speed and a built-in flash. Originally the body is translucent, but part of David’s customization process is to spray the camera a bright gray as the foundation of the Gundam Suit coloring.

The original batch of 10 cameras were priced at $150 (approx £110 / $AU208), which I think is a really competitive price considering the RRP of the original camera.

Initial batches featured an orange gel over the flash, which really fitted with the theme, but David has since removed the gel, citing that it "noticeably reduced the flash power” as the reason.

So there you have it, Gundam fans. You can pick up a cool, custom Gundam-themed camera. Just know that the batches are extremely small, so these little cameras don’t hang around for long. You can see David's other custom cameras by visiting the Little Road Camera eBay shop.

You might also like...

Into analog cameras? Check out the Pentax 17. If you like the retro look but don't want to shoot film, take a look at the best retro cameras. And for the latest tech, here are the best mirrorless cameras.

The I’m Back Roll converts retro film cameras to digital using a sensor that looks like a roll of film – and thanks to the campaign approaching nearly US$1 million in funding, the company has added a solution to allow the kit to fire more like a classic film camera.

I’m Back has made several attempts at digital conversion kits for vintage film cameras, but the I’m Back Roll is the first that puts most of the tech inside the camera, where earlier attempts mounted some tech outside the camera.

The only required component that sits outside the camera body is a Bluetooth remote to trigger the digital sensor inside. But, a number of photographers have commented on the annoyance of having to push two buttons to take a photo – one to open the shutter on the retro film camera and another to fire the digital sensor.

But thanks in part to the campaign exceeding its original goal, I’m Back has now launched an add-on for photographers not so enthused about the Bluetooth remote. I’m Back is now working to build a sync button that screws into the threads on many vintage camera shutter buttons. Because the control sits right on the camera’s shutter, the accessory allows for taking a photo with one press without the Bluetooth remote.

The shutter release does have a thin wire that will need to be threaded through the film door at the back of the camera. (One of the campaign’s creators notes in a comment that they are also working on a magnetic version specifically for the Nikon Nikonos cameras, as the wire would make the waterproof camera no longer waterproof.)

For cameras that don’t have a threaded shutter release, the new shutter will also allow for using with adhesive rather than the threads.

The new shutter release is an optional add-on – backers can still pledge for the original design with the Bluetooth remote.

The shutter isn’t the first time the I’m Back campaign has revisited the design. The company has also added an LCD screen add-on – and an electronic viewfinder – to the campaign. That requires a battery, which means a lot of gear outside the camera, but the company said it was a popular request for photographers wanting to see the images after taking them.

The I’m Back Roll Kickstarter campaign has just under a week left, wrapping up on May 15. All crowdfunding campaigns come with risk – if the final stages of development are successful, backers could receive the product sometime in 2027.

You may also like

Want that film look on digital? Try adapting a film lens to a mirrorless camera. Or, browse the best film cameras.

Eastman Kodak has just made one of its biggest film announcements yet, confirming that large-format films and 100ft bulk rolls are now part of the new line-up of emulsions it distributes directly.

The news follows the gradual return of Kodak-branded 35mm and 120 films in fresh packaging, and in some cases under new names, which began last October. Now, Kodak is going bigger, with its Still Film section on Kodak.com carrying a new “Time to go big” promotion that reveals the next stage in its film revival.

For photographers who still love the slower, more deliberate magic of sheet film, this is a major moment. Kodak has confirmed that Ektapan 100 and Ektapan 400 will be available in 4x5in, while Ektacolor Pro 160 and Ektacolor Pro 400 will be offered in both 4x5 and 8x10in formats.

The legendary Tri-X 320 is also joining the line-up in 4x5, 5x7, and 8x10 inch sizes, giving large-format black-and-white photographers another reason to get excited.

Bulk loaders are getting some love, too, with Kodak confirming 100ft rolls of Ektapan 100, Ektapan 400, and Tri-X 400 in 35mm. For anyone who still enjoys rolling their own film, saving money per roll, or simply having that satisfying sense of being more connected to the photographic process, this is exactly the kind of announcement that keeps film photography feeling alive and kicking.

Kodak’s own line, “Look for the new box and you’ll know you’ve found us,” says a lot about what is happening here. This announcement effectively marks the end of Eastman Kodak’s move to bring its film distribution back in-house, around 14 years after it was outsourced to Kodak Alaris following the company’s 2012 bankruptcy protection.

There is one important detail, though. The new Eastman Kodak-distributed films do not include Portra or TMax, as those brand names are currently owned by Kodak Alaris. That means Portra films have effectively become Ektacolor Pro, while TMax films are now Ektapan in this new Kodak line-up.

Kodak Alaris continues to sell some Kodak film in its own updated packaging, including large-format Ektachrome slide film and Ektar 100 color negative film, which are not currently part of Eastman Kodak’s new range. Still, for film photographers, especially those shooting large format or bulk-loading 35mm, this feels like a very welcome sign that Kodak is not just keeping film alive, but going big with it.

A filter brand known for its special effects filters has launched its first compact film camera – and it uses a magnetic mount to swap filters. The Prism Lens FX Reloadable Film Camera is a point-and-shoot 35mm film camera that aims to bridge the gap between disposable cameras and reloadable cameras, with a special effects twist.

Announced in early May, the Prism Lens Fx camera brings the brand’s reputation for special effects filters into an analog camera. The camera uses a magnetic mount to add swapable filters to the lens. Three filters are bundled with the camera – including the Dream FX for diffusion, the Starburst FX for star-shaped points-of-light, and the Rose FX for vintage pink tones.

The brand’s slogan – Keep it in Camera – is even printed around the lens. The mix of real analog and special effects feels like an inspiring choice for the AI-weary creators looking for an affordable analog tool with special effects.

The Prism Lens FX Reloadable is a point-and-shoot in every sense, not just the size – there are no manual exposure settings. The shutter speed is a fixed 1/120s – PrismFX recommends a 100 or 160 film speed for sunny days, ISO 400 for overcast days, and 800 speed film with the camera’s built-in flash for indoors and low light.

The lens is a 28mm with an f/8 aperture. A fixed focus design keeps everything that’s at least 4 feet / 1.2m from the camera in focus.

While there’s no manual exposure, the film advance is a manual style. A single AA battery powers the built-in flash.

Shots are composed with the optical viewfinder, which has a 70 percent field of view.

Prism Lens FX is a US-based company started by two filmmakers who worked in music videos. The brand is known for its special effects filters, but last year, a trip inspired another idea: what if compact cameras could use filters too?

The Prism Lens FX reloadable film camera sells for $75 with the camera and three magnet filters. That’s about £56 / AU$105 / CA$102 at current exchange rates. The US-based company also ships internationally to more than 200 countries.

You may also like

Take a look at the best film cameras or the best 35mm film to load inside.

When most of my photography was studio-based and digital, I was an advocate of using a Capture One workflow, which suited my needs very well. I loved the file organisation as much as the image editing tools, and shooting tethered makes so much sense for this type of work. However, it just didn’t seem to work for me when I started shooting a lot more film after a few years away. I decided to make the move to Lightroom, purely so I could use Negative Lab Pro for scanning my film. It works and works well, but I’ve never been totally satisfied, so I was very pleased to see Capture One announce an update, with a whole workspace and set of tools for scanning negatives.

I could return to Capture One's catalogue and session workflow for organising my files, and that feels so good, but it’s really the film scanning that excites me, for a number of reasons. First off, it means one less piece of software, a license to buy, tools installed, etc. Having native tools for a task is always preferable in my book.

Secondly is the more physical side of the process. I can now scan my negatives while tethered, with a massive live view on my monitor. That means attaining focus is easier, aligning my negatives is simpler, and keeping my hands off the camera means less possibility of knocking things out of whack.

Using Capture One for scanning is a real joy. Set up some guides to align the film carrier to, white balance, then crop. Copy those settings with a single click, and they’ll be applied to each frame as you rattle through a whole film in no time. It’s the fastest way to get a film ingested, and the results are rather lovely. I’ve done a few experiments, comparing this method with my previous setup, and I’m getting more consistently good results now. This is ongoing as the Capture One release is still fairly new, but I’m confident this will be my process for the foreseeable future.

Then there’s the matter of Capture One's image editing tools. This may be more a matter of taste, but I think the tools on offer work very well. I like how you only need to see what you need, and the new film scanning layout is excellent. Lightroom is possibly a touch easier on the eye, but I’m glad I’m no longer needing to bring up plugins, which is a blessing in itself.

So, for all the film photographers out there, I would highly recommend downloading a trial of Capture One, bagging yourself a tether cable, and giving it a whirl. Shooting negatives has never felt so rewarding.

Following on the heels of Canon’s very successful, manual focus T70; in April of 1985 Canon released its T80, with an autofocus system built around their venerable FD lens mount.  It was not a huge success, as its performance lagged behind Minolta's Maxxum 7000, which dominated the nascent AF SLR market at that time. Sales were not helped by Canon having only three autofocus lenses for the T80; a 50mm f/1.8 and two zooms – a 35-70mm f/3.5-4.5 and a 75-200mm f/4.  

The T80 was discontinued after just 14 months. It was the FD lens mount’s last hurrah and relatively few were made.

Meanwhile, by March of 1985, the engineers at Canon had realized that successfully adapting their old, FD mount to autofocus would be difficult and, in the end, unsatisfactory. If they were going to overtake Nikon –  the market leader at the time - it would need to start fresh, designing for autofocus from the ground up. Canon decided to place everything under electronic control, for lighter weight, lower cost and better reliability.  Work began work on an entirely organic system (EOS) that took two years of intensive research and development. Building on the microprocessor experience gained from their AE-1, the EF lens mount became, essentially, a computer data port, for electronic control of both focus and diaphragm control, while using compact, lightweight, and fast ultrasonic motors in the lenses.

On  March 1, 1987 (Canon’s 50th Anniversary), it launched its new EOS (which, by then, officially stood for “Electro Optical System”) 650 with its new EF lens mount.  When it came out, the system offered only five lenses. A fisheye, a 28mm, a 50mm and a couple of fairly bland zooms. But the design was good, and remains compatible with every Canon EOS EF lens ever made (over 100 million of them).

The camera itself had some pretty impressive features for its day.  It boasted precise, high-speed, phase detection autofocus, a built-in 3 fps motor drive (a big deal at that time!), Automatic ISO setting, fully automatic film loading and rewind, and a bright pentaprism viewfinder (0.8x magnification and 94% field of view coverage) which displayed the shutter speed, aperture, focus lock and exposure compensation. It featured a 6-segment evaluative (matrix) metering system, with A, T, P and Manual modes.

It was followed in just a couple of months by the EOS 620, which added a faster shutter, with flash sync at 1/250sec and a top speed of 1/4000sec. The 620 also featured a back-lit LCD and automatic exposure bracketing.  Better yet, It lacked a confusing depth-of-field priority mode that was on the EOS 650.  In every other respect, the 620 and 650 were the same camera.

The EOS cameras gained top market share in Japan and Europe within months. The US market followed shortly thereafter and Canon never looked back.

Putting everything under electronic control It was a huge gamble, as it made every earlier Canon lens and camera body obsolete, thus annoying their established customer base.  But, the gamble payed off, and despite the recent switch to the newer RF mount for their mirrorless models, EF lenses are sill being manufactured by Canon – albeit in limited quantities – some 39 years later!

One last fun fact. In 1992, nuclear scientist, and avid photographer, Silvano de Gennaro used his EOS 650 to take a photo of four young singers at the CERN Hardronic Music Festival.

Tim Berners-Lee (inventor of the World Wide Web) asked de Gennaro to scan the photo for him, which he then posted on an early website of his then still new “web”. This photo is often said to be “the first photograph uploaded to the internet”, but that’s not quite true. But de Gennaro’s photo of the four women was the first picture posted to the web simply for fun, not work. As de Gennaro said: “It was the photo that opened the web to life.”  And it was shot with a Canon EOS 650.

Read more of David Young's ongoing series on classic cameras

Alfie Cameras is heading back to Kickstarter, and this time the British boutique camera maker is bringing something rather special with it. The company has officially unveiled the final details of its new [ BOXX ] camera, a handcrafted hardwood system designed not just to take photographs, but to put the magic of making them quite literally back into your hands.

Launching on Kickstarter on May 19, 2026, the Alfie [ BOXX ] is being pitched as a different kind of photographic experience. In an age when most of us fire off images, glance at a screen, and move on, Alfie Cameras wants to slow the whole process down. As founder Dave Faulkner puts it, “We’ve lost the tactile magic of the darkroom to the instant convenience of the screen. I created the [ BOXX ] to bring that wonder back and help photographers enjoy a different way to create unique images.”

The camera itself sounds beautifully old-school in the best possible way. It is constructed from stained and lacquered hardwood, finished with brass fittings, and features a sprung back with a ground glass viewing screen. There is also a modular lens system, with options including a 100mm Wollaston lens with apertures from f/8 to f/32, a 55mm Steinheil Periscopic f/16 lens, and a 65mm pinhole lens. This is clearly not a camera chasing megapixels or autofocus points; it is about craft, patience, and the quiet joy of building an image from the ground up.

But the real magic trick is the Pocket Darkroom. This magnetic film holder allows photographers to develop images inside the camera itself, turning the [ BOXX ] into a miniature darkroom experience that fits in your hands.

Alfie Cameras is also preparing a full guide to black-and-white reversal photography, helping newcomers enjoy the process of watching their photographs appear before their eyes. Early testers seem to have connected with the experience too, with one saying they enjoyed “the manual, thoughtful process,” while another described the moment the image appeared as “so much better than I thought it would be.”

The Alfie [ BOXX ] Kickstarter campaign goes live on May 19, with the pinhole version expected to cost around £250 ($340), while a camera with the pinhole and one additional lens is expected to come in at around £375 ($510). Manufacturing is currently planned for the summer, with delivery to backers expected in autumn 2026.

There is also still time to join Alfie Cameras’ VIP Superfan Club for £1, which unlocks priority Early Bird notifications and includes a free limited-edition gold pinhole lens when backing the project. For anyone who loves the slower, stranger, more hands-on side of photography, this could be one of the most charming Kickstarter launches of the year.

The I’m Back Roll looks like a roll of film, but the upcoming gadget actually gives old film cameras the ability to shoot 26.1MP digital images. Now, the gadget’s crowd-funding campaign has been so successful that the conversion kit can even add a digital touchscreen to retro cameras.

The I’m Back Roll crams an APS-C sensor, digital storage, and a battery into what looks like an outstretched roll of 35mm film. The gadget’s goal is to give retro film cameras the ability to shoot digital, including wireless transfers to a smartphone – and yes, cameras can revert back to film when wanted too.

But, the Kickstarter campaign for the upcoming digital conversion kit has been so successful that the brand has now managed to add an optional add-on: an LCD screen. The screen is optional, so photographers who still want a screen-free digital shooting experience can still get one with the I’m Back Roll.

But the optional add-on allows photographers to put a 2.5-inch external touchscreen display with converted cameras. The screen requires the battery pack add-on and connects to the Roll with a flexible cable.

The company says the screen was one of the most requested features, so as the campaign surpassed its original goal, the screen was added as an add-on. But these add-ons also sit outside the camera.

For photographers that opt not to use the frame, the I’m Back Roll will come with frame overlay guides – stickers that indicate roughly how the view from the 35mm viewfinder will look on a cropped APS-C sensor inside. These guides sit on the focusing screen on SLRs on the viewfinder on rangefinders.

The company is also offering an optional electronic viewfinder that sits in the camera’s hot shoe slot and connects to the I’m Back Roll via an HDMI cord.

I understand why the screen is one of the biggest requests from photographers – seeing the images before you take them (and right after too) is one of the biggest advantages of going digital. But, I think keeping the camera screen free will maintain more of the film-like feel with less bulk outside the camera, so I'd personally skip the screen.

The company I’m Back has tried for years to build a device that converts existing film cameras to digital – and if this new campaign, which was fully funded in under 12 minutes and has now surpassed US$800,000, is any indication, the I’m Back Roll could be the start-up’s best attempt yet.

Earlier I’m Back campaigns required additional hardware on the outside of the camera. The I’m Back Roll – if backers opt not to add on the screen, power pack or electronic viewfinders – sits inside most 35mm cameras with only a Bluetooth remote on the outside. The add-ons, however, do sit outside the camera.

I’m Back says that the kit fits in most 35mm cameras that have a removable back as well as most cameras with a horizontal film door. The sensor section of the kit is about 4mm thick. Smaller cameras may not fit, and some – including some cameras with vertical doors – will need a custom 3D printed back. The company’s list of supported cameras is available on the Kickstarter page.

The external screen will add about US$51 / £38 / AU$71 / CA$69 to the cost, and the external battery (which is required to use the screen) costs another $44 / £33 / AU$62 / CA$60, plus shipping.

The electronic viewfinder is a $340 / £252 / AU$474 / CA$466 add-on, with the battery included.

Those add-on costs are on top of the I’m Back Roll itself. The version with 64GB of storage is expected to retail for about $699 / £529 / AU$1013 / CA$975, but if the final steps are successful, early Kickstarter backers can get 29 percent off that price.

All crowdfunding projects carry some risk to the investor. The I’m Back Roll has surpassed the original goal, but the company is finalizing the mechanics and is now estimating a December 2027 delivery.

You may also like

Another option for a film-like look on digital? Convert an old film lens to fit on a mirrorless camera. Or, keep it analog and browse the best film cameras.

The Widelux was a film camera series with an unusual rotating lens – but more than 20 years after the camera was discontinued, Oscar-winning actor Jeff Bridges decided to bring the iconic camera back. The re-made WideluxX film camera opened for the first pre-orders on April 28.

Bridges has been sharing his journey to recreate the camera since at least 2023, and now the revived WideluxX – spelled with two Xs to differentiate from the original Widelux – is nearing completion and taking the first batch of pre-orders.

The Widelux was a 35mm film camera series that created panoramic film images by rotating the lens – the Widelux F8 is the model that the new camera is based on. That unusual feature creates images with a wide 140-degree view. While the camera is somewhat niche, Bridges was among those mourning the camera’s loss when the film camera was discontinued.

Created by Silver Bridges – the new company created by the Big Lebowski actor Bridges and photographer, artist, and philanthropist Susan Bridges – the new WideluxX keeps the swinging lens of the original. But, as the website describes, “the WideluxX is not a nostalgic return to the past. It exists alongside contemporary tools, offering a different way to create.”

The camera uses 35mm film, fitting around 21 images on the usual 36-image roll thanks to the wider format. The swinging lens means that each panorama is captured in one exposure, but across a longer time frame, with the available shutter speeds of 1/15, 1/125, and 1/250th of a second. The camera’s moving lens can use apertures as wide as f/2.8 and as narrow as f/11 with fixed focus.

The WideluxX camera will be manufactured and hand-assembled in Germany. The company says that each one will be prepared specially for its owner, including the option to customize the camera with engraved initials.

The first pre-orders are expected to ship in around six to eight months, with the full batch expected to be completed within a year. The first batch of pre-orders is limited to 350 cameras – as of this writing, less than eight hours after the pre-orders opened, more than 100 of those cameras have already been sold.

The hand-assembled camera revived from the dead comes with a price tag of $4,400. In the UK, the camera is £3,720. In Australia, it’s AU$7,050, and in Canada CA$6,020. Those prices do not include shipping and – outside the European Union – the cost doesn’t include taxes or import fees.

The pre-orders are now open from the Silver Bridges website.

You may also like

Take a look at the best film cameras or the best 35mm film.