Ilford advent calendar is a gift box of delights for analog photographers

Ilford Pop-up Darkroom
(Image credit: Future)

Luxury advent calendars have become quite the thing over recent years. Instead of a simple picture, or a piece of chocolate, these box shaped calendars give you more luxury surprises through the month of December - perfume, perhaps, or a mini bottle of gin. The new Ilford 35mm Gift Calendar is designed for film shooters - and gives you a roll of film behind each panel. The calendar is being shown for the first time at The Photography Show, in Birmingham, UK - which runs until Tuesday, 21 September.

The Ilford 35mm Gift Calendar doesn't have the traditional 24 windows - instead making do with a dozen – so more suitable for the 12 Days of Christmas, rather than for counting down Advent. There is a mix of Kentmere and Ilford 36-exposure 35mm films - and other mystery goodies - we are told. 

In total you get 11 rolls of your film for a retail cost of $125 / £85 - which Harman Technology reassures us is 'cheaper than the sum of its parts'. The calendar will go on sale from mid-October just in time for the season of goodwill.

Also on show on the Harman Technology stand at The Photography Show, is the Ilford Pop-up Darkroom - which offers a portable, space to develop and print your analog photos, that can be packed out of the way when it is not needed.

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Chris George

Chris George has worked on Digital Camera World since its launch in 2017. He has been writing about photography, mobile phones, video making and technology for over 30 years – and has edited numerous magazines including PhotoPlus, N-Photo, Digital Camera, Video Camera, and Professional Photography. 


His first serious camera was the iconic Olympus OM10, with which he won the title of Young Photographer of the Year - long before the advent of autofocus and memory cards. Today he uses a Nikon D800, a Fujifilm X-T1, a Sony A7, and his iPhone 11 Pro.


He has written about technology for countless publications and websites including The Sunday Times Magazine, The Daily Telegraph, Dorling Kindersley, What Cellphone, T3 and Techradar.