JCH: Fujifilm Pauses Film Production

This is posted on April 1st as a joke not-joke. Fujifilm stops producing film!  News at 11!

JapanCameraHunter predicts the end of film from Fujifilm, as he suspects the corporation is going through its massive supply of already produced film.  His article, FUJIFILM SUSPENDS SALES OF COLOR FILM IN JAPAN! outlines his concerns and the news of the pause.

Fujifilm announced on their Japanese site (in Japanese) that film production for the Japanese market will be paused due to supply chain problems.  Both color print film and reversal film will be halted for 120 format and all color print film in 135 format.

Read on at the JCH site:  FUJIFILM SUSPENDS SALES OF COLOR FILM IN JAPAN!

35mmc: Kodachromes from Athens, Greece, 1951

Guest writer, Kodachromeguy, on the 35mmc blog wrote about photos his father took around 70 years ago.  Still accessible today, these photos look fantastic, because they were recorded on Kodachrome slide film all those many years ago.  Short of being tossed out or attacked by fungus, these slides if kept from excess humidity and light will last another 70 years.  

As Kodachromeguy puts it, "Some sort of imaging device, like a camera with a macro lens, will be able to copy this data. Will our digital files or “cloud” files be accessible in seven decades? Will we look at a billion Instagram mobile phone dumps in 70 years?"

Read the full article on 35mmc, From the Archives: Kodachromes from Athens, Greece, 1951.

TOP: Selling Out

The Online Photogapher writes that he is selling his blog for great profits real soon now.  Buyer, Spliff Wayzos, will take over the blog for a tidy sum.   Oh, wait, what is the date today?

In a more serious tone, TOP writer, chief bottle washer and owner, Michael C. Johnston, laments the declining revenue for his blog.  Is this a malaise cast over all photography media?  Or just seen of late for <cough>digital</cough> photography media (Mike mentions DPReview - itself being shut down on April 10th).

Hopefully, this is not the end of TOP, but maybe the days of making a living from blogging about photography are short, if that blog is a bellwether.  Perhaps analog photography will be saved this fate?

Your Blogger makes no money from this rag, and so there is little fear of Ag+ Process shutting down due to lack of blog revenues.  Other reasons, sure, but not revenues.  Keep on reading, faithful Readers!

Addenda:

The Online Photographer's Pateron.

The link to the the article on DCRP shutting down in 2012, mentioned in the second TOP posting.

Alex Luyckx: Five Developers to Try

Photographer, Alex Luyckx, presents five developers to try.  An article about five developers off the beaten path to try besides D-76, ID-11, etc.  From Pyro to colour kits, complete with stunning photography to demonstrate results, take a look for something to prompt your fancy.

For details, read on!

KosmoFoto: MiNT 35mm Prototype Camera

MiNT, the maker of advanced Instax cameras and modernized Polaroid cameras, is looking at make new a 35mm from scratch.  In this article on KosmoFoto, MiNT Camera shows new images of prototype 35mm camera, MiNT camera founder Gary Ho describes the progress and tribulations of developing a new camera.  Kosmo's author, Stephen Dowling, likens the camera to the Rollei 35 of the 1960s to 1990s.

MiNT produces the RF70 Instax Wide camera, the SF70 Instax Square camera and TL70 Instax Mini camera.  The company also restores SX-70 Polaroid cameras for sales and features the SLR670 Polaroid instant film camera.

Read the article here!

Kosmofoto: Fujifilm Instax Mini 12 Released

Kosmofoto writes that the Fujifilm Instax Mini 12 has been released along with a new social app to share instant photos on social media sites.

The Mini 12 is the first update since the Mini 11 was released in March, 2020.  The camera features automatic flash control, easy lens control to access Close Up mode and a variety of colours to choose from.

The app is called Instax Up! and features a convenient single location to store all your high quality scans of your instant images.

Check out the article at:  Fujifilm Instax Mini 12.

Kosmofoto: A 1,000 film camera stash in a storage locker

Kosmofoto features an article on a 1,000 camera stash found in a storage locker.  Kristen Cusumano was tasked with clearing out a storage locker, and was told to keep any old film camera equipment found in the locker for payment.

Well, the equipment turned into boxes and boxes of mint condition film cameras and lenses.  The lucky find is being portioned out on eBay at KCFVintage.  Check it out if you are interested in vintage Minolta, Pentax, Fujica or Canon film cameras.

ThePhoblographer: Why Old Film Photographs Look Better

Chris Gampat, of ThePhoblographer, writes nostalgically on how old film photographs look better than modern photographs.  He puts forth three points on the difference between film photos of yesteryear and modern phone snaps.  In the end, he urges photographers to take photographs, not snapshots.  A photo with intent is better than a passing image captured on a device with endless storage.

Check the article out, and see if you agree:  Why Old Film Photos Look So Much Better Than Modern Ones.

Film Ferrania: Orto

There is a rumour that Film Ferrania will launch a new film on April 3rd, Ferrania Orto.  A blue/green sensitive emulsion with the look of early cinema and all the silver content of P30.  This will be an orthochromatic film, similar to Ilford Ortho in spectral response.  

The current News section at Film Ferrania only mentions the availability of a "preview batch" of P30 back in August last year.

Ferrania prefers to write to Kickstarter members whom sponsored the Ferrania project way back, was it in 2014?  How the years pass.  Your Blogger is not privvy to those communications, due to not sponsoring the project.  Initially, the project offered a wide range of perks, which were to be colour E6 slide film in various formats.  The project has since only produced P30 in 35mm format, until now perhaps.

Kickstarter: Reveni Labs Dunkbot

Matt Bechberger of Reveni Labs, creator of the (extremely small) Reveni Spot Meter and the Reveni Light Meter for old cameras, has introduced a new ideo to Kickstarter: the Reveni Labs Dunkbot. A robot that will automatically process film up to six steps (the number of dunk pots that it has). The stainless steel pots for the developing solutions are heated with heating plates, so it is suitable for colour processing. 

Matt is hoping to raise around $300K or so to make the project a go. The project is a Canadian venture, so the actual amount to be raised is CAD$418K in Canadian dollars. As of posting, there are 33 days left to raise the funds.

Check out the Kickstarter, which if it is not fully funded will not receive any funds: Reveni Labs Dunkbot on Kickstarter.

ThePhoblographer: Update to Cinestill Film Guide

ThePhoblographer, a blog about photography in general, has updated their guide to Cinestill film.  The update includes the new 400D film that was released last year, available in 35mm and 120 format.  

Cinestill is known for taking Kodak cine film, removing the remjet layer and packaging it for still photographers.  Get that cinematic movie look with creamy colours and super fine grain even in high speed film.

Check out ThePhoblographers' full guide to Cinestill film.