I'm a big fan of analog photography, having recently tested film cameras like the Kodak Ektar H35 and the Lomography Lomomatic 110. In the last few years, film photography has seen a welcome resurgence, with people populating their social feeds with imperfect photos taken on these nifty little cameras.
And if you're a film enthusiast, you'll be very happy to know that this art form isn't dead — far from it actually, as I saw at The Photography & Video Show in London this weekend.
This year, the trade show, which is attended by tens of thousands of enthusiasts and pros (and produced by Future Publishing, the parent company of Tom's Guide), put great emphasis on the important of film photography.
Several brands creating film or manufacturing film cameras were in attending, such as Ilford Photo, Pentax, Analogue Wonderland, and others. Having attended a couple of talks by experts and gone hands-on with some gear, I've seen the future of film photography — and it is oh-so-bright.
A portable photo lab?!
Who would have thought we'd see portable photo labs someday, eh? It's difficult to set up a dark room or photo lab at your house or rental, but what if you bought a device that's compact and lets you scan negatives at home? That's what Finnish brand Valoi is doing.
It has created the easy35 and easy120 (pictured) which, essentially, use aluminum tubes to clip onto your macro lens. So if you already own one of the best mirrorless cameras and partake in film photography, Valoi's scanners could be an asset worth investing in.
I saw both the easy35 and easy120 in action at The Photography & Video Show, and I don't think there's an easier or quicker way of scanning negatives.
A Valoi representative told me that he gets through a roll (36 exposures) in under five minutes. He then uses software like FilmLab or Negative Lab Pro to convert the negs into positives.
Making film development easy is what Valoi seems to be good at, and I love that anyone can pick up one of these nifty gadgets and get scanning. If you live in a remote area with no access to a photo lab, the easy120 or the easy35 seem to be the way to go. This truly is the future of film processing.
Autofocus systems in film cameras
Focusing with film cameras is usually hit-or-miss — trust me, I've unintentionally wasted a lot of film. The best cameras today are equipped with rapid autofocus systems that ensure you never miss a shot. Now, film cameras have gotten a taste of that tech too, with cameras like the Rollei 35AF boasting precise focusing.
This camera, that I spent an hour with at the show, is equipped with LiDAR technology that enables precise focusing from 70cm up to infinity. In practice, you should be able to point the camera at your subject, half-press the shutter button for it to lock on, and snap a pic.
It's also got the most advanced lens I've seen so far in a film camera. A top-notch five element glass lens means you capture sharper photos with a touch of 90s nostalgia. And you get manual control over shutter speed and aperture too, and having an autofocus system to rely on takes the guesswork out of the equation.
Having spoken to the passionate people at the JFR Film stand and spent time with the Rollei 35AF, I predict big things for this little camera. Hopefully, it won't be long until I can get my hands on it for proper testing.
Half the frame, double the fun
Half-frame film cameras are perhaps my favorite kind of film cameras. These use just half a frame to shoot a photo, essentially doubling the shot count. For example, if you're using a roll of 36 exposures, one roll will yield 72 negatives. And if you ask me, I believe half-frame cameras, like the Pentax 17, are the future. More shots for less money? Yes please.
The Pentax 17 was a popular camera at the show this year. Every time I walked by the stand, there were several people crowding the camera. Lucky for me, though, I have a test unit on hand as I'm typing this article (full review coming soon).
The Pentax 17 has a fixed-focus lens with several focus zones for portraits, landscapes and macro shots. You can adjust the shutter speed, aperture and even the ISO, and the dedicated bokeh mode is lovely for capturing shots with creamy backgrounds.
Most reusable film cameras don't give you manual control over the settings, and I'm pleased that cameras like the Pentax 17 and the Rollei 35AF do, especially for those who like to experiment with their photography. Manual film cameras are well on their way to becoming the norm.
Everyone's getting involved
The idea for this article arose from a talk I attended about the future of film photography, hosted by Harman Technology's Sales & Marketing Director Giles Branthwaite.
He discussed how more and more young people are getting into film photography, and used stats to backup the fact that more people are getting 35mm film developed, and how businesses have seen a rise in film sales.
All of the facts combined pointed to one thing: film photography is far from dead and new life has been breathed into it, thanks to the gadgets I mentioned. And these are just a handful of analog gadgets available today.
At the rate technology is developing, we'll get even more portable photo labs and smarter film cameras with advanced autofocus systems. Who knows what 2026 may hold? For now, I've seen the future of analog, and it has me more excited than ever for what's to come.
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