Amazon makes it almost too easy to buy just about anything. You can make a single order that contains a popcorn maker, a three-pack of boxer briefs, and a coffin and you’ll get free shipping on all of it. But when it comes to film, the world’s retail mega-goliath tends to fall short.

Stephen Swett from Coastal Film Lab recently posted in the Film Photographers Facebook group about trouble customers have been experiencing with film bought on Amazon. “We have recently noticed a number of customers with fresh film from Amazon getting really poor results,” he explains. “We decided to buy some Portra 400 from them to test and see, and sure enough it seems they are storing it improperly.” The sample image he provides clearly indicates heat damage with an ugly color shift, a noticeable fade across the entire image, and some ugly grain well beyond what you’d expect from Portra 400.

Obviously, this amount of effort doesn’t count as a thorough scientific experiment, but this absolutely isn’t a new story. In fact, I had a very similar experience just a few years ago when I got a great deal on 20 rolls of Kodak Ultra Max 400 from Amazon, only to find out that it had almost certainly suffered heat damage similar to what I described above.

Most of the Amazon film troubles stem from the fact that it’s often sold by third-party sellers on the Amazon platform. Film typically endures some heat fluctuations in transit. Even well-known camera stores still get their film off of unrefrigerated trucks that travel long distances for delivery. But real heat damage takes very hot temperatures and prolonged exposure, which dedicated photo retailers can typically avoid.

You may get totally fine film ordering from a seller on Amazon, but it’s more of a gamble. Consider the fact that film is often way more expensive on Amazon than it is elsewhere, and the gamble really doesn’t seem worth the risk. A single 120 medium format roll of Portra 400 on Amazon will set you back $20 at present. You can get it cheaper by paying $130 for 10 rolls in two five-packs. I typically buy my film from Unique Photo, and it currently charges $12.60 for the same single roll. The price drops to $11.95 if you buy more than 20 rolls. I typically buy 20 or more and cold-store them for that bulk discount.

If you’re looking for a good, trustworthy place to buy film, I’ve already mentioned Unique above, and that seller has always treated me well. I also really like Freestyle, which is a west coast-based shop that sells a ton of film and film accessories. Recently, Moment has jumped into the film market and regularly offers very solid prices on fresh stocks. And, of course, you can order from B&H and Adorama, both of which have been very reliable when it comes to film purchases over the years.

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Back in 1992, film photography was just called “photography” because there really was no other option for typical users. Of course, the market offered a much wider array of different films back then, which ranged from pristine pro stocks to cheap, grainy, color-shifted stocks you’d get at the grocery store. Lomography’s new LomoChrome Color ’92 aims to mimic the latter.

This 400-speed 35mm film stock doesn’t aim for true-to-life colors. The product description promises “clean yellows,” “vibrant reds,” and “fascinating blues.” That last one is worth a chuckle because of just how on-brand it is for Lomography. The Lomochrome series includes other unique color films like Turquoise and Purple, which come with a very heavy color shift. This isn’t nearly as pronounced as those. I also think it’s still more accurate than the Metropolis film stock. But it’s definitely unique.

The sample shots on the Lomography site show very chunky grain, which isn’t surprising from a 400-speed film like this. This is presumably an existing film stock that Lomography has respooled, which is a very common practice in the industry. Dig around on enough forums, and I’m sure you’ll find angry people insisting that they know what film it is and why it’s a travesty that Lomography is selling it. While this stock definitely doesn’t fit my personal analog style, I think it’s awesome that it’s available.

This is the kind of look that has become extremely popular with younger creators on Tik Tok and other social media networks. There’s a contingent of shooters who want to make it very obvious that they’re shooting film with grain and color shifts. This appears to deliver both in spades. It would look right at home in a reusable compact, an old film compact, or even a 35mm SLR.

Each roll of LomoChrome Color ’92 400 costs $12.90, and it’s currently on pre-order. Lomography says it’s selling through its stock very quickly, so order soon if you want to get it in a timely fashion.

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For the past few years, rolls of film have been extremely difficult or even flat-out impossible to find. When film was available, it was typically exorbitantly expensive. And frequently, if stores had some in stock, they would limit how many rolls you could buy at once to just one or two. Color film faired worse than black and white, but film, in general, has been hard to get your hands on, and prices have been rising steeply.  

Much of the problem resulted from the same things that plagued just about everything we buy: Supply chain issues due to the pandemic. Production problems impacted all film companies, but certain film stocks have been worse off than others. Just over a year ago, Fujifilm announced price hikes and a shortage of 120 slide film. And most Kodak film has also been tricky to get. 

Luckily, the industry seems to be rebounding and catching up with the increased demand as analog popularity continues to grow. We’ve seen the glorious “In Stock” message across different film types on various websites, which is a great sign. And while prices are still higher than they used to be, many film stocks aren’t quite as absurdly priced as they were. 

Below are some websites with film in stock and ready for purchase. It’s also worth saying that although buying some rolls from Amazon may be tempting, it’s not something we recommend. There is a good chance the film is expired, and at times you won’t even get the film stock that you think you are buying. Instead, purchasing through a photography-specific website gives you a better chance of finding film that has been properly stored, isn’t expired, and is what you expect.

Moment

Moment sells a wide range of photography gear, but it especially offers a lot of analog-specific items and provides educational content for film as well. Right now, it has 35mm Kodak Portra 400 in a five-pack on sale for $75.99. That comes out to just shy of $15 per roll, which is pricey but not as bad as we were seeing it in the midst of the shortage.

Moment also has Fujifilm VELVIA 50 Color Reversal 120 Film in stock, which has been just about unheard of for quite some time. While Fujifilm hasn’t outright said it, we anticipate the company will stop production of film entirely at some point, so it’s definitely a good idea to snatch some of this up while it’s available if you dig the look of Velvia.

Unique Photo

Unique Photo has been around since the 1940s and is one of our favorite places to buy film. It has everything from classic stocks from Kodak and Fujifilm to more unique films from LomoChrome and Revolog. Most of the popular options are in stock right now. And not only are they just in stock, but you can truly stock up if you want to, and save money while you’re at it. For example, you can buy 1,000 plus rolls of 35mm Kodak Portra 400, which will offer savings of $1.80 per roll. Of course, it also means you have to drop almost $13,000, but just look at what you would save!

If buying 1,000 rolls is just a bit too absurd for you, you can get 200 rolls of 35mm Kodak Ultra Max 400 for $10 per roll, saving you $3.50 over buying just a single roll. Or, for less of an investment, 20 rolls will give you an $11.50 per roll price.

Midwest Photo

Another favorite for ordering analog supplies is Midwest Photo. It offers mostly classic film stocks but does sell a handful of unique, creative options as well. You can currently buy a five-pack of 35mm Kodak Portra 400 for $67.95. Midwest Photo is still limiting the number of packs you can buy at once to 20 every 30 days, so it must not have as full of a warehouse as the two listed above. But 20 five packs is likely more than most people will buy at once anyway.

Freestyle Photo

Another company that has been around for a long time (75 years, to be exact) is Freestyle Photo. This company has a really expansive list of film stocks and film formats available, including sheet film all the way up to 11 by 14 inches. Almost everything is in stock on its website, including 120 Kodak Ektar 100 for $14.69 per roll or a five-pack for $69.99, which will save you a little bit per roll.

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Even for people who didn’t grow up during the golden era of instant photography, there’s something nostalgic and, frankly, kind of magical about square instant prints. Now, Fujifilm has introduced its new Instax SQ40 instant film camera which dons a semi-vintage aesthetic and spits out square-format Instax prints.

Fujifilm Instax SQ40 instant film camera details

The SQ40 offers Instax film shooting with a more sophisticated look. While we appreciate the modern style of the excellent Instax SQ1, the black finish and leatherette wrap on the SQ40 make it look more like a serious camera. As the name suggests, the SQ40 shoots Instax Square film, which produces a 2.8-inch square image on a 3.4 x 2.8-inch print. This is noticeably taller than the Instax Mini and Instax Wide formats, and it mimics old-school Polaroids.

From a technical standpoint, it offers a 65mm f/12 lens. While 65mm sounds very tight for a fixed lens camera, remember that the film size is much larger, so you get a much wider angle of view here than you would with a single frame of 35mm film.

This isn’t meant to be the most technical camera. It relies on fully automatic exposure, most of the time including the built-in flash. The camera does have selfie mode (like the SQ1 and others), which allows it to focus more closely than it typically would by rotating the lens. The shutter speed ranges from 0.5 seconds up to 1/400th second, and it also allows for slow-sync flash.

Fujifilm Instax SQ40 pricing and availability

The Instax SQ40 isn’t available for order yet, but Fujifilm expects it will be ready to order by the end of June. It will cost $150, which puts it among the more expensive Instax models overall. That shouldn’t come as much of a surprise since the retro-styled Instax cameras, like the excellent Mini 90 Neo Classic, typically run around $200.

We’re looking forward to putting together a full review of the Instax SQ40 in the coming weeks. So, if you’re having a party, be sure to invite us because this seems like a really great party camera.

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Update: This is showing up much more expensive for some people in different areas. If you log into your Walmart account, it may drop down to the price below, but you may have to have it shipped to the store or go pick it up.

Film has gotten more expensive lately, and some stocks have been just plain hard to find. But Walmart has 3-packs of Fujicolor Superia X-TRA 400 in stock right now for $25 with free shipping. Some stores even have it in stock if you want to go pick it up. My local store has six three-packs at the moment.

Fujifilm Fujicolor Superia X-TRA 400 $24.98 per 3-pack of 36 exposures

SEE IT

It has been a bit since I’ve seen film on big box store shelves, but Walmart seems to be flush with these 3-packs at the moment. Superia X-TRA 400 is a vibrant film with a relatively chunky grain and a long shelf life. The current 400-speed stock bears a striking resemblance to Kodak’s popular Ultra Max 400 film, which is currently very hard to find and considerably more expensive than these Fujifilm rolls.

While these 3-packs were cheaper than this just a few years ago, they’re not considerably more expensive just about everywhere else. And that’s if you can find them in stock at all. So, go and grab some to keep feeding those film cameras.

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In late 2022, Pentax announced its plans to develop brand-new film cameras for the first time in several decades. It’s an ambitious idea that has the film photography community (myself included) fairly excited. After all, Pentax is responsible for some of the best film cameras ever made, including the gloriously chunky Pentax 67 and the un-killable Pentax K-1000 35mm SLR. Now, Pentax has released a new video with more details about its new film camera, and it sounds very promising.

In the video, Pentax designer TKO lays out some crucial details about the new camera. We now know that it will be a fixed-lens compact without zoom. That’s very promising as the old fixed-lens compacts like the Contax T-series and the Olympus Stylus compacts offer some of the smallest, sharpest lenses ever produced. Compact zooms typically offer woefully slow maximum apertures once you start zooming to the long end of the range, mostly as a function of their small size. A fixed, fast 28mm or 35mm option sounds fantastic.

The other bit of information reveals that, despite its compact form factor, the new Pentax film camera will have an SLR-style manual film advance lever. That’s somewhat unique compared to the old standards since even manual compacts like the popular Olympus XA manual focus rangefinder compact relied on a winding knob instead of a lever. Fixed-lens cameras with manual advance levers typically embraced the rangefinder design like the Olympus SP, the Canonet, or the Yashica Electro.

While a true compact with a manual film advance sounds unique, it does make sense. As TKO explains in the video, developing that mechanism now will allow the company to easily transport that design over to a traditional SLR-style design if they go that route down the road.

While we still only know a few details and haven’t even come close to seeing any type of specs or design for this new film camera, I’m still excited about the prospect of a new film compact. The electronics in 30-year-old compacts from the ’90s get less reliable all the time. I have a small shoebox full of Olympus Stylus Epic bodies with bad ribbon cables or wildly malfunctioning lenses as a nice reminder.

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Polaroid is no stranger to creating limited-edition, bold-color films. Just last year, the company released Duochrome Black & Green 600, which, as the name suggests, created dramatic and unique green images. This time, blue is the color of choice, and it was created essentially by accident. Polaroid has announced Reclaimed Blue, which is a 600-format film, meaning it will work with retro Polaroid 600 cameras as well as the Polaroid Now, Now +, and Lab.

What is Reclaimed Blue film?

Though Reclaimed Blue has a similar look to Polaroid’s Duochrome films, the company specifies that it is very different from the process used for those films. In fact, Reclaimed Blue was “an experimental fluke.” Whereas Duochrome films require dye to create their unique colors, Reclaimed Blue is the result of a chemical reaction. Interestingly, no extra blue dye is used in the film at all.

The company explains that Polaroid Chemist Brian Slaghuis was working on an experiment to improve its color film. During that testing, Brian stumbled on a new chemical reaction “between our color film and the TBHQ chemical from our b&w film.” The Reclaimed part of the film’s name is due to the use of reclaimed waste material within the new film. It’s not completely understood why this chemical reaction resulted in such blue colors, but Polaroid is embracing it.

As you can see in the example images, the film results in vibrant shades of blue with white highlights. That differs in looks from Blue Duochrome as well, which produces blues and blacks as a result of blue dye being added to black and white film. And it offers a greater range of hues than the Cyan Monochrome film from Polaroid as well.

Who’s it for?

As with other limited edition films from Polaroid, Reclaimed Blue is best for those who want to unique and potentially unpredictable results. Polaroid even specifies that it wants photographers to “experiment with this blue chemistry, to embrace its accidental quality, and to see what unique images they can capture.”

It’s a film for adventurous, creative photographers, which is in line with Polaroid’s history as well. Oskar Smolokowski—the Polaroid Chairman—explained that “Polaroid’s DNA is rooted in experimentation and unlocking the unexpected. Reclaimed Blue captures that essence. It’s science mixed with human perseverance and remarkable accidents.” This new blue film carries on that tradition and asks photographers to do the same.

SEE IT

Pricing & availability

Reclaimed Blue 600 is available for purchase now for $16.99 per pack. It is a limited-edition film stock, though Polaroid hasn’t specified how much exactly is available. Previous limited-edition films have sold out pretty quickly, though, so if you want to try your hand with this new blue film, you won’t want to wait to order.

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Instant photography giant, Polaroid, has just released a new limited-edition film for its i-Type cameras to honor the legendary David Bowie. Polaroid has released lots of fun editions in the past, including Keith Haring-inspired frames, colorful metallic frames, and a Green Duochrome film. The company created the most recent edition in collaboration with The David Bowie Archive. It resulted in 10 new frames inspired by the iconic album artwork of Bowie’s albums.

Each pack of film includes eight frames, so unfortunately, you won’t see them all in one pack. They are sold as single packs or as triple or five packs for an even better chance of getting all collectible frames. The film itself uses the same color formula as all other i-Type films, so if you’ve already been using those, you will know what to expect. You’ll need a Polaroid camera that uses the proprietary i-Type instant film, such as the Polaroid Now or the Polaroid Now+.

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This week, Ricoh-owned camera brand Pentax announced its return to the film photography game in a big way. According to the announcement, the company is currently in the research and development phase on a number of film photography products that will include gear for film newbies and experienced shooters alike. This is fantastic news.

Despite drastically increased film prices in recent years, the demand for analog photography has skyrocketed. That demand has also pushed up the prices for film cameras on the secondary market. Even the newest film cameras are now at least two decades old and both parts and know-how for repair have come into short supply. Currently, Leica’s M-A and the recently reborn M6 represent the only real major manufacturer option to buy a brand new 35mm film camera, and those prices start above $5,000 without a lens.

A long history of film cameras

Pentax’s 35mm film photography lineage goes all the way back to the 1950s. Since then, the Japenese company has offered some of the most iconic analog cameras of all time. The enormous Pentax 67 SLR still garners a cultish following among medium format shooters (including myself), due in part to the incredible 105mm f/2.4 lens that paired with it. The Pentax K1000 was one of the best all-around manual 35mm SLRs in terms of build quality and ease of use. And the Pentax 645N autofocus medium format line was one of the last professional film camera systems still in production around 2010, well into the digital era.

Pentax hasn’t said what kind of film gear it intends to release just yet, but the announcement suggests the offerings will run the gamut from basic to advanced. While it seems unlikely that the monstrous 67 series will make a return, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the autofocus 645 system come back into the fold. You can still buy a brand new Pentax 645Z digital camera, which uses the same A (manual focus) and FA (autofocus) lenses as the film version that came before it.

Many of the older Pentax K-mount lenses are similarly compatible with newer cameras without adaptation, so a 35mm option seems like a no-brainer as well.

When can we get the new Pentax film cameras?

Pentax hasn’t mentioned a timeframe for the development or the releases, but the sheer mention of new film cameras from a major manufacturer has the film photography community very excited. It’s especially exciting for those who use film for professional purposes. Even the best film cameras around today can be difficult to have serviced due to a dearth of replacement parts and a shrinking pool of qualified technicians to do the work.

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Film has gotten expensive in recent years. Even stocks once known for their affordability have taken noticeable leaps in price thanks to availability issues and supply chain concerns. Now, however, Harman (the company behind Ilford films) has announced that its affordable Kentmere Pan 100 and Pan 400 films will be available in 120 medium format at a fraction of the price that other stocks typically cost. Both stocks were already available and popular in 35mm, but they weren’t available to medium format shooters.

Kentmere Pan 100 is a relatively slow, fine-grain film with medium to heavy contrast. Despite its slow rating, it has a relatively wide latitude and can push a few stops if the situation requires it. Kentmere Pan 400 is a faster film with more grain and slightly less contrast than the 100-speed version. From what I’ve seen in the sample photos, I actually prefer the 400-speed version because of the extra grain. I also appreciate the flexibility that comes with a higher-speed film.

While both stocks can produce excellent images, they’re meant to address a budget-minded market segment. At the time of writing, Ilford’s popular HP5 black-and-white film costs nearly $9 per roll. Kodak’s iconic Tri-X 400 costs nearly $10 per roll and is often only available in five-packs for around $50. Both Kentmere stocks, however, retail for $5.80 per roll of 120 film. Depending on the camera, a 120 roll will get between eight (with a 6×9 camera) or 16 (with a 6×4.5 camera) frames.

We’re big fans of newly available film of just about any variety, but new cheap film is even more exciting. We’re looking forward to trying out a few rolls in the coming weeks to see if it lives up to the 35mm version’s reputation as a stock that performs well above its price tag.

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