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The two new Kodacolor films - more than new emulsions, they signalled a big change at Eastman Kodak (Pic: Eastman Kodak)
Welcome to the last of the new look 'Advance/Rewind' newsletters for 2025. Firstly, thanks for signing up – whether you did this year or at some point before. It has been a particularly tough year for blogs like Kosmo Foto thanks to the rise of AI search, and this newsletter will be an ever-more-important part of what we do from here.
2025 has been a particularly interesting year for film photography, showing that the bounce-and-boom that happened in the last decade isn't yet over.
Here's some of the noteworthy things that happened over the past year…
Lomography’s new LOMO MC-A (Pic: Stephen Dowling)
Lomography's premium compact ambitions
Few launchers were as surprising – or as ambitious – as that of Lomography's latest camera, the LOMO MC-A. Ditching the plastic-fantastic aesthetic, Lomography unveiled a metal-bodied autofocus/zone-focus compact with an f/2.8 lens and a range of shooting modes. You can see our first impressions of this camera – ahead of a full review in the new year – right here.
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China re-enters the colour film arena
China Lucky Film's offerings were once a savvy choice for colour photographers on a strict budget. The rapid uptake of digital cameras and smartphones killed its film line up in the early 2010s, but something completely unexpected has happened – China Lucky Film has not only brought back black-and-white emulsions, but this year launched Lucky Color 200, its first revamped colour negative film. You can see Kosmo Foto's first results with the film here.
Rochester Castle shot on Phoenix II on a Minox 35AF (Pic; Stephen Dowling)
The Phoenix has risen… again
Harman Technology, the British producer which makes the Ilford and Kentmere brands of black-and-white films, launched its first colour film back in December 2023 under the brand Harman Photo. Phoenix 200 was a work-in-progress colour negative film which had imperfect colour tones and a look halfway between cross-processed slide and expired budget colour film. But Harman Technology always intended the film to be improved upon, and this year a revamped version – called Phoenix II, hit the shelves in the summer. It bodes well for Harman Technology's colour plans in the future. Could we see a Phoenix III next year?
The Analogue aF-1 - announced, but not yet with us (Pic: Analogue)
The all-new Analogue aF-1
When the Analogue aF-1 was announced in January, some thought it was a scam: surely a Dutch film lab couldn't come out with an autofocus compact camera, for less than €500? Turns out they might just have, though the camera's initial release date of the end of summer was too ambitious by half. With the aF-1 slated to appear in the first quarter of 2026, it'll be interesting to see how this upstart camera compares next to the Pentax 17, Rollei 35AF and Lomography's LOMO MC-A.
The new-look Kodak Gold 200 ([Pic: Eastman Kodak)
Kodacolor is back
In 2012, Eastman Kodak handed over the distribution of its still films to Kodak Alaris, part of the restructuring after the entire company nearly disappeared altogether thanks to the rise of digital. Eastman Kodak bringing film distribution back in house was announced in the most dramatic way – the launch of two new Kodacolor-branded colour negative films. The launch of Kodacolor 100 (possibly Pro Image 100) and Kodacolor 200 (very much ColorPlus 200) was followed a few weeks later by Eastman Kodak's own versions of Gold 200 and Ultramax 400. It's been rumoured more films will follow under the Kodak name in 2026, and that prices – which steadily rose during the Covid pandemic – might be reduced too.
The Zenit-E, older than than Action Man and Doritos (Pic: Roman Yarovitsyn)
The Zenit-E hits 60
An anniversary we hoped to mark before the end of the year – and simply ran out of time – was the 60th birthday of the infamous KMZ Zenit-E, almost certainly the most-produced film SLR of all time. This camera, first released in small quantities in 1965, not only poured out of Minsk and Moscow factories for the best part of 20 years, but also led to a whole suite of re-tweaked models which lasted until the early 2000s. sold in Western markets at fire-sale prices in the 1960s and 70s, Zenit-Es kickstarted countless photographic careers and allowed people to cobble together an SLR outfit on a humble budget. Simple, crude, agricultural compared to some of the Japanese and German design, the Zenit-E is nonetheless a capable camera, especially paired with some of the fantastic M42 lenses that can be had for peanuts.
Check out Kosmo Foto's review of the camera from our archives ahead of a major special on the blog looking at this camera's legacy, 60 years after its release.
Have a great new year, and see you in 2026!
Stephen Dowling
Kosmo Foto