So the Last pigs in blanket has been scoffed and my port bottle has been running dry. So it feels like time to look back over 2024 from a film and lo fi digital point of view. We’ve court battles, new gear a plenty and Gen Z nicking all the budget digicams. As well as an unhealthy obsession with 2:1 cameras. Oh and we’ve my annual awards and predictions.
We ‘ve got news stories, the annual awards and my predictions for 2025
So I prepare to put my who ate all the puds jumper away for another 12 months lets begin with my quick news review
Colour Film is back but not from you know who
We got loads of new colour film popping up that don’t come from Rochester NY. Granted quite a a few a Rebrands of Filmotec’s Orwo Wolfen NC400/NC500 and it’s speculated that that company is behind the latest Lomochrome ’92 sun kissed emulsion. But Orwo weren’t alone
Adox announce another Colour film Color Mission Helios with an ISO of just 3. Harman Phoenix is on 120 now. But the biggest new came from China
First both Shanghai and Lucky film announced new colour films. We don’t fully know how new they are – ? rebranded Wolfen ? old Kodak Emulsion ? something new ? But that news is good. But perhaps better is Fujifilm announced a return to film manufacturing but in China. We don’t know if it means proper restart of C200 and Fujifilm 400 (not the superia version) or if more Springsteen Fujifilm (aka born in the US using Kodak emulsions like all current C-41 Fujifilm)
And in Monochrome Land ?
As to B&W Lucky, Shanghai, Ferrania and Foma all gave us new products. But the most impressive news story has to be Film Washi. Once again demonstrating why you should never tell a Frenchman Non, Lomig Perrotin took a speciality film emulsion used for printing PCB. Ignoring the it can’t be done he created Film -E a 3 ISO workable photographic film
Kodak Film production some good new and some maybe not so
So Kodak Eastman paused film production in the autumn for both motion and still film. It’s not the bad new you might think as that pause was to allow them to upgrade and expand. This is good new.
But in one of my correct predictions from last year Kodak Alaris has changed hands. This is retail company that sells Kodak still film (they just pay Kodak Rochester to make the stuff). When Kodak went Bankrupt back in 2012, Kodak’s UK Pension Plan (KPP) settled as a creditor by taking over this part and others of the business.
By 2020 things were financially gloomy. In a way that wont make sense to anyone outside the UK, a British Government Quango stepped in and arguably save the business. The UK’s Pension Protection Fund (PPF) remit has been to provide some protection for people whom have paid into private pension scheme. Normally they’re the last fall back if a pension fund collapses but here they stepped in long before that happened and ran Alaris up this year. It was sold as the PPF said “was restructured and has subsequently performed well, leading to our decision to sell the business.”
The new owners are a US based Private equity group Kingswood management. I’m a bit torn here Harman Technology Ltd (aka Ilford Films) was a management buyout when the old Ilford went bust but has been owned by a UK based Private equity company for 10 years and going from strength to strength
Shooting Instax is still Cheaper than 35mm Colour
I picked up a 2×10 instax mini pack from Boots the other day for £14.99. Buying a roll of 24 exposure Kodak Colour plus cost about £8-9 these days but processing costs will take you well past £15 before you add in prints. It’s a reminder that how expensive colour film has got
You wanted new film cameras you got new film cameras in spades
Often we focus on a few New Cameras. But this yaer you got everything short of a SLR. There were the usual clutch of Lo-Fi including the $hitshow that is the Lomography Lomourette (more on that later). Even Pop star Dua Lipa got in on the act flogging a waterproof simple camera on her merch store. A little bit more interesting was Chroma Cameras launched a lovely tiny Pinhole the Cube FF.
But it wasn’t Just Lo-Fi
Lomography gave us the very advanced but flawed 110 camera the Lomomatic 110. This was a step up for Lomography and gave a auto exposure camera for less than £100 but sadly the lens was quite in step
Fujifilm may be saying no to making a traditional film camera but did drop the Instax Mini 99, a camera that has been shooting our family Christmas parties and is arguably on of the most advanced Instaxs ever made. And you look at this and wonder why Fujifilm just doesn’t tweak it and give us a 35mm.
But of Course the Big story was the Pentax 17 bringing a high end half frame which quickly sold out and gained a lot of praise. The later MiNT Rollei 35 AF maybe lacked the same wow and quality it is still an important step forward
And Known to come in 2025
Chroma have announce the Click a 35mm simple compact that will come with their (or version of) M39 mount DoubleGlass lens. This has a fixed shutter but will offer a choice of half and full frame. Likely launched via KS in 2025.
In a classic Celeb link up Silvergrain and Hollywood Legend Jeff Bridges will be bringing the Widelux back as the Wideluxx
And as 2025 begins a new camera has been announced from Dutch Photo retailer Analogue Amsterdam. Boasting a 6 element f/2.8 lens and LiDAR AF
Oh and there’s the Lego….
Sorry Benny no spaceship – This is the Lego ZH1 Camera. This was submitted to Lego’s idea program and has had enough community support to move on to the next stage. Whilst it’s not a done deal yet and may be ultimately rejected. Analog.cafe have interviewed Zung Hoang, the creator of the ZH1 and kudos have tried it.
Odd moment – We want new cameras but don’t wanna pay
Oddly the arrival of the Pentax 17 although broadly was well received, there was a bit of moaning from some in the analogue photo community. It was teh Pentax 17 that bore the brunt – too pricey . Looks good but I could buy a Olympus PEN SLR and lenses for that etc.
The trouble is it isn’t. we’ve got use to paying peanuts for second hand cameras. and whilst occasional surges from Gen Z and the millenial crowd cause slight rises in price, you can still buy a more than adequate SLR body for a few quid. But we forget that mass produced body cost £100+ in it’s day. And the Pentax 17 is about the same in real terms as other compacts launched. It also makes sense pricing as the Lomo LC-A Wide which is way more mass produced and simpler cost not that much less (and weirdly costs the same now as it did at launch about a decade ago)
I get some of us are strapped for cash at these times but slagging of camera for their costisn’t fair. Unless….
The Nana Drama
But price does matter when the difference is vast. Australian Analogue outlet Filmneverdie teased the Nana, a new motorised film camera in late 2023, but when it hit a later Kickstarter all hell broke loose. Bellamy from JCH was one of the first to “spill the tea” on this camera that was it transpited based on a $30 wholesale Alibaba model and Later I picked out the Harman EZ35 was also. The funding of the KS also got a bit suss, although KS are pretty thorough in dealing with shenanigans. The Camera arrived and on test was just as good as the Harman which you can buy for about £30. The metal body and filter ring are welcome and it does deserve a premium just not the ~£180 being asked.
But controversy happened over the lo-fi digital divide too
Lo-Fi Digital Dramas
At least the Nana arrived
In Brief there once was a quirky ECO friendly Lo-fi digital camera from Taiwan called the Paper Shoot. Lets be brutally honest the company struggled to market in the West and a few years back the found Gillian Gillant and her team, a Canadian based Distributor whom would sell the camera in N.American and latterly other markets. And they could do Socials very well. and they undoubtably raised the cameras profile in the West.
So a marriage made in Heaven ? Naw. Currently the divorce from hell and still as I type in the US courts system, The Taiwan team had become increasingly fed up with the N.American wing who’d sold unofficial merch & accessories, unofficial extended warranties, described themselves as the company and Taiwan just being the manufacturing base and to top it off had begun discussions with a company to make their own camera. Gallant has made claims back although I must say the paper Shoot position sounds like ground for ending the deal which did happen. Oddly within weeks Gallant was touting the Cappy Camera which at it’s core offered a Eco friendly lo-fi digital with interchangeable cases, no LCD and 4 switchable filters – so nothing like a Paper Shoot then 🤔
And we”ll never know. As I reported the Cappy was pulled from sale and backers refunded with the company closing – which may have more than something to do with an on going copyright infringement case brought by Paper Shoot in the US.
And talking of court case
Photographer wins appeal against artist for plagiarising her work
Back in 2017 reknown art and fashion Photog Zhang Jingna took an image for Harper’s Bazaar Vietnam. In 2022 she lost a court battle accusing Artist Jeff Dieschburg of plagiarism. His oil painting whichat bes tis heavily influenced or at worse a near copy of Jingna’s photo, had won a prize in a Luxembourg and was being marketed for over €6,000EUR. She appealed the decision and in 2024 won her case preventing the work being exhibited or sold.
It’s hard to know how Dieschburg took the ruling he long since disappeared from the net but Jingna is clearly happy.
Dieschburg has form for doing this as the medium picked up. But it raises issues around what counts as altering a work and what is Plagiarises it.
And this stretches into the issues around AI. In 2024 Jengna alongside other well known artists Like Greg Rutkowski, have joined the long running class action lawsuit in the US against Stability AI, DeviantArt, Midjourney, and Runway AI.
And talking of AI
AI – Ups and down
Yes I know I’ve been banging on about photo-realsitic AI and yes it’s got better again. But we’re more aware unless you’re one of the Boomers who keep liking my son made this….. social posts (hint just count the fingers)
And we probably are more adept overall at spotting AI dubiety. And it doesn’t seem to be anymore of a threat than any other source of misinformation.
The Centre for Emerging Technology and Security at the Alan Turing Institute reviewed the elections in the US, UK and elsewhere in 2024. Reassuringly they found no evidence that AI had any meaningful impact on those elections. But they did note that Ai imagery was used alongside other misinformation sources (like photoshopped images, misleading claims etc). Their impression was that Ai images were generally just seen alongside other misinformation as things that amplified or reinforced beliefs within an already highly polarised community.
But perhaps our distrust of images can go too much. In 2023 Charing Cross Photo, a Sydney based Photolab rejected this photo from their regular photo competition
Turns out it was a real photo caught on an iPhone 14 by Suzi Dougherty. She captured her son with 2 brightly dressed mannequins at a museum exhibition
And this year a real photographer got his revenge. Miley Astray entered the AI part of the 1839 photo competition with a quirk picture of a flamingo. He won Bronze and the peoples’s choice award
AI Part 2 do you still need me ?
There’s now a couple of camera bloggers whom I won’t name who openly boast of using Ai like ChatGPT to write their posts. Rest assure dear reader this is by own hand. No Ai could stuff upm the English language how I do, or so my robot overlord tells me.
But in reality I had a scary moment where how good AI has got in thenon photo sphere. Fellow blogger Peggy Marsh of Camera Go Camera pointed me at this impressive but nightmare invoking glimpse of the future.
Take a listen to this clip of 2 podcasters. They’re discussing one of my posts
No I haven’t made it to the big time. There were no podcasters. It was all Ai generated by pointing Google’s NotebookLM at my webpage which generated an over seven minute conversation which I’ve truncated here.
It wasn’t perfect but highly and a little bit frighteningly impressive.
Zoiks. Let’s move onto to safe grounds with the Awards
The 2024 Canny Camera Awards
The virtual awards are all polished. So lets begin with what we discussed
Best Photog news of 2024
So you’ve just read the news. Lots of interesting stuff
Commended Washi E-Film is a bonker bit of French determination. The slow car crashes that were the Nana camera and Cappy camera controversy also stood out. And I know it’s technically 2025 releases (if they do) the Analogue AF-1 and the Lego Camera (finger crossed) deserver a mention
Winner of Best Photog News 2024
Pentax 17 Launch
This was not an entire surprise but we got an incredible camera with a real legacy. It has broadly been well reviewed and was my carry camera this summer in Berlin. It has been a bit controversial to some around the pricing which I think is unfair.
Camera of the Year awards
We’ll build up slowly here with a few notables before we get to the best
Best Improved Camera on testing 2024
Flashback ONE35
To say I was underwhelmed with this at launch back at the start of the year is an understatement and this may have been a shoe in for the worst lo-fi digital. But the team behind the camera have made the filters useable, the app workable and many other bugs ironed. By October it held upo against the market leading lo-fi rivals. And whilst it’s not the perfect Lo-Fi digital but it is now much better. Well done Flashback.
Best Film Camera You’ve Never heard of 2024
Fetana 35FT
I’d stumbled across the Fetana brand looking for a $30 MD compact for my test against the infamous Nana. The Fetana 35NF met that brief but it was it’s non motor drive sibling that grabbed my eye. The 35FT has a unnecessary weird swing up flash just like some Ricoh FF cameras. It is a Lo-Fi affair but actually has a not bad twin glass element lens. Put a smile on my face
Best New Lo-Fi Digital on test 2024
Camp Snap 1.03B
The original Camp Snap is pretty good (and remains my benchmark Lo-Fi digital) but the folks at Camp Snap have given us an updated version. It comes with a nice soft brown tone filter pre installed and an adjustable date as well as an improved sensor. It’s taken over from it’s sibling as the Lo-Fi digital King
Best Lo-Fi Film Camera on test 2024
Ilford Ilfocolor Rapid Half-Frame
One of the better disposables arrived for me in 2024 from the Swiss Ilford company (not the same as Harman who make ilford film). The camera is a widely available design but works well tweaked as ahalf frame and gives a budget busting 54 images if you only use it once and a nice vintage feel rebranded Orwo Wolfen colour film. But it can be reloaded for those brave enough with relative ease. Technically the Escura Snaps 35 was better but it’s the same camera as the Dubblefilm Show and the legion of clones. And this was just quite fun and gave good results
Bargain Camera on test 2024
Canon EOS 500N (aka Rebel G/ New Kiss)
£1 quid snagged this low/mid range consumer AF SLR from Canon. Whilst the 500N is no Canon classic this was very competent Film SLR, with all the features most of us would use. And Lenses are widely available (and you can use M42 and other lenses via adaptors. Has that good Canon Ergonomics and logical layout. It’s plasticky but well enough made and a bargain for a quid.
Best Second Hand Digital on Test 2024
Nikon Coolpix P500
The P500 might be 14 years old but this is still very competent X32 Ultra zoom. It has the same size sensor as the last generation P ultra zooms and boast lots of features like Image stabilisation and HD video (1080p 30fps) but you’ll need a tripod to make full use of that zoom. It’s EVF is a bit low res but of it’s time and bulky as all these are. I’d still prefer to take much smaller Lumix TZ70 with me with it’s bigger sensor and similar zoom in a compact camera size but that’s a much newer camera. This is very good at what it does and if money is Tight this gives you a competent camera big zoom for 50 quid
AND FINALLY !!!
BEST FILM CAMERA AND
BEST CAMERA OVER ALL ON TEST 2024
Lomography LC-A Wide
I argued this was the camera the Pentax 17 needed to beat and in fairness it does in half frame but not by a wide margin on core performance. The LC-A Wide can also shoot fully frame plus a couple other modes making it the veritable Swiss Army knife of modern compacts. It retains the spirt of the original LC-A but isn’t just for hipsters. I think it might just be the compact to measure other new compacts against and it’s much better made than the Lomography name sometimes suggests. It’s they’re premium camera for a reason and our worthy winner
But for every Ying there is a Yang
The Worst Cameras of 2024
Lots to cover here and broadly you wished some a manufacturers had just taken a minute to think
Most Disappointing Film Camera in 2024
Lomography Lomomatic 110
On one hand Lomography gave us a pretty advanced electronically 110 camera for less than a 100 quid. Shame they paired with a pretty duff lens. I really wanted to like this and even assumed my first lab had screwed up in scanning. But they hadn’t. Lots to like marred by the lens.
Most Disappointing Vintage Digital 2024
Konica-Minolta DiMAGE Z2
Some of the vintage Bridge cameras in the DiMAGE are regarded as classics. This is not one of them. It has that great retro futuristic design and that strange but impressive flipping mirror LCD set up, but It’s lack of image stabilisation and ironically the camera design make it hard to keep still enough when using the tele end of the zoom. Z3 added image stabilisation and would be my advice over this. Shame as the wide end quite competent
Worst Digital on test 2024 (okay 2025 as well)
Retro Snap SC01
I know I just published this in 2025 and some image sin that review are from 2025, but this plastic hunk o’ junk was already demonstrating how crap it’s images were in 2024. It isn’t the worst digitals I shot last year but the micro digitals like the Y4000 cost a quarter of this. Customer support has been lacking and it feels like a poor copy of the Camp Snap
Most Dubious Kickstarter Camera 2024
The Projecamera
48MP camera that doubles a as a projector for just $139USD ? To most of you that will sound far to good to be true but not for the 34 poor souls that actually backed this . Dubious spec with weird bubbly messages (it’s an “analog reality camera” whatever that is. It’s camera spec matches many scammy cameras. Another big clue is that the rare compacts taht match a 40MP+ resolution don’t cost $139USD. Take the Fujifilm X100VI with 40MP, amazon will charge you over $2000 for that and yes it’s a Fuji X but…..
It’s never arrived yet and there are no hands on independent reviews. I suspect folk will actually get one. But it will get a cheap scammy camera with a cheap poor quality projector. And despite what they claim, it’s not a new idea. Disturbingly it would be followed on Kickstarter by the Snapzy, a camera projector that actually listed it’s claimed better spec versus the Projecamera. Although if the tucked away still resolution of 320×180 pixels is better, how awful is the projecamera.
Just buy a separate digital and a cheap but decent projector folks.
WINNER WORST CAMERA ON TEST 2024
Lomography Lomourette
The Lomography Dina Mini camera was very much my lo-fi Lo love hate camera which I had a niggling soft spot for. Due to cost pressures Lomography decided to retire it and give us the Lomourette. But it’s not really new camera, it’s just a crippled Diana Mini. You’re stuck with half frame, no nice square frames and reduced features. They didn’t even honour the Diana heritage
How to ruin a classic. It costs more than the retro Snap which produces more consistent crap images (and it is my runner up here). I haven’t reviewed anything worse this yea. In fairness, I’m also probably more aggrieved as when I sold my one I got my first negative eBay feedback as the flash won’t fire in bulb (who knew or though to test) by my delight of a buyer who never got in touch.
Find a Diana Mini to scream at. They’re still easily tracked down and way better although delightfully frustrating
The Robert Hamm Vapourware Award 2024
A resurrection is order for this award. As usual Robert Hamm makes the list as I’m still waiting like other 236 backers for even an explanation why 6 years later he still hasn’t delivered his Nu Box camera nor even bother to tell us why the project has ceased. Robert has gone back to his wedding photog business and YouTube gear reviews without even having the decency to let us backers know the dream is actually over
I’m more sympathetic to the folks from Jollilook who’s auto is delayed to 2025. The company which has a reasonable reason for delays in the form of Russia invading their country. They are now producing some more basic cameras from a base in Slovakia. Hopefully finally move off the vapourware list in 2025.
Winner of the Vapourware Award 2024
Cappy Camera
Oh dear. Paper Shoot’s former American distributor very spectacularly fell out with the parent company as we’ve discussed. One of the issues is Gillian Gallant’s team had (according to Paper Shoot) been in discussions about producing their own rival camera for some time. Turns out they were right because within weeks Gallant launched a pre-order campaign for the Cappy camera. And the Cappy sounded strangely familiar – simple camera with no LCD, swappable cases, 4 switchable Lo-Fi cameras, alleged eco-cred. Hey that’s what Paper Shoot sell on !
It got within weeks of shipment and then the company suddenly went belly up. I suspect the copyright legal action Paper Shoot unsurprisingly launched was the last straw,
A camera that will never be seen until it turns up as a no brand on Temu.
Blog Post of 2024 Award
Far too many great blog posts to do justice this year. But here are some I liked
Casual Photophile’s James Tocchio review of the Konica Minolta Dimage X50 is a timely reminder of just why these 20 year old simple digi-compacts remain fun to use. Don Goodman-Wilson’s post entitled “On Authenticity” will playfully challenge your thought on what authenticity by taking AI and going analogue via sardine sandwiches. Anjroo on his YT channel gives us something we see less of now a long term use review – Kodak Ektar H35 a 1 year Review
I can’t list Retro Film Cameras – “We Remember Evaline Kitchin” despite it being a fantastic read of getting an old kodak Vest camera but discovering the story behind the WWI nurse who once used it. It was published in Nov 2023 but I’ve only just come across this.
Best Blog Post 2024
Jeffery Luhn – “The Camera that Launched my Career… and Nearly Devastated me” on 35mmc
a very beautiful trip down memory lane around an old Exa 1a and the changes it in part would lead to in Jeffery’s life in California back in the late 60’s and early 70’s. Well written emotional piece that rightly deserves this award.
And Finally
The Canny Camera Predictions 2025
I got about 1 in 3 kinda right last year so here we go again
- Leica will announce a new SOFORT 3 instax based off the mini 99
- Either Canon or Nikon (or both) will stop dSLR production
- Reto Launch a full frame camera using the hybrid lens from the H35N
- Pentax will tease, at the very least, a AF high end compact
- Kodak will consolidate budget 200ISO colour production into either Gold or ColorPlus
- Fujifilm announce plans for a 800ISO colour film to be made in China
- Harman launch a second colour film with a different ISO
- Camp Snap launch a higher end version for the photogs
- New Digital Compact announced by key manufactures to keep up with current craze
- Nikon announce ahead of 2026, a limited run of a film SLR to celebrate 70 years of the Nikon F