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During my holiday in Hong Kong, I dropped off a roll of film to be processed. Upon asking for the images to be printed out and mailed to Singapore, I was told that it would take up to two months, since the photos would be sent via post. I did not look for one-hour developing services in Hong Kong. After all, this roll of Kodak Portra 400 took me at least two months to finish, so what's the hurry? Besides, between work and weekend errands, the time to shoot is limited. Hence, I decided to finish the roll while I was overseas. I was mentally prepared to only receive the images in late April/early May. To my surprise, they arrived a month early. As I held the weighty brown envelope in my hands, I felt a stack of photos in the middle. (Image: Chase Yi, Unsplash) My pulse quickened. Part of me assumed that I had made a mistake loading the film and that nothing was captured because of it. Or that most of the photos were so blurry, overexposed or underexposed that very few pictures were printable. The thick stack said otherwise. I was excited, but also cautiously optimistic. Once the missus and I opened the envelope, we each took a small pile to look through. All the images were in focus, but many of them had underexposed areas. (Image: Ddddddarya, Unsplash) Lessons to remember As it turns out, my Pentax Spotmatic F gives better exposure when the needle of the light meter is past the halfway mark. If it's just in the centre, the image will be slightly underexposed. After reviewing the photos again, I reflected on what I could have done better. I should be stricter about the lighting conditions and not be afraid to use a slower shutter speed. Some backgrounds could be better, so I should watch my compositions more as well. Following this, I thought, "Damn, film is brutal, isn't it?" Well, poor technique will be magnified, that's for sure. I don't get to preview an image, delete it and try again. Pushing or pulling film has its limits as well, and I'm reliant on the shop to process not as I see fit, but as they see fit. (Image: Immo Wegmann, Unsplash) A smile began to spread across my face. I couldn't blame the film, the camera or my lens. It was all down to me. And that made me feel good. Before every frame, I would picture the composition and see where the light was falling. Then I'd adjust the aperture and shutter speed. In all that time, it never mattered what camera I had or what lens was on it. As for the film stock, that was decided 36 frames ago. It felt so liberating to only think about the picture I wanted. Film isn't brutal. It's not a sentient being that judges you. Film is impartial. It exists as a medium and its only job is to show you what you've accomplished and tell your story. It's not out to stroke your ego or shatter your pride. And for that reason, if I don't control myself, I'll be needing to purchase more photo albums in the future. So, for the next roll of film, I'll keep the negatives and settle for having the photos scanned and kept in Google Drive instead. – Jeremy (Main image: Chase Yi, Unsplash)

I am interested for sure, for it handiness and that retro-ness. What is the Kodak Charmera blind box camera craze and why is everyone trying to get one? Source: https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/trending/kodak-charmera-blind-box-camera-viral-craze-472001 Step aside Labubu, you ugly-looking grinning doll monster that for some silly reason some people find really cute, a new collectible craze is in town. Meet the US$30 Kodak Charmera, a tiny digital camera on a keychain with retro looks that comes in a blind box and features seven designs: Six standard ones and a special secret edition version. Made in collaboration with Reto Production, the Kodak Charmera features a style inspired by Kodak's single-use disposable camera from the 1980s called the Fling, and lets you record both photo and video. The secret edition comes with a transparent shell that shows off the camera's internals. Weighing in at 30g, the Kodak Charmera shoots 1.6MP images with the ability to add Kodak frames, filters, and a date stamp, just like something you'd see in an old film camera. It stores the images on to a microSD memory card (but it doesn't come with one), and you can transfer the files out using the included USB-C cable. "There's a huge interest in it because it's easier to shoot than shooting actual film which is tedious and costly when you count film, development and scanning costs," said Shawn Low, founder of Camera Assembly, which sells and repairs film cameras. "But as a film person I just think they are trying to jump on the blind box hype because the camera is toy-like and does not replicate the experience of actually shooting film." So far, demand has been ridiculously high after the Kodak Charmera went viral on social media thanks to videos of the blind box unboxing experience. It's pretty similar to the Labubu craze, which had also been mocked in a recent South Park episode. Social media pundits such as mrbrown have also called it the "Labubu of cameras", and the popularity of its blind box cameras has helped raise the profile of the 133-year-old photography company on social media, which had warned investors last month that it may have to cease operations. Kodak said that it may not be able to pay its upcoming debt obligations of US$500 million and may have to shutter its doors. Like Fujifilm, which has successfully made the pivot into pharmaceutical, cosmetics and healthcare by using its expertise in chemicals that were developed for film processing, Kodak has also tried to do the same thing with a US$765 million loan from the US government in 2020. It's not clear when this will start paying off, as the company's 2025 second quarter financials reported a net loss of US$26 million, a decrease from a net income of US$26 million from the same quarter last year. That said, with the Kodak Charmera selling out every time there's stock, perhaps there's hope yet for Kodak to find success with more blind box products. Otherwise, if Kodak has to close down, the Charmera could become even more limited than it already is. The Kodak Charmera is sold online at the official Retopro store, but you can also pick one up at authorised third party stores such as 8storeytree. That said, whether you can get one is another issue altogether. The official second preorder was launched Sep 30, and they sold out within seconds. There's no word yet on when the next preorder will take place. Find the list of official retailers here.

Since I am venturing into this, and developing areas within the sector, any inputs on this? Looking at 360 cameras that are a supplement to VR and AR as well. Welcome all inputs. The new Kodak 360 cameras are pretty fascinating and neat. Gives a new perspective to adding that to a drone and then flying with great aerial footage

anyone knows where i can get my kodak cameras repaired ? the lcd screens are all cracked.