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Analog.Cafe Podcast

Daren and Dmitri

Analog.Cafe Podcast is a show about film photography, hosted by Daren and Dmitri.

Daren runs the @LearnFilmPhotography YouTube channel and has a background in blogging and journalism.

Dmitri has been running Analog.Cafe since 2017.

By the time you read this, film photography has completely consumed our lives. Help!

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9 episodes
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English

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S2 · E4
August 4 · 1 hr 2 min
Shitty Camera Challenge with Adam James
Adam James is the creator of the Shitty Camera Challenge — an informal, welcoming community and an annual event for photographers who like to use subpar cameras.In today's episode of the Analog.Cafe Podcast (a first on video!), we play "Shitty or Not," where Adam rates Dmitri's cameras, including one made entirely out of gingerbrad.We also discuss creative problem-solving, inclusion, and community building with a veteran (in Internet terms) who found his people on the old Twitter within the film photography communities, like the #believeinfilm.Shitty Camera Challenge runs from July 1st til September 30th this year. You are invited to post your photos made with shitty cameras to BlueSky using the #ShittyCameraChallenge hashtag. You may or may not win a couple of new friends, but you will certainly find inspiration: https://bsky.app/hashtag/Shittycamerachallenge Find Adam on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/papashittycams.bsky.social Interviewed by your hosts Daren (https://www.youtube.com/@LearnFilmPhotography) and Dmitri (https://www.analog.cafe/@dmitri).This is season 2, episode 4 of the Analog.Cafe Podcast. You can find previous episodes and links to more places to listen here: https://www.analog.cafe/podcast.Show links: Shitty Camera Challenge merch: https://shittycamerachallenge.threadless.com/ Gingerbread camera: https://www.analog.cafe/r/building-the-worlds-first-gingerbread-camera-twpg
S2 · E3
June 30 · 43 min
Rethinking Film Inversion With a Web App
Daren and I get nerdy about film scanning and negative inversions. We talk about the current options (Silverfast, VueScan, NLP, and others) and why they didn’t work for me. Then, I did a live demo of an app that fixes those problems (film Q). But what is a live demo without a moment of embarrassing technical difficulties? The app, which was still in development, broke during the podcast, so I had to fix it on air while sweating bullets. 😅 You get to witness a bit of that drama, as well as Daren’s genuine reaction, as we tested this big update to film Q. Because film Q is so different from the rest of the film inversion tools out there, I explain why it’s basically a web page, how it can process large high-quality TIFF and RAW scans in batches, and why it has only one button (which I think is all you need). Please note that I misspoke when I said that film Q works with Windows 95. What I meant is that it works on Windows XP — still a very old, unsupported OS released in 2001. --- This episode was published on July 30, 2026. 43 min.
S2 · E2
April 28 · 1 hr 17 min
We’re Back! Here’s our April News Roundup
Daren and I are back after a short hiatus. We discuss the new films and cameras, examining their histories, origins, prices, and whether they are worth it. We also chat about the business side of film production and Kodak’s new products (not all of which are film). I’m attaching sample photos of Harman Azure film boxes to the show notes on Analog.Cafe (here, https://www.analog.cafe/comments/tag/podcast) that illustrates some of the things we’re talking about. Check out Soft Grain Books, Daren’s creative print publishing company with a focus on art and film photography: https://softgrainbooks.com/ --- Show links & notes: - Harman Switch Azure film review: https://www.analog.cafe/r/harman-switch-azure-film-review-d49s - Harman Switch Azure vs. Lomography Lomochrome Purple: https://www.analog.cafe/r/harman-switch-azure-vs-lomochrome-turquoise-i0vp - Harman vs. Ilford: https://www.analog.cafe/r/ilford-hp5-film-review-ntu0#a-brief-and-very-confusing-history-of-the-ilford-film-brand - Bleach bypass (on colour-negative film): example photog attached (see https://www.analog.cafe/comments/tag/podcast) - Developing C-41 colour-negative film: https://www.analog.cafe/r/developing-colour-film-as-an-absolute-beginner-n3q4 - Lomochrome Metropolis: https://www.analog.cafe/r/lomochrome-metropolis-ko2u - ORWO NC200 (KONO Color 200/OptiColour 200): https://www.analog.cafe/r/kono-color-200opticolour-200orwo-nc200-film-review-fltu - SantaColor 100 film: https://www.analog.cafe/r/santacolor-100-film-review-n4pm - Lucky colour film: https://www.analog.cafe/r/lucky-c200--film-review-p0zm - VZ-6617, a medium format camera that can change aspect ratios on the fly: https://www.analog.cafe/comments/xp2k - WideluxX camera backstory: https://www.analog.cafe/r/widelux-fake-cinestill-a-fix-and-colour-film-25-lwca - The Tsushima Cyanotypes book review: https://www.analog.cafe/r/the-tsushima-cyanotypes-19fl - Developing slide film with Rodinal: https://www.analog.cafe/r/how-to-make-slide-film-positives-with-rodinal-and-c-41-quew - Film inversion app: https://www.analog.cafe/app/film-q - Spring blossoms on film: https://www.analog.cafe/r/26-spring-blossoms-on-film-5i1w --- This episode was published on April 28, 2026. 1 hr 17 min.
S2 · E1
January 27 · 1 hr 41 min
A Conversation with Sissi Lu
This is a two-part podcast. PART ONE) Daren and I kick off Season 2 with a few thoughts and predictions for 2026, followed by [29:15] PART TWO) a chat with Sissi Lu, a prominent New York photographer with a disarming approach to street portraiture on film. You can read more about the contents of this episode in the 82nd monthly Analog.Cafe Newsletter (https://www.analog.cafe/account/submission/film-photography-news-january-2026-recap-elsb#a-conversation-with-sissi-lu). Show links: --- - Sissi Lu https://www.sissilu.com - Sissi Lu’s DO NOT X-RAY film pouch https://www.sissilu.com/store/p/do-not-x-ray - “A Studio Session With My Mom” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEc6civBEaY --- - Lina Bessonova airport scanner test: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRlReCTzDV8 - Attic Darkroom Boiling Water: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyFh5-p_uJM - Kodak Alaris https://www.analog.cafe/comments/4lsz - Film prices: https://www.analog.cafe/r/how-to-find-deals-on-film-in-2026-z9xd - Polaroid Reclaimed Blue https://www.analog.cafe/r/polaroid-reclaimed-blue-600-film-review-hq74 - In an Instant, Polaroid in China: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBGCB4Fni14 - Snapic A1 Review https://www.analog.cafe/r/kodak-snapic-a1-film-camera-review-y373 - Polaroid Go Review https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTZzqpTN84U - Film negative inversion app https://www.analog.cafe/app/film-q - How to invert film manually https://www.analog.cafe/r/how-to-invert-colour-film-negatives-in-photoshop-geea - Soft Grain Books Call for Submissions: https://softgrainbooks.com/call-for-submissions/ - The Tsushima Cyanotypes Review: https://www.analog.cafe/r/the-tsushima-cyanotypes-19fl - How to Make Better Photos According to Science https://www.analog.cafe/r/how-to-make-better-photos-according-to-science-5xp4 - Carmencita Film Lab in Belencia making recovered silver jewelry from fixer chemicals: https://carmencitafilmlab.com/agno-carmencita/ This episode was published on January 27, 2027. 1 hr 41 min.
S1 · E5
Dec 17, 2025 · 1 hr 3 min
Kodak Snapic A1: Best In Class!
In this episode, you’ll hear me accidentally open my loaded film camera and ruin a few frames (gasp!). But more importantly, Daren and I shoot, develop, scan, and share our first impressions with the new RETO/Kodak film camera. We are impressed. Kodak Snapic A1 is a $100 film camera with a 𝒇9.5 25mm coated glass lens, motorized film transport, 2-zone focusing, 1/100s fixed shutter, built-in flash, a double-exposure switch, and shaped like Ricoh GR1. We used a selfie taken with Snapic on the day of taping for this episode's cover. During this episode, we’ve got to test this camera together just before taping. We then took a break after recording the first part of the show to develop and scan the film so we could share our first impressions of the image quality from this lens (shot indoors on Ilford FP4+). I will be putting a few more rolls through this camera on an upcoming trip and post a full review on Analog.Cafe shortly. Show links: - I wrote about Kodak Snapic A1 briefly in last month’s newsletter: https://www.analog.cafe/r/film-photography-news-november-2025-recap-41s8 - For comparison, Ricoh GR1s (detailed review): https://www.analog.cafe/r/ricoh-gr1gr1s-film-camera-review-zzrd - RETO Pano camera review: https://www.analog.cafe/r/reto-pano-reusable-35mm-film-camera-review-j7eh - Ilford Sprite 35-II camera review: https://www.learnfilm.photography/1-month-with-the-ilford-sprite-35-ii - Yashica x I’m Back digital camera: https://petapixel.com/2024/03/27/the-micro-mirrorless-is-the-worlds-smallest-interchangeable-lens-camera - About Ilford, Harman, and Ilfocolor film: https://www.analog.cafe/r/harman-phoenix-200-vs-ilford-ilfocolor-400-md99 - A brief history of the Polaroid brand: https://www.analog.cafe/r/a-brief-history-of-polaroid-s3ko - Kodak Retina IIIC review: https://www.analog.cafe/r/kodak-retina-iiic-foldable-film-camera-review-sttz - About zone focusing: https://www.analog.cafe/r/how-to-zone-focus-quickly-and-accurately-s9c0 - Minolta TC-1 camera review: https://www.analog.cafe/r/minolta-tc-1-wvii - Master the Sunny 16 Rule: https://www.analog.cafe/r/master-the-sunny-16-rule-2mol - How to use flash with manual film cameras: https://www.analog.cafe/r/a-simple-guide-to-using-flash-cubes-srh8 One thing that we forgot to mention in this episode is that longer focal lengths will require more focusing zones or risk blurry images due to a narrower depth of field: https://www.analog.cafe/r/what-is-aperture-and-how-does-it-work-x7n6#how-apertures-affect-depth-of-field. On the other hand, Snapic A1’s ultra-wide lens ensures that most of the scene is in focus with just a simple switch for near/far.
S1 · E4
Nov 24, 2025 · 57 min
OKTO35: Make Movies on 135 Film with Blaž Semprimožnik!
In this episode, Daren and I sit down (remotely¹) with Blaž Semprimožnik — a Slovenian engineer who invented a new way to shoot movies on regular 35mm film — the kind we buy for our still cameras! ¹ — Please note that this is our first podcast interview — expect some echoes and a few hops around the topic 😅. We’re still learning. That said, the episode delves deep into the inner workings of the camera and Blaž’s ideas behind it. As we warm up, the conversation gets more interesting! You may find reading this article beforehand helpful to get a better idea of what OKTO35 looks like and what it’s capable of: https://www.analog.cafe/r/okto35-a-genius-invention-making-movies-on-135-film-10zq. Show links: - Blaž’s website with tons of information about the OKTO35 project https://blazsemprimoznik.com - Blaž’s Instagram https://www.youtube.com/@BlazSemprimoznik - Blaž’s YouTube — watch it for more sample videos, the story of the camera creation, and footage of the whole thing coming together — https://www.youtube.com/@BlazSemprimoznik - PayPal — Blaž accepts donations for the project, mostly to get more film for testing the camera — https://www.paypal.me/BlazSemprimoznik
S1 · E3
Oct 16, 2025 · 56 min
Kodak Panic 2025 Review
In this episode, Daren reviews Kodak’s financial statements, explains why its stock price recently tanked, and discusses how the business is doing. We chat about money, a factory explosion, toxic chemicals, the future of film photography, and film prices. Kodak’s recent decisions, including the upcoming liquidation of its pension plan interests to pay off a maturing loan (a move that has sparked a flurry of negative news about the company). Though likely a necessary move, this also puts Kodak in a tough position, as its sales of print technology, a major part of its business, are under threat from competition. On the bright side, the part of Kodak that makes and sells film is growing fast. Its brand is incredibly recognizable — and, as we’ve learned recently, Kodak is not afraid to leverage it for gain. Though we haven’t discussed Kodacolor in this podcast, it is an example of the Eastman company going around Alaris to sell more film (see https://www.analog.cafe/r/kodak-colorplus-vs-kodacolor-200-vs-kodak-gold-200-my93). Show links: - Kodak financial report https://www.analog.cafe/r/film-photography-news-august-2025-recap-0ovn#is-kodak-in-trouble - Polaroid’s fading qualities https://www.analog.cafe/r/how-to-make-polaroid-sol-pints-e098 - How to dispose of film chemicals https://www.learnfilm.photography/how-to-dispose-of-film-developing-chemicals/ - Silver in the human body https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argyria (gross picture) - Kodak AHU https://www.analog.cafe/comments/6lnk - Film prices https://www.analog.cafe/app/film-price-trends - Preferences for black-and-white film - Gingerbread camera https://www.analog.cafe/r/building-the-worlds-first-gingerbread-camera-twpg - Analog aF-1 https://www.analog.cafe/r/film-photography-news-september-2025-recap-7lux#analogue-af-1 - Film inversion https://www.analog.cafe/r/how-to-invert-colour-film-negatives-in-photoshop-geea - Lucky film https://www.analog.cafe/r/film-photography-news-july-2025-recap-kxhx#new-colour-film-from-china-lucky-c200 This episode was published on October 16, 2025. 56 min.
S1 · E2
Jul 26, 2025 · 54 min
Kodak Removes Remjet
Analog.Cafe Podcast `s1/e2` “Kodak Removes Remjet” In this episode, we chat about the recent update to Kodak Vision 3 films, which was eight years in the making! As you may or may not know, Kodak sells a huge amount of film to cinema studios. This footage is branded Vision 3, which is different from all other Kodak emulsions we put in still cameras. The main difference, until now, has been the remjet layer — a black carbon deposit on the back of the film that has to be washed off before development (or risk ruining the chemicals and the film itself). This month, Kodak announced that they’ve reformulated their motion picture films to no longer require remjet, meaning they can be developed like any other colour-negative (in either C-41 or ECN-2). Together, we unpack this technology, what it means for film photography and photography in general. Daren and Dmitri also touch on related subjects, like grain simulations, what it takes to stand out in the crowd photography space, and why we love the analogue process. We also chat about our own efforts to replicate CineStill 800T at home. “We’re always going to have sick people, why can’t we also have sick film?” — Dmitri, on why Fujifilm should start investing in film again, a product that’s been sidelined by the company in favour of the more profitable medical research. Show links: - Kodak factory tours https://www.analog.cafe/comments/tnq0Kodak silver caps on film canisters https://petapixel.com/2021/06/30/kodaks-35mm-canisters-now-have-silver-caps-due-to-metal-shortages/ - More on Kodak and Kodak Alaris relationship: Is Kodak Okay? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xf1vFv7Mc-0 - Can we make CineStill at home? https://www.analog.cafe/r/how-to-fake-cinestill-800t-q69c (more links coming soon, follow Daren https://www.youtube.com/@LearnFilmPhotography and Yvonne https://www.youtube.com/@YvonneHansonPhotography ) - CineStill’s factory at Kodak Rochester (Kodakery Podcast): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cinestill-with-brian-and-brandon-wright/id1075930391?i=1000446319972 - Our test using nature to develop film: https://www.analog.cafe/r/i-developed-film-in-cannabis-9ozs and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjMStAcKlqQ - Music Video shot on never-before-seen Kodak film: https://www.analog.cafe/comments/hvaf - Hypersensitization: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photographic_hypersensitization - https://SoftGrainBooks.com — Daren’s small Canadian publishing company that sells art photography books.
S1 · E1
Jun 16, 2025 · 28 min
Polaroid Flip
This is a pilot episode of the new film photography podcast where Daren and I discuss the Polaroid Flip camera and other Polaroid-related things. Daren runs a YouTube channel, @LearnFilmPhotography, and the https://learnfilm.photography blog. We live in the same city and did a lot of collabs in the past. You can find some of them here: https://www.analog.cafe/@daren.zomerman.2mcu. In this episode, we chat about: - Polaroid Flip - Setting exposures for Polaroid film - Polaroid Go - MiNT cameras - The origins of modern Polaroid chemistry https://www.analog.cafe/r/a-brief-history-of-polaroid-s3ko - How Polaroid may be losing money on their cameras - Gingerbread camera https://www.analog.cafe/r/building-the-worlds-first-gingerbread-camera-twpg - Emulsion lifts - Polaroid film comparisons https://www.analog.cafe/r/polaroid-600-in-sx-70-no-filter-no-mods-no-flash-wpr5 - Macro photography https://www.analog.cafe/r/how-to-shoot-macro-photos-on-an-sx-70-2l4q - Instant photography book https://softgrainbooks.com/shop/between-blocks

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