The wonderful world of film photography has never been in a better place than it is now.  There are a huge range of producers and creative types out there making a jaw-dropping array of products for all us analogue geeks. So if you’re struggling for Christmas gift ideas at the moment take a look at this rundown and see if there’s anything for that analogue lover in your life - who knows, you might also find something for your own wishlist! 1. Magazine Subscription - Silvergrain Classics Formerly known as ‘Photoklassik’ these glossy A4 magazines are always a joy when they drop through yo ..read more

Four great new cameras launched this week, each with 50mm prime lenses, and each with a different choice of shooting modes (Take a look at our article about shooting modes if you don’t know what that means.) We thought we’d take a quick look at each and talk you through them, focusing on the different shooting modes they offer. Chinon CG5 with Chinon 50mm f1.9 lens We’re suckers for a black body here at Filtr, granted, but we love the styling on this one. The camera comes with a choice of either aperture priority shooting, or fully manual. We think that’s the perfect combo for a beginner g ..read more

Kodak Portra might just be the most popular and commonly used colour film out there, especially when you consider it is available in ISO 160 and 800. We though are reviewing the great all-rounder that is Portra 400. We’ve shot many rolls of this, but the most recent one was done on a super cheap 120 film camera, the Kodak 66. Great fun to use from time to time, but not something you’ll want to be your go to camera! All Portra films are famous for their lovely pastel colours and it’s neutral caste. You can point it at anything, and you will get a slightly muted version of what you see, with ..read more

Ilford is probably the leading name when it comes to B&W film photography and this film, along with their FP4 ISO 125 film, is their most premium product. Known for the super fine grain it produces and high contrast, it definitely should be on the list of “films you must try”. It’s less forgiving than films rated at higher ISOs, the results when you get it right are worth it. You can easily buy it here. We shot our roll using a Pentax MX and a 35mm Pentax lens. We added a orange filter on a few shots, to see what that extra contrast would add.   We went for a wander right at the ..read more

First thing’s first. This film is a “slide film”. In short, that means you can project them if you want to, because you get a colour positive result, rather than a standard “negative” that you get with ‘normal’ films. A lot of people will tell you slide film is difficult to use. We are far from expert photographers, but we’ve always had good results out of it. So we say don’t let people put you off, and give slide film a try. Just make sure you use it when there’s plenty of strong light around and you’ll be fine. It is not cheap - you can buy it here - but you definitely get what you pay for ..read more

Part Three of Three So in part three of our article on what really are the best film cameras for beginners, we take a look at our nominations for the crown of “best beginners film camera”. Remember, we’re applying the criteria from Part Two of the article so worth reading that if you haven’t already. Olympus OM20 The Asahi Pentax, the first successful film SLR, was such a success back in the late 50s, that nobody bothered to question whether SLR cameras could be designed in an even better way. That is, until Olympus took a fresh look at things with their iconic OM1. The main complaint abou ..read more

Part two of three WARNING – people easily offended by other people disagreeing with their entirely subjective views might want to look away now. This post might upset a few people, but that certainly wasn’t our intention when we started writing it. READ PART ONE of the series before you read this second part…. We have read many articles entitled “The best ever film cameras for beginners” or “film cameras beginners must try” and so on. We think these articles often fail to do some basic things: Explain what criteria the writer thinks makes a good beginners camera; and Tell us why the cam ..read more

Part one of three WARNING – people easily offended by other people disagreeing with their entirely subjective views might want to look away now. This post might upset a few people, but that certainly wasn’t our intention when we started writing it. So, here goes……  We have read many articles entitled “The best ever film cameras for beginners” or “film cameras beginners must try” and so on. And we’re afraid to say we think a lot of them are absolute toilet. Not because they contain cameras that aren’t our favourites, or because we would have a different list, but because the articles fail ..read more

With Black Friday around the corner, we’re getting ahead of the crowd and starting our ONE WEEK ONLY FLASH SALE.  We’ll be knocking 10% off a large selection of our cameras sstarting today and for each of the next 5 days. Wait until Friday to get your dream camera at almost half price...BUT remember our cameras are all individual and when they’re gone they’re gone. The risk is yours to take! Come next Sunday everything goes back to full price...nows the time to buy!  SHOP NOW ..read more

We recently wrote a piece about a truly unique film company - Washi - and gave you a rundown of their various films. Well, we’ve now shot a roll of Washi F (ISO 100)  What is Washi F? We’ll let Washi head honcho - Lomig - tell us all about it; “Washi F is originally an X-ray medical film for mass diagnosis of lung diseases.  It was intended to be used originally within a special medical 70mm camera, but I cut it into 35mm and made the perforations myself. I can then spool it into normal 35mm film cartridges, and you can shoot it in a 35mm camera! As an x-ray film there is no anti-halation ..read more