WHAT’S NEW

Fujifilm has been busy over the last couple of months, launching not only the brand new GFX system, but also the X-T20 and a fourthgeneration version of the X100. Also making headlines in this issue are Leica’s M10 digital RF camera, the feature-packed Pentax KP ‘APS-C’ D-SLR, full details of Panasonic’s flagship Lumix GH5, the potential return of Kodak Ektachrome colour slide film, and much more.

THE RETURN OF the analog LP record to the music world has been a phenomenon that has taken many by surprise. It started small, but now many recording artists are releasing on vinyl – some before using any other platform – and even company’s as big as Sony are building turntables again. What’s it all about and will we see the same thing happen with analog photography… otherwise known as film?

The real audio aficionados contend that vinyl sounds better in terms of being a more realistic representation of a musical performance rather than the more clinical approach of digital’s binary language. You’ll often hear the descriptor ‘warmer’ used to describe recordings on vinyl which really just means it sounds more realistic or perhaps even more natural as, of course, we have analog ears. We also have analog eyes, but images are a different matter even though digital capture also imposes a structure on them that isn’t natural.

The second key factor in vinyl’s revival has been the experiential element… the lovely big album cover artworks, cover notes you can actually read and then the whole procedure of preparing the record, placing it carefully on the turntable, starting it spinning and then gently lowering the tone-arm (always much more pleasurable when done manually). A few seconds of crackle – just to help build the anticipation – and then the music begins. It’s a return to something reassuringly pleasurable to anybody who experienced it first time around, and an introduction to something mysteriously exciting to those encountering it for the first time.

It’s the involvement factor that’s more likely to drive film’s resurgence which, so far, hasn’t amounted to much beyond the amazing popularity of instant print products. This maybe all about to change now that Kodak Alaris – the UK operation that’s custodian of all the original Kodak film-based properties – has announced it will re-introduce Ektachrome 100 colour transparency stock for both photography and cinematography.

This is a reversal (no pun intended here) of what’s been depressingly regular news for the last decade or so… namely the cessation of the production of many film types, especially colour transparency. Despite this, a small but hardy band of enthusiasts has steadfastly remained dedicated to shooting film, ferreting out ‘new old stock’ from all over the world to keep silver-halide photography alive. Kodak’s Ektachrome announcement moves things up a gear or two. The company may no longer be the powerhouse it once was, but it’s still a major corporation and if it thinks there’s a brighter future in film photography, it’s time to sit up and take notice. There are potential implications from Ektachrome’s return all over the place in terms of the viability of introducing related products (including cameras), and it’ll only take a couple of others to join the party and we’ll have a full-scale revival on our hands.

As digital imaging delivers so many conveniences, what does film have to offer now? Well, there is definitely a particular ‘look’ created by the random nature of a film’s structure – all those uniquely-shaped silver halide crystals suspended in one or more gelatin layers – but it’s the experiential elements that are likely to be the main attraction. There’s the loading and unloading of film, a more considered technical approach given there’s a finite number of frames available, and that frisson of anticipation that accompanies the delay between the exposure and the delivery of the image. Plus there are even more sensory delights for those venturing into the darkroom. The bespoke nature of silver halide prints may also be a convincing factor for a return to shooting film, especially for B&W work.

It’s still hard to say whether we’ll see anything quite on the scale of what’s happening with vinyl records, but it began slowly too. The return of Ektachrome may just be the kick-start that’s needed.

Paul Burrows, Editor.