All Comments☝️ Search Dmitri Jan 30, ‘25 Light Lens Lab has unveiled yet another new film emulsion just in time for the Lunar New Year. Their latest endeavor is a T-grain black-and-white film — a contemporary fine-grained emulsion, the results of which can be found on their blog: lightlenslab.com/blogs/upc… This new film lacks an anti-halation layer, which leads to effects similar to those of the popular CineStill 800T, but in black-and-white. In monochrome, the images captured with this film appear sharp, though there is a slight haze around brightly illuminated objects. LLL mentioned that this issue will be addressed in the upcoming batch. It is quite impressive that a relatively new lab has succeeded in creating a T-grain emulsion, leveraging the latest technology for producing small, densely packed crystals — more on that here: analog.cafe/r/ilford-delta… However, LLL’s aspirations extend further, as their announcement outlines plans to explore various modern film chemistries, including color films. Whether they can achieve this remains to be seen. One thing is clear: the demand for film is reaching a tipping point, prompting well-equipped businesses to enter the market and challenge established names like Ilford, Kodak, and Fujifilm. Light Lens Lab was established in 2018 by Mr. Zhou in Shangrao, China, with a commitment to optical research, development, and the manufacturing of high-quality photographic equipment. #editorial 🔥 Andrés PB Jan 31, ‘25 The phrase “yet another film emulsion” may suggest that there are numerous options available. Aside from Kodak, Ilford, and Foma, most quality film products on the market are rebranded Kentmere (Ilford) or Foma. Occasionally, some specialty Agfa films are available (the regular Agfa APX film has been Kentmere for many years). A truly novel black-and-white emulsion, especially one that is T-grain, has been scarce for some time. Additionally, you overlooked the point about the anti-halation layer. LLL clarified that the current tests do not include it, but the film that will be released commercially will feature one. Aside from that, LLL is indeed displaying ambition, and you rightly highlighted that the reason behind it is the rising demand for film production, which was quite unexpected just a decade ago!
Their ongoing project involves a T-grain black-and-white film, featuring a contemporary fine-grained emulsion. The outcomes of this work were shared by Light Lens Lab on their blog: https://lightlenslab.com/blogs/upcoming-project/film-project-announcement #editorial.