Wait, is peel apart instant film coming back? Lens company reveals plans to create iconic film types

The Polaroid Land Camera Automatic 100 sits on a table
Cameras like the Polaroid Land Camera use Type 100 pack film or peel apart film (Image credit: Hillary K. Grigonis / Future)

Light Lens Lab, a China-based company that makes handcrafted lenses based on retro optics, has revealed plans to produce new film for photography and cinematography. While the film is still in the planning stages, the list of potential films include a rarity: peel apart film.

On Wednesday, January 29, Light Lens Lab announced that it has begun the process of researching and developing its own line of film for both stills and video. The company shared early success with experiments developing a T-grain black and white film. (A T-grain is a high-end film that reduces the appearance of grain thanks to elongated halide crystals). The company shared some early shots taken with the film, although the film isn’t yet complete, with adding a halation layer still on the list.

But with the early samples, Light Lens Lab also revealed four additional types of film it plans to work on: C-41, E-6, Instant Peel-Apart Film, and ECN-2 for cinematography.

The instant peel apart stands out on that list as an exceedingly rare type of film to find. Used by a number of iconic vintage cameras including Polaroid Land Cameras of the 60s and 70s, the film type requires peeling apart the layers to reveal the shot. Fujifilm shut down the last remaining peel apart film production line in 2016. A print shop in Austria, Supersense, brought new peel apart film back after a Kickstarter in 2018, but in packs that shoot one image at a time.

While the peel apart film caught my attention – as someone who owns several Polaroid Land bellows cameras but has yet to load film in one – many will also be happy at the potential of finding one more option for E-6 slide film, as well as C-41 color film and ECN-2 for cinematography.

The company also says that they will be self-sufficient in production rather than relying on third party suppliers. “The Film Project will utilize our newly developed proprietary machine and emulsion process, allowing us to be self-sufficient in our production,” the company wrote in the announcement.

Light Lens Lab also said that the new film will come with a new brand name for the film side of the company. The China-based company did not provide a timeline for the availability of the film but has only revealed that it is beginning to research, develop and produce films.

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Hillary K. Grigonis
US Editor

With more than a decade of experience reviewing and writing about cameras and technology, Hillary K. Grigonis leads the US coverage for Digital Camera World. Her work has appeared in Business Insider, Digital Trends, Pocket-lint, Rangefinder, The Phoblographer and more.

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