Ilford Photo unveiled three new products at The Photography Show in Birmingham, UK, this week – including a portable, pop-up film developing tent.
The Pop Up Darkroom tent is described as a space-saving solution for those who are unable to covert a room as a permanent darkroom at home, or who want to develop film while they travel.
In a press release, Ilford Photo said: “The Illford Pop-Up Darkroom is the perfect solution for film photographers who want to print their negatives and otherwise may struggle to convert existing spaces into suitable working darkrooms.
“The external metal frame is approximately 2.2m tall when erected and should fit in most standard ceiling height rooms in European, American and Asian homes while still creating a workable 1.3 x 1.3m space to print while standing or seated.”
A light-tight black material clips to the frame and an accompanying ground mat saves carpet or flooring from any accidental spills. A fan or air blower can be attached via a light-tight vent, and another small vent at the top of the tent can be used to attach extraction hoses.
It also has a loop to hang a darkroom safelight and the entire outfit can be housed in an accompanying travel bag.
The tent is expected to sell for around £215/$265 when it goes on sale later this year.
Ilford Photo also unveiled an advent calendar for Christmas, which comes with 12 film-related gifts. Expected to retail for around £85/$120 when it goes on sale on 11 October, the calendar includes various Ilford and Kentmere films aswell as other goodies.
The third item unveiled was a Darkroom Starter Kit produced with darkroom goods producer Paterson. Ilford Photo describes it as “a starter kit for anyone looking to get into darkroom printing and bundles a selection of Paterson equipment plus Ilford paper and chems”.
The kit contains:
- 1 x Ilford Multigrade RC Deluxe Pearl Paper 8×10” 25 sheet box
- 1 x Ilford Multigrade Developer 500ml bottle
- 1 x Ilford Ilfostop 500ml bottle
- 1 x Ilford Rapid Fixer 500ml bottle
- 1 x Paterson 1200ml Graduate Cylinder
- 1 x Paterson 150ml Graduate Cylinder
- 1 x Paterson Chemical Mixer
- 1 x Paterson Thermometer Small (9”)
- 3 x Paterson 8×10 Trays (Red / White / Grey)
- 3 x Paterson Print Tongs (Red / White / Grey)
- 1 x Paterson Micro Focus Finder
The starter kit is expected to retail for around £125/$150 when it is released in November.
I'm a New Zealander who has been living in London since the mid-1990s, shooting film seriously since the year 2000. Kosmo Foto was launched in 2012 and has since become a film brand, with the release of my first films Kosmo Foto Mono 35mm (2017) and Kosmo Foto Mono 120 (2019).
I’m doing everything I can to promote film photography in the 21st Century, and help it survive and thrive. If you want to write something for Kosmo Foto, please drop me a line at foto.dowling@gmail.com.
Interesting and witty idea! But I think that the total weight and size when folded will be very important parameters for users. I can assume that this tent will be more often used as a folding, but stationary darkroom than a travel photo accessory.