FilmNeverDie‘s Nana camera – a simple reusable camera with a metallic body inspired by the Contax T2 – will be launched via Kickstarter on Friday (17 May).
The camera was unveiled in October 2023, with FilmNeverDie’s Gary Wong saying the camera was an upgraded version of the simple Niji camera, which the Australian film lab had launched in 2020.
“Say goodbye to winding! Nana’s motorised film advance lets you focus on capturing the moment without having to worry about winding the film,” the listing for the Nana on FilmNeverDie’s blog said back in October 2023. “This is a major upgrade from Niji and other reusable film cameras, and it makes shooting with Nana a breeze.”
The camera’s metallic body has been inspired by the 1990s-era Contax T2, which has become a highly prized – and increasingly – expensive camera since the resurgence of film photography over the last decade
Aswell as motorised film advance, the Nan will also feature a focusing mechanism inspired by another 1990s Contax camera, the AX SLR.
In last year’s blog post, Wong said: “During our research, we stumbled upon the Ricoh YF20-E, which allowed the lens to move by pulling a lever in front of the camera, thus changing the focus point. This gave us an idea: what if we could shift the back of the camera? While we’re not the first to attempt this, we were inspired by the old-school medium format cameras and the Contax AX.”
The camera is expected to sell for around AUS$299 on the Kickstarter (£158/$199). Previously, early backers had been offered the camera for $199 (£105/$132) if they pre-ordered the camera before the Kickstarter.
While the camera is not launched until Friday, potential customers can sign up to an “upcoming project” page on Kickstarter which will alert them when the project is officially launched.
The Nana is one of a number of compact film camera projects announced last year.
Ricoh Imaging is planning on releasing a half-frame 35mm compact camera using zone focus and manual film advance under the Pentax brand. No announcement has yet been made on when the camera will be released, but there is strong speculation it will be during 2024.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s MiNT Camera has unveiled the Rollei 35AF, an autofocus 35mm film camera heavily based on the cult Rollei 35. MiNT expects the camera to be released in 2024.
(You can read more about the Pentax and MiNT cameras here.)
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.
