Chinese lens producer Light Lens Lab has released more detail on its ambitious film production plans.
As previously reported on Kosmo Foto, the company – best known for the Leica-mount lenses – has unveiled plans for a raft of new film products.
In previous posts it has shown ongoing process in its release of its first film, a black-and-white negative film.
In the latest blog update, which was published on Monday (15 June), it also published a roadmap for releasing film in a number of different formats, which include:
- 120
- 135
- 127
- 126
- 4×5
- 8×10
The company also said it was committed to releasing its first film before the end of 2026.
Light Lens lab said: “Since our last development blog, we have continued to make progress on the first iteration of our black-and-white film production line.
“Our current objective is to begin testing our production and assembly workflow in 2026, with the goal of producing our first commercially available black-and-white photographic film in 2026.
Our goal is not only to manufacture black-and-white film but also to establish a complete, internally controlled production system that delivers consistent, high-quality results across multiple photographic formats.
The plans for Light Lens Lab’s film line were first unveiled in January 2025, with initial samples being made public soon after. Public updates have been sporadic since then, thought the company had said it hoped to release film in 2026.
In this week’s update, the company admitted that problems with the stability of the emulsion and other quality control issues had delayed production.
During a test of its 8×10 version of the emulsion, Light Lens Lab said it had identified problems with static electricity build up during the emulsion coating and drying processes, which can seen in the image below:
“As a result, we decided to delay the official release until our production and quality-control processes become more consistent, repeatable, and fully automated,” Light Lens Lab said.
“This is part of the learning process of building a photographic film production system from the ground up at a commercial scale. We cannot allow unresolved quality-control issues to appear in official production. Our objective is to produce a film that meets a high standard of consistency and reliability, without creative or technical compromise.”
The Chinese photographic brand has said that it wants to make sure its film has consistent contrast across different lighting conditions, reliable results with different processing recipes, an ability to be reliable push-processed, and a clean image structure without any production defects.
It said that in the last month it had moved its film production facility into its lens research lab in the Chinese city of Shangrao, allowing them to build a second clean room dedicated to the film project.
Light Lens Lab said it was testing an “automated production system that combines several dedicated machines, including an emulsion coater, master roll splicer, and 135-format film hole puncher” ahead of production.
It added: “Instead of relying on a single universal machine, we are developing specialized coating, slitting, punching, packaging, and assembly systems for each major stage of production.
“This approach allows us to refine each process independently and improve production consistency over time.”
The lengthy update from the company also mentioned that “all machinery, tools, and parts for this project are developed and produced in-house by Light Lens Lab, without partnerships with other companies or third-party manufacturing”.
It added: “Our objective is to build an independent film production platform from the ground up, with full control over design, engineering, production, testing, assembly, and quality control.”
It said it would soon be publishing other blog posts charting progress on some of its other film projects, including an eagerly awaited peel-apart instant film.
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.
