Chinese photographic brand Reflx Lab has launched two new films in a format that until recently was almost extinct: 110.
It means the company is now one of only two film producers – alongside Lomography – that produce film in this format.
Reflx Lab has started with two colour films – a 110 version of China Lucky Film’s Lucky 200 colour negative film (Fortuna C200), and Kodak Ektachrome 100D (100R) slide film.
The Shenzhen-based company has created its own canisters from scratch and said it was looking at adding more films to the line-up.
“Making 110 film was actually a happy accident!” co-founder Yongxiang told Kosmo Foto, saying it was a side-project from the company’s production of another defunct format, 127. “It started when we began producing 127 film on our own. We were cutting down 120 film (61.5mm) to 127 size (46mm), which left us with a bunch of 16mm-wide leftovers.
“We hate wasting film, so we thought: why not try making 110? It turned out to be way easier than we thought.”
Yongxiang said Reflex Lab tested the waters by purchasing a number of 110 cameras “We had a blast and totally fell in love with the format. 110 cameras are cheap and wonderfully pocketable, and the results have that gorgeous, gritty grain you can’t get anywhere else. Plus, rolling 16mm film into 110 cassettes by hand makes it super budget-friendly.”
He added the biggest challenge “was the cassettes. An injection mould can cost upwards of $5,000, which just wasn’t worth it for a small team like ours. Instead, we used 3D printing and did a ton of light-leak testing. To keep the respooling process simple, we also decided to ditch the backing paper entirely. We removed the little clear window from the back of the cassette so the film wouldn’t get exposed. The downside? No frame counter. But honestly, we don’t think it matters much.
“Right now, we have two 110 films available: Lucky 200 (colour negative) and Ektachrome (slide film). Lucky C200 is made from our 120-to-127 leftover strips, so the film stock is basically free. Ektachrome is my absolute favourite, and since 35mm Ektachrome is getting so expensive and hard to find, we wanted a fun way to shoot it.”
Fortuna C200 costs $19.99 (£12.70) for a pack of three 24-frame films, while a three-pack of 100R costs $24.99 (£18.65).
Reflx Lab has posted examples taken on the new films. Below is a gallery of images taken on Fortuna C200:
And below are some sample images taken on the 100R slide film:
Yongxiang aid Reflx Lab had built a custom trimmer to slit 120 film into rolls of 127 and 110, as well as another trimmer that cuts one 120 roll into four separate rolls of 110 film.
“For Ektachrome, we just use standard 16mm film, which is super easy. Next up, we’re planning to release Double-X and Verita!”
Yongxiang said that the decision to make 110 film aligned with Reflx Lab’s broader strategy to [produce films across various formats, and not just the most popular such as 35mm and 120. “That’s why we’re proudly sticking to 220, 127, and 110,” he said.
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.
