Five Photography Products We Want to See Rise From The Dead

Five Photography Products We Want to See Rise From The Dead

2000 1125 James Tocchio

It’s Halloween, All Hallows’ Eve, that ghoulish night of the year dedicated to remembering the dead. It’s also the night of the year in which the unlikely reanimation of rotting corpses seems most possible. Zombies walk the earth, ghosts haunt our waking dreams, and vampires roam in search of unwitting human prey (or Skittles). Keeping with this happy theme, I thought we should talk about dead cameras, film, and other sadly departed things in photography that we wish would come back.

Here they are, as picked by the CP staff; five things in photography that we wish would rise from the grave.


Zombie #1 – Pack Film

The common refrain on Facebook photo groups and forums whenever the subject instant photography is broached, pack film has many fans who pine for its resurrection. This instant film, which for the recent past had been produced solely by Fujifilm, was discontinued in early 2016. It fit into a number of Polaroid and Fuji cameras and produced some of the finest quality instant photos the world has ever known. Fuji’s black-and-white pack film created stunning images, and their Silk packs were simply luxurious. You can still buy pack film here and there, but the price has skyrocketed. Expect to pay a lot, for very few prints. For some, it’s still worth it, as this stuff really does make amazing shots.

Though efforts to resurrect the film have been discussed, nothing has yet been released. We hope it happens though. It was (and is, for those who can afford it) one of those magical things in photography that just can’t be replicated.


Zombie #2 – Kodachrome

Similar to pack film, Kodachrome is one of those rare photographic products that’s been elevated to legendary status. For those who weren’t there during Kodachrome’s heyday, we wrote a retrospective to shine a light on what made this slide film so special. Essentially, unbelievable color rendition, impeccable image quality, and unmatched archival characteristics made it the most iconic film ever produced. It was used to document every aspect of life for most of the twentieth century, capturing everything from the Space Race to the Kennedy assassination, and millions of family vacations to boot.

The chance that Kodachrome will ever return as it was is non-existent. The developing process, hazardous chemicals used, and sheer expense make it a non-starter as a viable business concern. The possibility that Kodak will bring back a film similar to it, however, does exist. The brand is supposedly launching Ektachrome in 2018, and the fact that Kodak’s new analog culture magazine is named “Kodachrome” definitively shows the folk from Rochester have not forgotten their most famous emulsion. Does this mean a new generation of Kodachrome film is on the horizon? Who knows. If it does claw its way from the tomb, we’ll be buying it by the case. Until then, there’s always Ektar.


Zombie #3 – Nikon’s Millenium Nikkor

Our next desired zombie is a product that was actually successfully resurrected in the early 2000s – the Millennium Nikkor-S 50mm f/1.4 made for the Nikon RF system. Bet you didn’t see that one coming.

If reissuing a lens for a system as dead as King Tut sounds insane, well, it is. But reason be damned, Nikon was high off nostalgia in the early 2000s (remember 2001’s FM3a?) and decided to dig deep into their archives to manufacture a tit-for-tat copy of their legendary Nikon S3 Rangefinder. The reissue eventually became the rare and beautifully made Nikon S3 2000. Nikon then set about making a lens for the new camera, and they chose a real beauty; the classic Nikkor-S 50mm f/1.4.

But Nikon wasn’t content with just recreating their old fifty. The new lens, christened the “Millennium” Nikkor-S 50mm f/1.4, actually draws its lineage from the extremely rare “Olympic” 50mm f/1.4, which was manufactured in the early 1960s as an improvement on the original 5cm f/1.4. And just for kicks, Nikon endowed the lens with the modern coatings featured on their fancy-pants AF lenses to truly bring the lens’ performance into the new millennium.

In their nostalgia-fueled wild goose chase, Nikon inadvertently created what some call photography’s greatest ever normal lens. The few who own the Millennium Nikkor fifty consistently place it above the high-flying Leica Summilux 50mm f/1.4, a lens many consider the pinnacle of normal lenses. After seeing plenty of image samples, I’m inclined to agree with them.

The tragedy of the Millennium Nikkor fifty is that due to its rarity and obscure mount, it remains inaccessible to all but the most dedicated photo geeks. What’s more, resurrecting such an esoteric lens in 2017 would be impractical. But there’s a simple solution to this problem (and one I hope somebody from Nikon reads) – reissue the lens in Leica Thread Mount or M-Mount. Nikon made lenses in Leica mounts back in the day with the Nikkor 5cm f/2 and f/1.4, so why not relive the good old days and do the same with the Millennium fifty? It’s a longshot, but a lens as good as this deserves better than to be left for dead.


Zombie #4 – Canon Rangefinders

Canon should bring back rangefinders. This extremely unlikely resurrection would take a gifted necromancer for sure, but the world would be a better place with new Canon 7s, Ps and Canonets.

The last generation of interchangeable-lens Canon rangefinders represent a special period in Canon history. Their release overlapped with the company’s first SLR, the Canonflex, which was something of a flop. The Canon V, VT, 7 and Canon P rangefinders were anything but. These rangefinders combined great ergonomics with excellent Canon-made lenses. Particularly when compared to Leica-built LTM rangefinders, the Canons are very easy to use and can make stunning images. They can also use legendary Leitz glass without need for an adapter. And if you’re not a Leica fan, virtually every other lens maker has made LTM lenses at some point, including Nikon, Zeiss, Voigtlander and Schneider-Kreuznatch.

Of course, the most viable candidate for rangefinder resurrection is the Canonet. Fuji’s successful X100 line shows that a market exists for fixed-lens digital rangefinders. I’m torn whether I’d prefer Canon to start making new Canonet QL17 GIIIs exactly like they used to, or a new Canonet line with classic aesthetics and intuitive functionality to challenge the X100 head on. The original Canonets were functionally almost perfect, with terrific controls, and the easy-to-use quick load system. I’m not  sure whether the new camera needs to raise directly from the ashes of the old one, or succeed it in spirit. Either way, some manner of resurrection is definitely in order.

Either way, I’m going to need a copy of the Necronomicon, and a few choice words to either raise the dead, summon a giant alien robot, or resurrect a classic line of cameras. Hopefully I remember them correctly.


Zombie #5 – Minolta

Minolta’s impact on photography is so massive that it’s hard to know where to begin discussing it. The brand was arguably the most progressive camera company in Japan for more than fifty years, and their portfolio boasts such an astonishing number of “firsts” that it’s incredible to think they’re not around today.

They made a TLR that was functionally superior to the Rollei; they made one of the best selling SLRs of all time; they made an M mount camera so advanced that it took Leica more than 20 years to catch up; and they were the first company to make a successful autofocus system. In this industry of continuous leap-frogging, Minolta often rightly claimed the crown as maker of “the best 35mm camera in the world” for more than thirty years.

They also made their own glass, a claim that surprisingly few camera and lens makers can make. This kept quality high and prices low, with Minolta’s world-class lenses often costing far less (and performing better) than their rivals from Japan and elsewhere. Their Rokkor line of lenses produced some of the best lenses in the world for a long, long time, and even today these lenses command respect for the incredible images they can make.

So why isn’t Minolta around today? In a way, they are. After some really disastrous litigation involving patent and trademark law, and some financially troubling years, Minolta sold their consumer camera operations entirely to Sony in 2006, who have now become one of the elite camera makers in the world. Minolta’s A mount lenses still work on Sony’s newest professional DSLRs, and the brand makes a fantastic adapter to mate these lenses to their mirrorless e-mount a7 series.

But even though Sony has surged ahead and created some amazing cameras, I do miss seeing that rising sun logo that for decades stood for quality, innovation, and performance.


And that’s it for our zombie wishlist. What photographic corpses would you love to see stumble out of a mausoleum? Let us know in the comments.

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James Tocchio

James Tocchio is a writer and photographer, and the founder of Casual Photophile. He’s spent years researching, collecting, and shooting classic and collectible cameras. In addition to his work here, he’s also the founder of the online camera shop Fstopcameras.com.

All stories by:James Tocchio
22 comments
  • Happy Halloween!

  • A modern take on the Olympus 35RC would get my vote.

  • So much has disappeared over the last decade. I was sorry to see the demise of Minolta’s camera division, although wasn’t a fan of their AF cameras. Luckily in the UK there are some Minolta specialist camera repairers and I know a few people still using SRT’s and X series cameras.
    Kodachrome, we had it, we lost it, then become consigned to history and by all of us film users is sorely missed. That’s just hope Kodak Alaris keep going and don’t go the same way that Fujifilm has just announced they plan to cut their film product line down in 2018

    • I hear you. Though I caution against some of the opinions on Fuji out there. They’re streamlining their product offerings, for sure, but they’re not laying waste to their film products like many people say. I know the fear is that if they stop offering five-packs and four-packs, etc., that that’s an indication that they’re winding down their total production, but we have to wait and see. Boycotting them would only make this happen faster.

    • In the Summer of 1970, I went to Japan with a travel+study student tour. I had rolled a 100 foot roll of High Speed Ektachrome equivalent into a small pile of 20 exposure cassettes. I also tried out Fuji and Sakura R100 slide films for comparison, and wondered why Eastman Kodak didn’t have an ASA 100 slide (or print) film. Sakura R100 was made by Konishiroku, maker of Konica cameras, and was #2 to Fuji Film in Japan. That film had a (sorta) Kodachrome-X color rendition, which was quite different from Fuji’s “Ektachrome-X with extended green” balance. So, an “E6 Kodachrome” is (somewhat) possible, since Fuji’s early Velvia produced “Radioactive Reds.” Would I like an “E6 Kodachrome 25/64/400”? You bet! Especially if an ASA 100 “E6 Kodachrome” shows up, too.;)

  • I’m with you on all of these, especially Minolta. I have recently discovered the XD (Japanese market version of the XD-11 and 7)–wonderful camera and just unboxed a Minolta XE-7, which I picked up based on your review. I am quite surprised at how wonderful these cameras are to use and the amazing quality! Was never much of a Minolta fan, but WOW!

  • Aaaah such powerful dreams…. i hold my minolta collection dear so the great shame about deleted films is I may one day no longer be able to shoot them ….

  • I’d be happy with 1.3 volt mercury batteries. Okay – I can do without the toxic mess that is mercury, but I would love to have some batteries that perform EXACTLY as the old mercury batteries from back in the day. No compromises on battery life, voltage discharge, size, etc. Sure, I can buy ones that are ‘almost’ like the originals, but there’s always a compromise.

  • @#$(&*! yes on those Canon rangefinders. Especially in black paint. I have a 7 and L1 that have been keeping my Leica lust at bay quite well and the LTM shouldn’t be underestimated. Both are great shooters and my go to when shooting 35mm.

  • A Leica M5 with avg and spot metering, with a shutter that shoots up to 1/4000 sec.
    Everything else just like the old one.

  • Yashica TL Electro 35 rangefinder loaded with Kodachrome 25, delivered amazing images for a $25 used pawn shop camera. The battery was $8 in 1988.

  • I’d LOVE to see Contax raised from the dead.

    • Same here. But only if there was real engineering behind it. I can’t take another one of these legendary brands being acquired and used by investors who aren’t concerned with creating a really excellent product.

  • A while back I was looking at some old slides to scan that my dad had shot in the 1970s. Pretty much the only ones that have not faded say “Kodachrome” on the frame. And the color is brilliantly perfect. Virtually none of the others survived. All washed out. The archival aspects of Kodachrome appeal to me even more so than does its great performance.

  • Fully mechanical version of the Hasselblad Xpan

  • Bring back the famous CONTAX brand, which was being phased out and laid to rest by Kyocera on April 18st, 2005.
    I do miss really miss CONTAX, even it was being operated by Yashica, and since 1983, via Kyocera.

    Zeiss does held the CONTAX Name, and hopefully someday, at least for the 100 Years of CONTAX (since 1932) this brand would being ressurrected
    from the Dead. It’s such a same, they’re gone….like Minolta, too…..but way even more, so.

    Real Innovation, some over-developed SLRs (AX, RTS III, etc) very good Lenses (Carl Zeiss T*) and a cult-classic since the Contax RTS. (shown at Photokina 1974)

  • How about Agfa Classic Matt paper? Very beautiful but not as robust as Ilford.

  • I want to see the return of the Fujifilm/Hasselblad Xpan film camera. Voightlander/Cosina, if you want to set the cat amongst the pigeons and wipe out the competition, make a mechanical Xpan equivalent.

    I can live without Kodachrome. Much that I liked it when I had it. It’s not Velvia which is why it ultimately went the way it did. I would rather see Kodak re do their E100 VS.

    I would suggest a list of things we can still get that we can’t live without: My list would be:

    1. Fujifilm Velvia. Well E6 film and processing.
    2. Kodak Portra and Ektar. In fact all Kodak films.
    3. Leica film cameras and lenses.
    4. Nikon Manual focus lenses which I see now are just recently out of production.
    5. 120mm film and large format cameras

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James Tocchio

James Tocchio is a writer and photographer, and the founder of Casual Photophile. He’s spent years researching, collecting, and shooting classic and collectible cameras. In addition to his work here, he’s also the founder of the online camera shop Fstopcameras.com.

All stories by:James Tocchio