Light Lens Lab advances black-and-white film toward 2026 release

Light Lens Lab’s black-and-white film project is still moving forward, and the latest update suggests the company wants more than a simple revival. After working through several new problems, Light Lens Lab is now aiming for a first commercial release in 2026, with a film that is meant to have its own grain, contrast, and tonality rather than merely echo a familiar stock.

The project began on January 29, 2025, with an initial emulsion test built around a black-and-white T-grain silver halide structure. The first test shot was made on a Seagull Upgrade Project TLR Camera, and the antihalation layer had not yet been applied at that stage. That detail matters because it shows how early the company started from the ground up, testing the base emulsion before the film was fully built out.

Light Lens Lab’s roadmap has become notably broader than a single 35mm release. The company has discussed 135 and 120 before, but its current plan also includes 127, 126, 4x5, 8x10, and additional formats. That pushes the project into territory that reaches beyond everyday 35mm shooters and into medium format, large format, and vintage-format users who still keep these systems alive. The company has said the film will be sold under a different brand name, part of a strategy to avoid historical baggage, third-party patent entanglements, and manufacturer dependency.

The production side looks just as ambitious. Light Lens Lab has said the film effort relies on a proprietary machine and emulsion process, and earlier updates described testing automatic film rollers in 120 and 35mm, as well as research into an automatic emulsion coater and a variable-width master roll slitter. The company also said it wanted a fully automated slitting, packaging, and encapsulating process inside a low-capacity facility by 2025. A June 5, 2026 project listing added more detail, pointing to production-line testing, in-house film machinery, clean-room renovation, and future formats.

The wider film market makes the timing more interesting. Harman Technology launched Kentmere Pan 200 on May 8, 2025, in 35mm, 35mm bulk rolls, and 120, while Lucky Film’s new color C200 reached the United States in June 2026. Light Lens Lab is entering a market that is small, active, and still hungry for fresh emulsions. If the company can turn its prototype work into repeatable manufacturing, the real test will not be nostalgia at all, but whether the finished film delivers a look with enough character to stand on its own.