August kicks off with plenty of news for anyone shooting on film. A new color film out of China, two scanners that want to get you out of the lab, the peel-apart film on its way back from the dead, and an acquisition that turns a European lab into a manufacturer. We break down what matters and why, with a few recommendations to get started today.
Lucky Color 400: China makes its move again
China Lucky Film presented its Lucky Color 400 (C400) at Photo & Imaging Shanghai, from July 23 to 27. It's its second modern color film after last year's Lucky Color 200, and this time it arrives in both 35mm and 120. In China it sells for around 69 yuan (roughly €8-9) with developing and scanning included; outside the country there's still no confirmed date or price.
The interesting part is where it positions itself. Early tests describe it as more balanced than Harman's Phoenix: saturated but more faithful color, with the ISO 400 speed of the Wolfen but finer grain. If that holds up when it reaches Europe, it's a direct candidate for an everyday film. In the meantime, there are proven options for shooting color, and every film needs a camera to match:
Scanners: the Knokke and the NegPy project
The recurring theme of 2026 is still scanning at home without hating the process. Soke Engineering showed progress on its Knokke, a high-end 35 mm scanner that digitizes a frame in under three minutes at 4,064 DPI and 48-bit color, with its own Korova software. Its Kickstarter launch is targeting €999: not cheap, but it's aimed at those who scan in volume and are fed up with lab scans.
On the free and open side there's NegPy, an open-source tool for processing negatives that goes far beyond inverting the image: it simulates how film and photographic paper behave to get the color inversion right. For anyone scanning with a digital camera and struggling with tones, it's one of the most honest options out there right now. If you're building your own workflow with a camera and macro lens, a DigitaLIZA mask holds the negative flat.
Light Lens Lab: new camera and the peel-apart comeback
Light Lens Lab, the manufacturer known for its recreations of Leica optics, has three fronts open. First, its own black-and-white emulsion with the goal of releasing its first commercial film in 2026. Second, the resurrection of peel-apart film (the kind you develop by separating two layers, the one Fujifilm and Polaroid abandoned): they've already synthesized the black-and-white dyes and are working on the color ones. And third, a completely new analog camera, though they warn it's at a very early stage and there won't be a formal announcement soon.
None of this is for sale yet, but it marks the direction: more and more small players making materials the big ones gave up for dead. If the buzz around medium format and black-and-white is tempting you, here's where to start for real:
Optik Oldschool buys InovisCoat and FilmoTec
The most important story underneath it all is industrial. Optik Oldschool, the German lab, closed the purchase of InovisCoat (Monheim) and FilmoTec (Wolfen) in July, the latter heir to the legendary ORWO of the former East Germany, whose films are sold as Original Wolfen. With the deal, Optik Oldschool stops being just developing and distribution to become a manufacturer.
Why does it matter? InovisCoat is one of the very few plants in the world capable of developing modern emulsions and coating them in multiple layers (it coats film for third parties, Lomography included). Having it in the hands of a company committed to analog is a life insurance policy for a good chunk of European color. Less headline, more foundation.
What it means for you
The overall read is good: more affordable color film on the way, better ways to scan at home, and an industry reorganizing itself to last instead of fading out. If you shoot color and watch your spending, keep an eye on the Lucky Color 400 when it crosses into Europe. If you're piling up unscanned negatives, try NegPy before spending €999 on hardware. And if medium format or peel-apart tempts you, 2026 is going to be a year to pay attention.
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Summary based on the roundup of news from the metal fingers YouTube channel and cross-checked with Kosmo Foto, PetaPixel, 35mmc and analog.cafe. We'll keep updating as dates and prices are confirmed in Europe.
