The LomoLab is a new film processing lab housed in the basement at the Lomography Gallery Store East London. Offering on-site processing of colour and black-and-white 35mm and 120 format film, including cross processing, push and pull processing, the LomoLab will also provide a scanning service with an option to send scans directly to your LomoHome or email address. Launching on 11th March and open Monday through Friday, the LomoLab is located at 117 Commercial Street, London.

Kodak has just announced the new Kodak Professional Portra 160 film. Offering “a significantly finer grain structure in a 160-speed colour negative film”, the new Kodak Professional Portra 160 incorporates the manufacturer’s Advanced Cubic Emulsions, Kodak Vision Film Technology and Antenna Dye Sensitisation in the magenta emulsion layers. Distinguished by a wide latitude and a very natural rendering of skin tones, the new film is also claimed to scan extremely well for digital postprocessing. Replacing the current Portra 160NC and VC offerings, the new Kodak Professional Portra 160 film will be available in 35mm, 120/220, 4x5 and 8x10 sheet format, beginning next month.

Lomography have released special Valentine’s Day editions of the Diana Mini, Diana F+ and Fisheye 2 film cameras. The Diana Mini “Love Is In The Air” is the perfect companion if you want to give your date a retro-touch, Adam and Eve have turned their attentions to the medium format Diana F+ “Take My Heart”, and the Fisheye 2 “I Love You” will make your heart race. Possibly. The three new models are priced between £79 and £99 in the UK.

The Lomo LC-A+ White is a limited-edition Lomography camera with a few tricks up its sleeve. Using standard 35mm film, the Lomo LC-A+ White features a 32mm f/2.8 Minitar lens, a multiple exposure switch for easy, real-time double-exposure, an industry-standard cable release thread, a flash hot-shoe and a “whirling white kimono of elegant metal and smooth leather”. Limited to one thousand pieces, the Lomo LC-A+ comes with a white L-Case and can be yours for $399 or €379.

A new Polaroid camera will be unveiled at the CES show in January. According to Engadget, they’ve receieved a press invite from Polaroid for the 6th of January which shows a new camera tantalisingly shrouded in darkness. Some simple Photoshop trickery reveals a slot in the bottom of the new Polaroid, hinting at a new instant camera.

Website: Engadget

Arca-Swiss has announced the Rm2d, a precision medium-format camera, which is smaller and lighter than the critically acclaimed Rm3d. Marketed as the camera for high-resolution hand-held photography, the Arca-Swiss Rm2d can take film magazines as well as digital backs, and is compatible with Arca-Swiss R-mount lenses ranging from 23mm to 250mm. The precision of the focusing device allows for repeatable settings with 15 micron accuracy (when mounted on a tripod, of course), and the camera also boasts a shift functionality that makes it well suited to architectural photography. Weighing in at a mera 700 grams without a lens or a film magazine / digital back, the Arca-Swiss Rm2d is available at a price of €3,090 + VAT.

The Lomographic Society has released three new members of the Diana camera family. The three new clones of the Diana Mini include a pink, a white and a black version. These 35mm “toy” cameras can shoot two different frame sizes including 24x24mm square and 18x24mm half-frame, and the photographer can switch from one to the other even mid-roll. The Diana Mini White is available at a price of £55 / €60 / $70, whereas the Diana Mini En Rose (pink) and Petite Noir (black) retail for £99 / €100 / €110.

Fujifilm has just released a statement intended “to dispel rumours of an impending end to its E6 film processing service”. Fujifilm Professional’s product manager, Gabriel Da Costa, said: “Our range of transparency films is still very popular so I am delighted to state that Fujifilm is committed to E6 processing for the foreseeable future.” In the UK, Leeds based pro lab CC Imaging is responsible for the processing of all process-paid Sensia slide film, in addition to Fujifilm’s professional films when sent with Fujifilm’s pre-paid E6 135/120 vouchers.

Lomography has introduced the Sprocket Rocket, billed as the very first camera dedicated to sprocket hole photography. By including the sprocket holes found along the edges of every 35mm film roll, the Sprocket Rocket camera takes pictures with a unique look. Additionally, the Lomography Sprocket Rocket features a reverse gear which allows the photographer to move back and forth between the frames with two convenient scrolling knobs to enable taking multiple exposures on the same frame. Outfitted with a 30mm lens that has a somewhat wider-than-expected angle of view thanks to the larger-than-standard (72x35mm) frames recorded (although it does vignette noticeably), the Lomography Sprocket Rocket has a recommended retail price (RRP) of £79.

Twenty London-based Lomographers have created a stop-motion movie using several Lomo LC-A+ cameras (pictured) and a variety of 35m films. The nearly 3-minute movie is made up of almosty 2,000 separate images shot on redscale, X-Pro Chrome and Lomography colour negative films plus two reels of 8mm black-and-white film. You can view the Lomography stop-motion movie after the break.

The Lomography X-Pro Chrome 100 is a new colour reversal film. Although it is possible to develop the Lomography X-Pro Chrome as a “normal” transparency film, using the industry-standard E-6 process, lomographers will probably love it for the strong contrasts and saturation it produces when cross-processed. In the United Kingdom, the Lomography X-Pro Chrome 100 is available in 35mm format, priced at £16.90 for a 3-pack.

In order to help those interested in traditional wet darkroom practices, Peter Heaton - former head of photography at York Art College - has created Vale of York Darkrooms; a darkroom and teaching solution at Stillington, 10 miles north of York, North Yorkshire. Vale of York Darkrooms offer a range of Black and White photographic courses throughout the year. They are suitable for absolute beginners through to the more experienced photographer, and cover traditional and experimental photographic techniques. The fully equipped darkroom is also available for hire to groups or individuals, though a low-cost annual membership is required prior to any hire usage.

Fujifilm has announced the development of the Fujfilm GF670W Professional, a new medium-format rangefinder camera with a wide-angle lens. Similarly to the existing Fujifilm GF670, the new GF670W uses 120/220 format roll film and features 6x6 and 6x7 dual-format shooting. Unlike that camera, though, it has a 55mm f/4.5 lens instead of an 80mm f/3.5. Fujifilm says it has received “numerous requests for the production of a series of medium-format wide-angle cameras”, and the GF670W Professional is the company’s response to these requests. Like the GF670, it features a coupled rangefinder, an electronically controlled leaf shutter Aperture Priority and Manual exposure modes, central-weighted average TTL metering and +/-2EV exposure compensation in 1/3EV steps. A prototype will be on display at Photokina 2010. No pricing information has been given but if the GF670 is any indication, the Fujifilm GF670W won’t be cheap.

Website: Fujifilm press release

The new Kodak Professional Portra 400 is claimed to be the world’s finest grained 400 speed colour negative film. Available in 135, 120/220 and 4x5” formats, the new film incorporates Kodak Vision Film Technology, plus Antenna Dye Sensitisation in the cyan and magenta emulsion layers to achieve its fine grain structure. Retaining the natural skin tones and remarkable colour reproduction the Kodak Portra line has always been noted for, the new Kodak Professional Portra 400 utilises optimised Emulsion Spectral Sensitivity and Image Modifier Chemistry, Kodak’s Proprietary DIR Couplers and Micro-Structure Optimised T-Grain Emulsions, resulting in a finely-grained negative that is easy to scan. Kodak says the new film replaces the existing Kodak Professional Portra 400NC and 400VC film offerings, meaning these emulsions will be discontinued.

Fujfilm is to cease manufacture of the Fujichrome Sensia slide film range with immediate effect. Fujifilm’s Product Manager for Professional Film, Gabriel Da Costa explains the move: “Due to increasing production costs and decreasing demand globally, all Fujichrome Sensia film (100, 200 & 400 ISO) has been discontinued. Our laboratory in Leeds will continue to process and mount Fujichrome Sensia film until all stocks are depleted, including all rolls previously sold and awaiting processing.”

K. B. Canham Cameras has struck an agreement with Kodak to supply a variety of Kodak emulsions in a range of sheet film sizes. Kodak Tri-X, Ektar 100 and 400NC can be preordered in sizes ranging from 11x14 inches to 16x20 inches, while Kodak TMax 400 is available in 5x7” size. Since demand for most of these sizes is rather limited, prices are naturally high and interested photographers are required to pay the full amount in advance. Those who order a box or two of these films will be placed on a list along with everyone else that has ordered the same size and emulsion, and once enough orders are placed to reach the minimum number of boxes needed, as listed on their website, K. B. Canham Cameras will contact Kodak and should receive the film in approximately 6 weeks.

Fujifilm has organised a scavenger hunt on 25th July in New York City to celebrate the resurgence of instant film photography on the declaration of its first annual Instax Day. Instax Day will bring 50 instant film enthusiasts together to use instant film to capture New York City landmarks and hot spots during a summer fun scavenger hunt that will take place between Rockefeller Center and Union Square Park. Contestants will be given a map to help plot their course, and compete for a chance to win first ($500), second ($250) and third ($100) prize gift certificates to B&H Photo Video. Check-in for the scavenger hunt will begin at the B&H Event Space at 10am and the scavenger hunt will officially kick off at 11am sharp.  The date of 7/25 reflects the model numbers of the two currently available Instax Mini instant cameras, the Mini 7S and the Mini 25.

Website: Instax on Facebook

In Germany, Mamiya is celebrating the 70th anniversary of its being in business with a promotional offer on the Mamiya 7 II medium-format rangefinder camera. The company was founded in 1940 and soon became famous for its Mamiya 6 medium-format folding camera that featured film-plane focussing (which meant that the bellows and the lens did not move while focussing, but the film plane did). The year 1948 marked the launch of the first Mamiya Twin-Lens Reflex (TLR) camera, while next year the company entered the 35mm market. The second half of the twentieth century saw the introduction of a series of innovations by Mamiya, including the Magazine 35 - a 35mm camera featuring interchangeable film backs -, the Mamiya Press - a 6x9 format press camera -, the Mamiyaflex C - a series of TLRs with interchangeable lenses -, the RB67 Professional 6x7 SLR with a rotating back, as well as the M645 and the RZ67 Professional SLRs. The company recycled the Mamiya 6 name in 1989 when it introduced a medium-format rangefinder camera with interchangeable lenses, which was later followed by the Mamiya 7 and 7 II.

Fujifilm Professional has announced the winner of its 2010 Student Awards. The winner is Anne-Marie Atkinson from Leeds College of Art. Her photo, which was taken on Fujicolor Superia Reala 100, will feature on the cover of the next edition of Flann O’Brien’s novel, At Swim-Two-Birds. She will also receive £250 worth of Fujifilm Professional film and 25 Penguin Classics titles of her choice. Additionally, exhibition sponsors Genesis Imaging are providing Anne-Marie with a professional quality portfolio. The portfolio prize will contain up to fifteen 20"x16” prints together with a 20"x16” Clamshell Portfolio box.

Photojojo has teamed up with The Impossible Project to offer a limited number of vintage Rainbow SX-70 OneStep Polaroid cameras bundled with two packs of PX 100 instant film. There are only 50 kits available, so those interested in the deal may want to act quickly. The camera-film bundles go on sale on Thursday the 24th and will be available exclusively through the Photojojo Store.

Website: Photojojo Store