Why Film Photography Is Making a Comeback

We’ve spent years making photography quicker, sharper and easier. Most of us now carry a phone that can take a perfectly decent photograph without much effort.

So naturally, people have started buying cameras that need loading, offer a limited number of pictures and make you wait to see whether you got anything useful.

As someone who enjoys old cameras, I understand the appeal.

Film photography gives you a different experience. The camera, the decisions and the anticipation all become part of taking the photograph. I think that explains more about its comeback than nostalgia alone.

The revival has substance

There are signs of renewed interest beyond photographs of vintage cameras appearing on social media.

ILFORD’s film photography survey, conducted at the end of 2024 and published in April 2025, received more than 14,000 responses from over 110 countries. Among those respondents, 71% said they had shot more film than in the previous year. This was a voluntary survey of film enthusiasts, so it doesn’t represent the whole photography market, but it gives a useful picture of an active community.

Manufacturers have responded too. Ricoh launched the Pentax 17 in 2024, explicitly pointing to growing interest among younger photographers discovering film for the first time.

That matters. There’s a difference between enjoying equipment from the past and investing in making new equipment for its future.

Nostalgia brings people in — curiosity does too

For anyone who grew up with film, there’s something familiar about the whole process. Loading a camera, rationing the last few frames and collecting an envelope of prints were ordinary parts of taking photographs.

Looking back, even the waiting has acquired a certain charm. At the time, it was mostly just waiting.

But younger photographers aren’t necessarily revisiting childhood memories. Many are trying something they’ve never experienced. Ricoh identified those first-time users as an important audience for the Pentax 17.

I think that distinction is important. Film can feel reassuringly familiar to one person and completely new to another. Both are good reasons to pick up a camera.

Having fewer photographs changes how you shoot

One of film’s biggest attractions is also its most obvious limitation: you can run out.

With a standard 36-exposure roll, every press of the shutter uses something you’ve paid for. That encourages you to look a little longer, check the background and decide whether the photograph is worth taking.

It doesn’t automatically make you a better photographer. You can still spend an entire roll taking fairly unremarkable pictures of a bench. But it gives you a reason to pay attention.

For me, there’s also an appeal in using something that only takes photographs. No messages, notifications or temptation to check something else halfway through.

You take the picture and carry on with your day.

People like the look, but also the process

Grain, colour and contrast are part of film’s appeal. Different films can give photographs a character that people enjoy exploring.

ILFORD’s survey respondents identified the film look, creative control and the difference from digital as reasons they continued shooting it.

I wouldn’t reduce that appeal to blurry photographs and light leaks, though. A properly working film camera is perfectly capable of producing sharp, beautifully exposed pictures. A faulty light seal remains a faulty light seal, however artistic the orange stripe looks.

What interests me is choosing the film before taking the photographs. You make a decision, load the camera and work with it. There’s satisfaction in committing to something for a while.

The internet has helped people discover analogue photography

There’s a pleasing irony in people using YouTube and Instagram to learn how to spend less time staring at screens.

Online communities make film less intimidating. You can watch someone load a camera, compare photographs taken on different films or find out why your rewind crank isn’t moving.

In ILFORD’s survey, 5% of respondents credited YouTubers with inspiring them to start. Others had received a camera from friends or family. Social platforms and forums also featured as sources of advice and inspiration.

My view is that this practical help matters as much as the attractive photographs. Seeing a lovely film image might make you curious. Understanding how to get started makes it much more likely you’ll actually try.

Instant photography makes the physical appeal obvious

Instax and Polaroid offer their own version of the attraction: a photograph you can hold, give away or stick on the fridge.

Instant film is a different market from traditional 35mm photography, so its success shouldn’t be treated as proof that every film format is growing. But it shows that people still value a physical photograph.

Fujifilm’s results for the year ended March 2026 reported continued growth in its Instax business, and the company announced further film production expansion in December 2025 to meet demand.

I can understand why. Handing someone a photograph has a different feeling from promising to send them one later.

New cameras and films help keep the interest going

The revival also needs manufacturers willing to support it.

Alongside the Pentax 17, there’s been fresh investment in film itself. British manufacturer HARMAN launched Phoenix II colour film in July 2025, in both 35mm and 120 formats, backed by a multimillion-pound investment in its operations and research.

Half-frame cameras offer another interesting approach. The Pentax 17 fits two photographs into the space normally used by one standard 35mm frame, giving around 72 pictures from a 36-exposure roll. That stretches the film budget, although processing and scanning charges still need checking.

These developments give people something new to try and help make film feel like a living hobby.

The cost is still the awkward part

I like film, but pretending it’s a cheap way to take lots of photographs wouldn’t be honest.

The camera is only the beginning. Film, developing, scanning and occasional repairs all need allowing for. A bargain camera can become less of a bargain if it needs work before you can use it.

That’s why I think enjoying film matters more than owning whichever camera happens to be fashionable. The name on the front won’t rescue a badly composed photograph.

And you don’t need to abandon digital. Shooting film occasionally is just as valid as using it every day. You can enjoy the slower process when you want it and use digital when convenience matters.

Why I’m pleased it’s happening

The part I like most is seeing older cameras remain useful.

Something made decades ago can still go on holiday, document a family gathering or help someone discover that they enjoy photography. Giving those cameras another life is a large part of why I enjoy what I do at Vintage Deals UK.

I don’t expect film to become everyone’s everyday choice again. It doesn’t need to.

Its appeal is that taking a photograph can involve a little more thought, a little more patience and something physical to keep afterwards.

Sometimes that’s worth waiting for.