The New Shape of the Analog Photography Revival
The current analog photography revival is a shift in how photographers value images, with fine grain black and white film, niche 110 film stocks, and digital cameras that emulate classic emulsions all combining to bring back slower, more intentional picture-making across professional and hobbyist communities. Black and white film photography is no longer a nostalgia niche; it is becoming a deliberate creative choice, and Fujifilm is right in the middle of it. With Fujifilm Acros II film reclaiming its place as a king of fine grain, new 110 film stocks arriving from smaller makers, and retro-styled Fujifilm cameras giving digital shooters an organic monochrome look, the market is quietly rebuilding itself from the ground up. This is not a museum piece revival; it is a living ecosystem that rewards patience, craft, and a taste for subtle tone over instant saturation.
Acros II: The Fine-Grain Workhorse Black-and-White Film Needed
If one product symbolizes this analog photography revival, it is Fujifilm Acros II film. When Fujifilm discontinued the original Acros in 2018, the black and white community responded with a loud, collective disappointment, and Fujifilm answered by bringing back the emulsion as Acros II. This new version kept what made the original famous: exceptionally fine grain for an ISO 100 film, with an RMS granularity of 7—lower than even TMax 100, another fine grain film stock. That technical fact is not academic; it means large prints, detailed scans, and clean skies that digital noise struggles to imitate. In long exposure work, Acros II is even more radical. Most films demand one or more stops of extra exposure beyond ten seconds, but Fujifilm recommends only a 1/2 stop compensation between two and sixteen minutes. For landscape, architecture, and night photographers, that reciprocity behavior makes Acros II less of a specialty film and more of a dependable daily tool. Whether you care about grain charts or not, you see the benefit in the negatives: smooth tonality, crisp detail, and black and white images that look expensive even when the scene is humble.
Tiny Formats, Big Signal: 110 Film’s Surprising Comeback
Analog photography’s health often shows up first in its strangest corners, and 110 film stocks are about as strange as it gets. For fifteen years, this cartridge-based mini format was held up almost single-handedly by one brand, but that changed when Reflx Lab entered the scene and instantly doubled the number of companies making 110 film. China-based Reflx Lab released two 110 films: Fortuna C200 color, respooled from Lucky C200, and 100R Color Reversal, respooled from 16mm Ektachrome slide film. Each cartridge offers 24 exposures and uses 3D-printed shells, which help keep costs down but remove the classic back window, so you shoot without a visible frame counter. There is even a mild warning baked into this revival: Reflx recommends serious compact cameras like the Canon 110ED, Pentax Auto 110, Minolta 110 Zoom, and Rollei E110, cautioning photographers to avoid toy-like keychain models that waste these more expensive, high-quality 110 film stocks. The message is clear: even the smallest formats deserve to be taken seriously again.
Retro Fujifilm Bodies and the Digital Side of the Film Aesthetic
The analog photography revival is not purist; it has a digital wing, and Fujifilm’s X Pro 2 sits right at that intersection. This 24MP APS-C rangefinder-style mirrorless camera uses a 2.36M-dot hybrid multi-viewfinder, face detection autofocus, and a 1.62M-dot rear LCD, wrapped in a body that feels like a film rangefinder. What matters for black and white film photography fans is the Acros film simulation, including ACROS+Ye, ACROS+R, and ACROS+G variations that mimic classic filter behavior and give nuanced control over tonal relationships. The JPEG output has been called "easily the best" thanks to strong renderings across Velvia, Classic Chrome, Acros, and Astia simulations, which encourages photographers who prefer to avoid heavy post-processing. RAW files keep highlight and shadow detail, and Acros mode handles high ISO use with grace, staying usable even around ISO 12,800. There are quirks: the menu system is labeled easier to use yet still “complicated in some cases,” and the hybrid finder requires some learning. But on the used market, where bodies sit around USD 1000 to 1200 (approx. RM4600 to RM5520), the X Pro 2 delivers a distinctive monochrome look that digital-only shooters struggle to find elsewhere. For travel and street photographers, its dependable autofocus and classic ergonomics make it a tool that encourages observational, film-like shooting habits.
Why These Pieces Add Up to Something Bigger
Put together, Acros II’s fine grain film performance, the rebirth of 110 film stocks, and the continued popularity of retro Fujifilm bodies describe a simple truth: black and white photography is not in survival mode; it is in a careful, craft-led expansion. Fujifilm heard the film community’s outcry and responded by replacing the discontinued Acros with Acros II, a move that signaled confidence in the future of black and white film. Meanwhile, new 110 cartridges from Reflx Lab expand one of the smallest niches in analog photography and prove that even fringe formats can support more than one maker. On the digital side, cameras like the X Pro 2 keep the visual language of film alive with Acros simulations that let photographers work as if they were shooting a beloved emulsion. The convergence of new stock availability and enduring digital tools has revitalized analog photography communities, not through hype but through dependable options. Whether you load Acros II for a long exposure, pocket a 110 camera for a weekend, or walk the streets with an X Pro 2, you are buying into the same idea: images that slow you down, reward attention, and age more like prints than posts.
