In a Shocking “Development,” The Darkroom Now Sells a Camera
Mar 19, 2026
David Prochnow
Our resident “how-to” project editor, David Prochnow, lives on the Gulf Coast of the United States in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. He brings his expertise at making our photography projects accessible to everyone, from a lengthy stint acting as the Contributing How-To Editor with Popular Science magazine. While you don’t have to actually build each of his projects, reading about these adventures will contribute to your continued overall appreciation of do-it-yourself photography. A collection of David’s best Popular Science projects can be found in the book, “The Big Book of Hacks,” Edited by Doug Cantor.
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World-renowned film processing laboratory, The Darkroom, has been a mainstay of the photographic community since 1976. In fact, it’s known by film photographers as the “go-to” lab that’s able to develop any film format and any emulsion in a timely manner at a reasonable price.
Imagine the shockwave that rippled through the photographic industry when The Darkroom announced that they would begin selling a, gasp, camera! While that marketing choice might seem like an extreme development of an otherwise balanced photographic processing laboratory, it’s actually a return to the early roots of The Darkroom.
Prior to being the recent incarnation as a film processing mecca, The Darkroom, under a different storefront, was a full-service photographic retailer in the 1940s. Both film AND cameras were sold in this store.
Fast forward to today’s store and the, not so surprising, sale of a film camera returns The Darkroom to its historical roots. So what camera model serves as this nod to the past? Why, it’s the Kodak Snapic A1 camera.
Two-Thirds Stop Shop
Having a camera for sale in The Darkroom Merch Store serves as a distinct departure from the other types of merchandise being sold in this shop. From a film cartridge-embedded tumbler to a 2026 calendar, the “typical” products hallmarked by The Darkroom are a eclectic blend of photographic memorabilia.
Selling a camera, however, is a refreshing inclusion into this merch mix. But this isn’t just “any” camera sale. Remember, The Darkroom has a history of providing a FREE photographer-friendly plastic postage-paid film mailer and this type of thoughtful assistance to photographers continues with this camera sale.
The Darkroom sale of the Kodak Snapic A1 Camera for $99 represents a value-added purchase. Included, for a limited time, the camera sale is accompanied by a Darkroom Film Pouch, a lens cloth, and a fistful of stickers.
The Darkroom can now brag that they sell two-thirds of the product cycle from a photographer’s life: a camera and film processing. Therefore, should we expect a future press release to reveal the sale of that missing lifecycle product…film? Just keep your browser’s DIYP bookmark on your daily doom scroll and you’ll be the first to know.
Enjoy.
David Prochnow
Our resident “how-to” project editor, David Prochnow, lives on the Gulf Coast of the United States in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. He brings his expertise at making our photography projects accessible to everyone, from a lengthy stint acting as the Contributing How-To Editor with Popular Science magazine. While you don’t have to actually build each of his projects, reading about these adventures will contribute to your continued overall appreciation of do-it-yourself photography. A collection of David’s best Popular Science projects can be found in the book, “The Big Book of Hacks,” Edited by Doug Cantor.
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