Have you ever wanted to try your hand at traditional film developing but lacked a space to set up a darkroom? Well, your problems are now over as Ilford Photo has just announced three interesting new products, including a portable pop-up darkroom tent.
The tent is made out of a durable light-tight black fabric that clips to an external metal frame. An accompanying ground mat protects your floor and can be fastened to the sides ensuring no light leaks in. The frame is 2.2m tall at full height which will fit inside most standard ceiling rooms in Europe, The US and Asia. The working area is approximately 1.3m square.
Ilford says “a built-in air vent towards the base of the darkroom allows for an optional fan or air blower to be used and once sealed the incoming air will also expand the inner dimensions. A smaller vent is also included closer to the top of the darkroom to attach air extraction tubes (not included).”
It looks uncannily like Ilford have reinvented the camping toilet tent for darkroom purposes, but I suppose for film enthusiasts on camping trips it’s always good to double up on equipment uses to save space!
To go with the portable darkroom, Ilford has also announced a Darkroom starter kit. It contains all the chemicals and equipment you need to get started in developing your own film, and is a “convenient and affordable way to start making beautiful prints from your negatives”.
Finally, for the film enthusiasts in your life that you never know what to buy them, there is the Ilford 35mm Gift Calendar which will be available from October this year. It contains a selection of ILFORD and Kentmere 35mm 36 exposure black & white films “as well as a few other fun items, all hidden behind 12 doors.” So perfect for those calendar months with 12 days in them!
The portable darkroom and darkroom starter kit will be available in the fourth quarter of 2021, and although Ilford Photo hasn’t released a price yet, they’re rumoured to be priced at $265 and $150 respectively. The gift calendar is available from October 11th although no price is available as yet.
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