Koolak

About

Koolak is a film camera. Not a filter. You load a roll: 24 or 36 exposures of an emulsion — Miel 200, Carnation 400, Fusain 400 and six others, each with its own curve, grain and colour. You shoot with no preview. When the roll is finished it goes to the lab and comes back developed: within the hour, tomorrow at nine, or in a fortnight if you would rather forget what is on it. WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENS Every photograph is computed by a photochemical engine: the film's curve, its three layers, grain per layer, halation, the print on paper. Nothing is laid over the phone's image; the phone's image is the light that exposes the film. Highlights climb into the shoulder, shadows sink into the toe, the way film does. THE CAMERA • A counter that does not go back. Rewinding early loses the remaining frames. • A match-needle meter and ±2 EV of compensation, applied to the light, not to the look. • Flash with gels, self-timer, double exposure, bulb, contrast filters for black and white. • Half-frame, square, redscale, one or two stops of push, a date stamp. THE LAB • Three waits: ONE HOUR, OVERNIGHT, FORGOTTEN. You are told when the roll is back. • The envelope arrives sealed. You open it once. • Contact sheet, film strip, 300-dpi prints ready for any lab. • Negatives are kept: a roll can be developed again when the engine improves. THE FILMS Three emulsions come with the camera: Miel 200, Carnation 400 and Fusain 400. The other six are bought once, forever, or all together. A 12-exposure trial roll lets you try one before buying it. No subscription. Your photographs stay on your phone and, if you choose, in your own iCloud. Koolak collects nothing.