Champ Camera has one of the world's best ranges of 35mm film for sale. Although their stores aren't huge, the range and variety of film they sell is incredible. Here are 20 interesting films I found in one of their stores late last year.
Champ Camera
Champ Camera has built up a loyal army of over 37,000 followers on Instagram. No doubt their popularity has been fueled by GAS (gear acquisition syndrome) worthy images of the products they sell, including film. Champ is not one store, but a chain of 4 stores just south of Tokyo. I visited the Tama Plaza store in late 2023. This was the easiest store to access on the way back from a morning visit to the Snoopy Museum Tokyo (highly recommended for Peanuts fans).
5 Important Things to Know Before Buying From Champ Camera
Although they have an incredible range of films, there are a few points worth noting:
- They don't sell film via their website - not even for domestic customers in Japan. Don't bother begging them via Instagram either - film is a strictly 'buy in store' offer only.
- There is a 5 film limit for customers, so you won't be walking away with bags and bags of film.
- They request that you don't go around to their other stores and buy 5 films in each one. This kind of greed is not the done thing in ultra-polite Japan.
- The prices are a little on the higher side, though you have to remember that many of these films are hard to find classics.
- They also sell film, digital cameras, lenses, and photo accessories. The vintage Nikon film cameras looked immaculate.
QR Code Scanning
With so many exotic films on sale, it's hard to know which ones to buy. Especially if you've never heard of some and don't know what they look like. Thankfully, there's an easy solution. Next to the films and also on the wall are a stack of QR codes. Scan the QR code for the film you're interested in, and example photos come up on the Champ Camera website. How cool!
Now let's take a look at the 20 rare, expired, and unusual films I found in their Tama Plaza store. Please note that the descriptions below are not all 100% accurate, as many companies have never revealed the truth about the origin of their stocks, and we are just left with clues to piece together.
Agfa Ultra
First up is Agfa Ultra 100 - an ultra high color saturation color negative film made in Germany in the early 2000s. As a color film shooter who loves bright bold colors, this is my jam! It was one of the 2 films I bought at Champ Camera. I'm really looking forward to shooting this roll and showing the results on my YouTube channel. The price tag of 2,500 yen is about $16.50 USD.
Escura Negative Film
Escura is a Hong Kong company that has brought the analog photography world some interesting products. These include the Hasselback - an instant back for Hasselblads, the Escura Instant60s camera for Instax Mini film, and several rebadged films under the Esucra brand.
Escura has strong ties to Japan and was selling Escura 'Showa Camera' film in that market in 2023. This was a 400-speed film with a vintage look. You can see my results with Showa Camera film in my Fstoppers article, What Is This Mystery Japanese 35mm Color Film?
There was no sign of Showa Camera film in Champ, but they were selling Escura Vintage 400 Negative Film. Could this be the same film as Escura Showa Camera film? Probably not, as they have differing numbers of exposures on the roll.
Fotos Film 400
I love the bright packaging of Fotos Film; it really caught my eye. I put it back on the shelf, though, as it's said to be repackaged Kodak UltraMax 400.
FuMoTo
Kawaii! I love the design of these 2 super cute FuMoTo films - including how the boxes stack together to complete a picture. One box features a rabbit, and the other has a pig. Both animals have cameras around their necks and look like they're about to go on a sailing adventure.
These 400-speed color negative films are not the same stock, though:
- Fumoto Film Caribbean (pig) has hard tones and a high contrast look
- Fumoto Film Geiyo (rabbit - pictured below) has grainy soft pale tones.
So where did the film come from? I'm not sure, but it's rumored to be an expired Japanese film - perhaps Konica or Fujifilm. It's thought to be respooled by Irhoas Photo, which has stores in Japan and Australia.
Koikoi film
The only thing I know about this 12-exposure color negative film is that it must be bulk rolled, as online sales for it note that the 'film ends are taped'. There seems to be some issues with cameras that auto-advance film, so if you ever get a roll, maybe keep it for your manual winding SLR or rangefinder. Also, expect light leaks and other surprises with Koikoi. Despite all this, the test shots I've seen look pleasant enough.
Film Photography Project Monster films
I'm a big fan of how the FPP store repackages and relabels films. Their monster films are rumored to be repackaged Svema from Eastern Europe. The clues are that FPP are distributors of Svema in the United States, and the film speeds - including the uncommon ISO 64-speed Dracula film - match up with Svema's own brand offerings.
Marix
Marix is a Japanese film company based in Osaka. They rebadge cinema films, black and white films, color negative, and slide films from other suppliers. Seeing Marix boxes in Japanese stores is quite common, though this is all likely fresh film repackaged.
Rollei Paul and Reinhold
The Rollei "Paul and Reinhold" duo of films were launched in 2020 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of legendary German camera manufacturer Rollei. One film bears the name Paul, and the other Reinhold - these are, of course, the first names of Rollei founders Franke and Heidecke. The film has 'Made in Italy' on the box, which points to some involvement from Film Ferrania.
Solaris
I wish I'd picked up a roll of this Made in Italy film made by Film Ferrania in the early 2000s. There's only 12 exposures on the roll, though, so it wasn't a great deal.
Adox Color Mission
Released in early 2022, this is one of my favorite films in recent years. The film has bold rich colors, though it also has noticeable grain and a thinner exposure latitude than other color negative films. Originally it was only available from the FotoImpex store in Berlin, but you can still find it in some specialty film stores. I'll be sad when I've shot my final couple of rolls. You can see example images in my video below:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFZY4Ky3VO0
Rerapan
This is the only non-35mm film on this list and probably the most niche. Rerapan is currently the only producer of film for 127 cameras in the world. If you fancy busting out your Kodak Starflex or Imperial Satellite, this is the film for you. Made in Japan, this roll film takes 12 exposures in a 4x4 format. They also make ReraChrome - a 100-speed color reversal film. I've enjoyed shooting both films in recent years.
Yashica Film
I was excited to see this in store, but after some quick research, gave it a hard pass. There was a buzz in the lead-up to Yashica releasing this film in 2019, but it turned out to be rebadged Kodak Ultramax 400.
Efke KB 25
I'm not a black and white shooter, but this film caught my eye, and I ended up buying it. Efke films were made in Croatia until 2012. Their black and white films have a higher silver content than many other films, giving them a wide exposure latitude.
The price of this film was a little steeper at 3,500 yen, about $23 USD. It expired in 2014, but I shot it in early 2024 and sent it to my friend Alex Luyckx in Canada to develop. I loved the results - look out for a video about this film on my YouTube channel soon.
Fujifilm Superia Premium 400
Superia Premium 400 is not a new film, but it hasn't been seen regularly for a while. Out of nowhere, it started popping up in Japanese stores in 2023 with 2026 expiry dates on the box. This set tongues wagging, with many wondering if production had restarted on this film, but Fujifilm is tight-lipped as always. I'd already bought 3 rolls of this in Bic Camera, so didn't buy anymore at Champ.
Fujicolor 100
Another domestic offering that started mysteriously popping up again in mid-2023 in Japan. Fujicolor 100 is a cheaper film than Superia with bold rich colors. A fantastic color stock comparable to Kodak Pro Image 100.
Jessops Diamond Everyday 200
This will be a blast from the past for British photographers from the early 2000s. This was the house brand film of Jessops - a chain of photography stores that spanned the length and breadth of the United Kingdom. It was commonly given out as a free film when you had your films and prints developed in stores. On the box, it says "Made in EU" - it's thought to be Agfa Color 200, which was made in Germany in the early 2000s.
LomoChrome Color'92
This film came out of nowhere last year. Although not rare or expired, it is unusual in its look and provenance. The film has a retro look to it, hence the 1992 branding from Lomography. Oddly, the box has a 'Made in China' sticker covering up a 'Made in Germany' sticker. It's thought to be Orwo Wolfen color stock that was sent to China and then somehow ended up in Lomography's hands. For example photos, check out my review below:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGjSdcoYD6s
Film Never Die Iro
Melbourne-based Film Never Die brought out this attractively packaged film a few years ago, complete with pictures of Mt Fuji and cherry blossoms. The boxes stack nicely to form a picture, super cool. With 39 exposures, this is thought to be film from disposable cameras.
Shanghai Color Film
This film branding looks like it just escaped from the 1970s, but it's rumored to be repackaged Kodak Ultramax 400 from disposable cameras.
Hanalogital
Based in Germany, Hanalogital sells an array of handmade pre-exposed and film soup films. The brightly decorated packaging contains films ideal for experimental analog photography. For film soup offerings in particular, be careful to read the instructions that are listed on the sale pages of each film.
Summary
Whether it’s fresh film, out of production classics, rebadged film, or super cute oddities, you’ll find something you like for sure at Champ Camera. In the end, I only bagged 2 films - the Efke 25 and the Agfa Ultra 100.
Which film would you have bought? Let me know in the comments.
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