SantaColor

The SantaColor initiative began as a successful crowdfunding campaign by the Finnish reseller Kamerastore. Kamerastore is located in Helsinki, Finland and are known in the analog community for their wide selection of film cameras and photography accessories, as well as for their commitment to sustainable and eco-friendly practices in their business operations. 

The SantaColor 100 is a 35mm film rated at ISO 100 with 36 exposures and made for the C41 process. The colors are vibrant and the film offers a wide latitude with a fine grain, resulting in stunning results with punchy reds and lush greens. It has a flexible exposure latitude and can be pushed to 800 ISO with only minor loss of colour accuracy and minor increase in grain. Shot at 400 ISO and pushed +2 stops in development, the film still exhibits accurate colours and an almost grain less look.

This unique film is produced in the US by the only manufacturer of color film and was originally designed for aerial surveillance but has now been repurposed for creative photography. Kamerstore imports the film and spools it by hand in Finland, using reused canisters and eco-friendly cardboard packaging. 

This project was originaly initiated by Kamerastore to assist Ukrainian women who have fled to Finland due to the ongoing conflict and the campaign raised almost €200,000 in pre-orders last year. With these funds, they were able to produce their first batch of 25,000 rolls of film, and they now manufacture continuous batches of around 12,000 rolls every three months, with the potential to double production capacity. Currently, four women have been employed with the help of the SantaColor project.