Thomas Heaton drops a quick gut check on the state of film: remember when old point-and-shoots gathered dust in thrift stores, then suddenly became flex pieces on Instagram? Overnight, Contax compacts leapt from a few hundred bucks to nosebleed prices. That wave carried a lot of us back into the darkroom.
Now, in 2025, Heaton asks the honest question—is film still cool? His take lands where most working shooters feel it: the magic’s real, the hype isn’t. What’s left is a smaller, committed crowd that actually loves the process.
Heaton’s read lines up with what we’ve watched for years. Interest in film was climbing even before lockdowns. Millennials and Gen Z didn’t grow up with it, so film felt new with a slower rhythm that forces you to breathe between frames. Wedding pro Alice André puts it plainly: grain, warmth, and imperfection create an intimacy you can’t fake; with limited shots, every press of the shutter matters. That deliberate pace became fashionable, and celebrities did the rest, pushing certain cameras from roughly $450 to around $5,000. The frenzy was never sustainable.
The market reality? Film sales may be up, but the pond is still small. Recent estimates peg the film camera segment at a hair over $1,000,000,000 in 2024, projecting modest growth into the next decade. Meanwhile, supply is tight. Global production capacity has fallen hard since the 2000s, and prices keep casual shooters on the sidelines. Heaton admits what many of us do: a roll of 120 can cost more than a memory card, and the scan/develop cycle eats time. For most of his landscape work, he leans digital—dynamic range, tonal control, and per-frame cost win the day—then reaches for film when he wants the craft to slow him down.
So, is film still cool? Yeah, but for different reasons than ten years ago. It’s moved from accessory to intention. If you want authenticity, if you need the friction—loading a roll, winding the lever, waiting for the lab—film gives you a ritual that algorithms can’t. The ecosystem is still alive: new emulsions pop up, Pentax is shipping a fresh film body, and labs are busy. Just don’t romanticize it as a status symbol. The cost and unpredictability guarantee it will stay a niche, which is precisely why it matters.
That’s the headline: the boom settled into a sustainable lane. The numbers are steady, and the creative reasons to shoot film haven’t gone anywhere. The bargain-bin Contax chase is over, the influencer wave has receded, and what remains is better: photographers choosing a slower, more intentional way to make images. That’s Heaton’s point, and I’m with him: film’s cooler now because you’re doing it on purpose.