Australian film lab FilmNeverDie has announced the Nana, a $130 motorized and reusable 35mm film camera. The intriguing new film camera has a motorized film advancing system with a metal housing rather than the standard plastic body for systems of this type. According to the company, the Nana is an update to the Niji, a previous camera introduced by FilmNeverDie in 2020. The Nana upgrade is based on the iconic Contax T2 camera and will include enhanced optics and focusing technologies, as well as a 31mm f/9 fixed lens.

“Nana” is a name that signifies grace, ladyhood, spring, and even the number 7 in various languages,” says company founder Gary Wong. “In Thai, it also means a ‘Meeting Place’. This camera is not just a product; it’s the first step in an elegant rendezvous with innovation.”

The major improvements over the Niji include a motorized film advance system that eliminates winding and allows users to focus on capturing the moment rather than winding the film, an aesthetically pleasing minimalist metal body inspired by the Contax T2, and a significantly improved dual-focus mode optical system that provides noticeably sharper shots.

The focusing mechanism for the Nana (which has approximately 100 moving parts at the front of the unit) was inspired by vintage cameras such as the Ricoh YF20-E and Contax AX, according to the firm. The designers could relocate the back of the camera to give a better and clearer focusing mechanism using principles present in these antique cameras, which was a considerable task.

In addition to the plane-shifting dual focus mode innovation, the 35mm Nana has a built-in flash (powered by AA batteries), a 31mm f/9 fixed lens, a metal front shell, and the motorized film wind on/wind off toggle.

Here are some sample pictures: