23/07/2026
Two and a half years ago we crowdfunded a home film processor called AGO and asked analog photographers to trust an idea. 222 backers from 38 countries did, and thanks to them we're here today.
AGO's specialty is its time compensation system, which adapts development to the real temperature of your chemistry so you don't have to stress about it. The system has proved itself, and today more than 3,000 analog photographers use it worldwide.
At one point we started asking ourselves: where else could this innovation help? The answer wasn't far to look for.
If you shoot Super 8, Double 8, or 16mm and want to develop it yourself, your options have barely moved since the 1980s. The Lomo tank everyone knows went out of production years ago, and the surviving ones aren't getting any younger. Automated processing exists, but it costs several thousand euros. Everything cheaper than that means a stopwatch in one hand and a chart in the other.
So this is our attempt at making motion picture film developing easy.
Fränk Film Processor
Fränk is a standalone film processor for Super 8, Double 8, and 16mm. You pour in the chemistry, and Fränk handles the agitation, the timing, and the temperature compensation. It runs black and white, C-41, E-6, ECN-2, and ECP, covering just about everyone from a home movie enthusiast or experimentalist to a filmmaker, wedding shooter, or film school.
The build took longer than we first planned, and we're glad it did, because that gave us time to really refine the final product. We also brought in an industrial designer, so Frank looks as good as it works, the kind of thing people will be happy to have on their shelf.
Now, technically: a vertical reel runs continuous rotary processing, where the film turns through the chemistry rather than sitting fully submerged. That's what lets Fränk develop a roll on just 1 litre of chemistry, the same volume most color kits ship in. We spent months on the reel alone, because loading these things has always been the hard part. Frank's reel lets you touch and feel the film as it feeds, so you catch a mistake the moment it happens instead of after development.
Fränk has already been in the hands of a tester, a local 16mm shooter who had only ever used a Lomo. He filled and drained a litre in 20 to 30 seconds, straight into the sink, nothing lifted or tilted. He measured his chemistry at 20°C; it drifted up toward 21°C inside the machine, and Fränk quietly shortened the remaining time to match, no input needed, nothing to notice. Frank has also run color processes like C-41 and E-6, and we'll be releasing scans soon so you can see the results. It's the same time compensation engine that's been running in AGO for two and a half years, rebuilt for motion picture film.
Along the way we decided to build a second, smaller thing too, probably no less important!
We call it Fränkie: a modern daylight tank and reel that replaces the Lomo for people who want to develop by hand. It uses the same reel as Fränk, so nothing you buy gets stranded. Start with Frankie, and if you decide to automate later, the reel moves straight into Fränk.
Analog film is having its moment right now, and we want to be here to help people make the most of it.
On 31 July, Fränk launches on Indiegogo, and the campaign runs until 12 September. Our funding goal is €20,000, which is what turns a finished design into a real production run.
The first 20 units go for under €900 on Indiegogo, and a solid discount stays in place on every machine sold during the campaign. Retail is €1,281 all-in, with worldwide shipping, DDP, and VAT included, nothing added at checkout.
Mark the date. Follow the campaign at vintagevisual.eu/frank, and sign up there to stay in the loop. 🎬
