NOW LIVE ON INDIEGOGO · BACKING OPEN UNTIL 12 SEPTEMBER
FRÄNK
Film Processor

Develop Super 8, Double 8, and 16mm at home. Automatically.

Watch the campaign film

Frank is a semi-automatic, time-compensated motorized film processor for Super 8, Double 8, and 16mm. You pour the chemistry. Frank handles agitation, timing, and temperature compensation.

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Live on Indiegogo now · closes 12 September 2026 Follow on Indiegogo
The story

Cine development has been stuck since the 1980s.

Lomo UPB-1A film tank with reel

For people wanting to develop Super 8, Double 8, or 16mm at home, the options are thin. The Lomo UPB-1A tank is the most common starting point, but it has been out of production since the Soviet era. Finding one means hunting the used market. The workflow is entirely manual. You agitate by hand, watch a stopwatch, and try to keep temperature consistent throughout the process. Results depend on your technique, and consistency between rolls is hard to maintain.

Let's change that.

Frank is the first standalone film processor that automates home cine development.

Frank automates agitation, timing, and temperature compensation. A motor drives continuous rotation while a built-in sensor reads the chemistry temperature and adjusts development time on the fly. The only manual steps are loading the reel and pouring chemistry in and out. From the first frame to the last, the prototype measured log 0.01 to 0.02 density variance, being effectively uniform. The whole process runs on one litre of chemistry. Super 8, Double 8, and 16mm in one machine.

Frank film processor with its parts labelled
How it works

How Frank works

FIRMWARE

Reads the temperature, adjusts the time

A sensor reads the actual chemistry temperature. The firmware adjusts development time on the fly. You don't have to hit ECN-2's 41°C exactly. Frank corrects for what's actually inside. Same philosophy that powers AGO Film Processor.

AGITATION

Motor-driven continuous rotation

A motor turns the reel without stopping. No manual rhythm to maintain, no sloshing, no aeration. End-to-end density variance on the prototype measured log 0.01 to 0.02. Effectively uniform from the first frame to the last.

GEOMETRY

Vertical reel, half-submerged

The double-spiral reel sits upright with only half its surface in chemistry at any moment. The geometric move that makes continuous motorized agitation work on cine film. It also cuts chemistry volume in half, how Frank fits a full process into one litre. Full submersion is available for users who prefer it.

FLUID HANDLING

Chemistry in through the funnel, out through the valve

Chemistry enters through a funnel at the top and drains through a valve at the bottom. No rubber hose. No lifting. No tilting. Pours and drains stay in your hands by design. Everything between them is automatic.

See the full technical breakdown
Specifications

Specs

FORMAT & CAPACITY

Formats
SUPER 8 · DOUBLE 8 · 16MM
Capacity
2 × 50 ft / 15 m (8MM or 16MM)
Reel
VERTICAL DOUBLE-SPIRAL, INCLUDED

PROCESS CONTROL

Agitation
CONTINUOUS MOTOR
Temperature
SENSOR + FW COMPENSATION
Density variance
LOG 0.01–0.02
Chemistry
1 L · C-41 · ECN-2 · ECP · E-6 · B&W

PHYSICAL & POWER

Power
USB-C · 2 × 18650 CELLS
Noise
KITCHEN-COUNTER QUIET
Warranty
2 YEARS
Origin
MADE IN ESTONIA

Frank does not heat chemistry. It senses temperature and adjusts time. Pre-warm to your target in a water bath.

2026
Crowdfunding

LIVE ON
INDIEGOGO
31 JUL – 12 SEP 2026

Backing is live on Indiegogo now and runs to 12 September 2026. Back Frank now to secure campaign pricing before it's gone.

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LIVE NOW ON INDIEGOGO · BACKING OPEN UNTIL 12 SEPTEMBER
Rewards

What you can back

Fränk Film Processor
The processor

Fränk Film Processor

The automatic machine. Motor-driven agitation, sensor-driven time compensation, and Super 8, Double 8, and 16mm in one processor.

€1,281 €969 Late bird
Early bird sold out
Fränkie manual reel and tank
The manual tank

Fränkie

A modern, 3D-printed reel and tank. A direct replacement for the out-of-production Lomo tank. No motor, no electronics. You agitate and time it by hand.

€345 €249 Early bird · first 20
Then €269 late bird
Fränk and Fränkie together
The bundle

Fränk + Fränkie

Both machines together. The automatic processor and the manual tank, at the best combined price.

€1,625 €1,199 Late bird
Early bird sold out

Why Frankie too? The Lomo tank home cine developers have relied on for decades is out of production. Frankie brings a modern reel and tank back to market on its own.

Back Fränk on Indiegogo Live now on Indiegogo · back before the campaign closes

VAT, DDP, and worldwide shipping are all included in the price, with nothing extra at checkout. The exception is the UK and Northern Ireland, where prices are shown without VAT and Indiegogo adds UK VAT automatically at checkout.

Roadmap

From prototype to delivery

Done

Prototype

Motorized vertical-reel prototype built and tested, with effectively uniform development end to end.

Done

Industrial design

Finalized and revealed with the campaign.

Now

Campaign

Live on Indiegogo from 31 July (18:00 CEST) to 12 September 2026.

Next

Production

Manufacturing partner and tooling for the first run.

Target

Delivery

Targeted for Q1 2027.

Frank is built on a validated prototype. What's ahead is production, not invention. Q1 2027 is our honest target, not a guarantee.

Scans and reviews

Scans

16mm black and whiteFomapan 100 Cine in Rodinal · Bolex H16 · lab scan
16mm E-6 colourEktachrome 100D in Adox C-TEC E-6 · Bolex H16 · lab scan

Reviews

First looks from the film community. Two Frank prototypes are travelling the world, going from reviewer to reviewer, and new videos land here as they come through.

Mike Long@Filmboy24
Build diary

Blog

Frank is being built in the open. Prototype tests, design decisions, and dead ends, written up as they happen.

ENTRY #003 2026-07-21

Frank launches on Indiegogo on 31 July

The campaign is live on Indiegogo. What Frank is, who it's for, and how to back it.

Read →
ENTRY #002 2026-06-18

Frank June Update

The new spacer disc that fixes reel loading, the confirmed specs, and answers from the community.

Read →
ENTRY #001 2026-04-26

Project Frank, introducing what we're building

The next logical move after AGO. Concept, first prototype, and what we're solving for.

Read →
Community

Talk to the people building it

Ask questions, share ideas, follow the build in real time. We're figuring this out together.

Join Discord Chat
FAQ

Frequently asked

When does Frank ship?

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Backing is live on Indiegogo now and runs to 12 September 2026. The campaign is funded, and delivery is targeted for Q1 2027.

How much will it cost?

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Indiegogo backers pay less than the €1,281 retail. VAT, DDP, and worldwide shipping are included wherever you are, and nothing gets added at checkout.

Will it work with my Lomo reel?

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No. Frank ships with its own double-spiral reel and the machine is built around it. Lomo UPB-1A compatibility is not part of the launch.

Does Frank heat the chemistry?

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No. Frank senses chemistry temperature and adjusts development time to compensate. You pre-warm chemistry to your target in a water bath, then pour it in.

For longer processes like E-6, where holding temperature across several steps matters most, a sous-vide circulator keeps the bath at your target throughout. Vintage Visual sells sous-vide circulators in EU, US, and UK plug versions.

What chemistries does it support?

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C-41, ECN-2, ECP, E-6, B&W reversal, B&W negative.

How do I scan the film after developing?

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Frank develops the film. It does not scan it. Once your roll is dry you either send it to a lab for a scan or telecine transfer, or scan it yourself.

For Super 8 and Double 8 there are home scanners from about €260 / $300. For 16mm there is no affordable home option yet. The cheapest 16mm machine on sale is about €6,200 / $7,100, so most 16mm shooters still use a lab.

We checked every cine scanner we could find on sale, including three still listed by a company that closed in 2024.

Film scanning options →

How is this different from AGO?

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AGO is built for photographic film. 35mm, 120, and other still formats. Frank is a dedicated machine for cine film, enabling Super 8, Double 8, and 16mm formats that AGO cannot process. Same time-compensation innovation, different format domain.

What is AGO? →

Build in public

How can you help?

You don't need to buy anything to be part of this project. Here's what moves the needle.

Spread the word

Share this page or our Build Diary with someone who shoots film.

Join the conversation

Comment on our blog posts or talk to the team in Discord.

Get build updates

Sign up above for build updates and news through the campaign.

Fränk is Vintage Visual's own product name for this film processor, chosen independently and without connection to any other individual, lab, or business. It carries no endorsement, involvement, or affiliation from anyone else in the film community.

Get in touch

Questions about Frank? Send us a message or email directly at info@vintagevisual.eu

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