Film Fare: Going Through the Freezer

Starting in the middle of the pandemic, I began buying an assortment of films to experiment with.   Prior to that time, I had used only Kodak and Fuji consumer films (UltraMax and Fuji Superia X-tra 400) bought locally.    Black-and-white film entered my repertoire in late 2020, via Ultrafine Extreme and 12-exposure rolls of Tri-X purchased from PhotoWarehouse.   It was during the pandemic that I began developing color and B&W at home and found other places to buy film, such as the Film Photography Project store.

Naturally, I wanted to try every newly discovered emulsion, so one or two rolls of whatever seemed interesting ended up in the freezer.   Well, four years later, many of the films are still sitting in the freezer.  And I’ve decided there is no time like the present to give them an outing.   Some I’ve used only once, such as Kodak Ektar, Portra 160, and Portra 800.  All three were last used between three and five years ago, so they are still relatively new to me.  The Ektar was shot in 120 format on a cloudy, rainy day, while the Portra 160 (also 120 format) was shot late in the evening at dusk.  The Portra 800 was used to test a 35mm camera (back in 2019, when it was much cheaper).  I’ve learn a lot about photography since then, so I need to revisit these films and get a feel for their capabilities.

TMax 100, FP4+, Potsdam Kino, and Washi X are another set of films that I want to revisit after using them only once.  The TMax was a 12-exposure roll, which I’m not sure was correctly developed.  The Potsdam Kino was the victim of a developing reel mishap, so I have no idea how it looks when handled correctly.  FP4+ seemed pretty good, but the contrast was lower than I expected.

Washi X, which is very light-sensitive, had bad light-piping on my first roll, so I’ll try it again.  However, since Washi X is actually Kodak Aerocolor IV, it will be Elektra 100  (also AeroColor IV) for the retest.  Here is a list of my freezer stash.

(ISO rating given when it isn’t indicated in the film’s name)

CatLabs
B&W
X 320 Pro

CineStill
CineStill films are Kodak cinema stock with the remjet layer removed so that they can be processed like regular C41 color film.

Color
CineStill 50D
CineStill 400D

B&W
CineStill BWxx/Kodak 5222  (250 ISO)

Film Photography Project
The Film Photography Project offers a wide variety of films, many of which I have never seen offered by any other seller.

B&W
Dracula 64 –  panchromatic film with increased infra-red sensitivity (B&W)
Svema Tasma-NK  (100 ISO)  – film from Ukraine
Derev Pan 400  –  film from Ukraine
FFP BW 200

Fuji
B&W
Fuji Acros II  – (ISO 100) I’ve heard a lot about the original, so I decided to try a roll of this new version.

Harman
Color
Phoenix I  (200 ISO) – I liked the blues in the first version of this film, but not the grain.  Since I accidentally processed it at a much higher temperature than recommended, a redo is in order.

Phoenix II (200 ISO) – eager to see how the new version has improved

Ilford
B&W
Pan F 50
Ortho 80 –  infrared sensitive (increased blue/green sensitivity)
Delta 400
Delta 100
Delta 3200

Kodak
Color
Portra 800
Kodacolor 100/ProImage
Portra 160
Ektar 100

B&W
TMax 400
TMax 100

Lomography
Color
Lomography 800 CN
Metropolis – (400 ISO)
Lomochrome 92 –  (400 ISO)

B&W
Potsdam Kino – (100 ISO)
Berlin Kino – (400 ISO)

Rollei
B&W
RPX 100

Ultrafine
I used Ultrafine Xtreme a lot—first, because it was cheap, then because I  fell in love with the 100 ISO version. A  couple of years ago, it disappeared from the market, and now, it’s back! (But is it still good???)

B&W
Ultrafine Xtreme 100
Ultrafine Xtreme 400

Wolfen
Color
NC 500 – Everything I’ve heard about this film is bad.  I’ll shoot a roll anyway, just because I pre-ordered it and had to wait forever before it arrived.

B&W
Wolfen 100 – might be the same as Lomo Potsdam Kino

That’s the line-up, and it includes enough variety to keep me busy for a while. B&W development may become more complex because I may not be able to use DF96 for the Derev Pan,  Dracula 64, and Tasma-NK.  I have diafine along with the requisite chemicals, but I may also try something like Rodinal or Ilford DDX.

Currently, I don’t have a favorite 100 ISO color film.   My go-to has been expired Fuji 100CN, which I bought in 12-exposure rolls. It’s great for testing, but it isn’t as sharp as I would like, and it’s getting hard to find.  Kodak Ektar is sharp but expensive.   Also, it blows out reds if you’re not careful.   For a while, I thought Lomo 100CN might be the answer, but its price has jumped recently.   Aerocolor IV is sharp, but is approaching Portra prices, so I’m hoping Kodacolor 100/ProImage looks good.  If not, it will be Ektar, but not for reds, or maybe Portra 160.

Most of my black and white images, at least 90%,  have been made with Kentmere and Ultrafine Xtreme. Tri-X accounts for the remaining  10%.   It will be interesting to see how the T-grain films compare to Tri-X and Ultrafine Xtreme 100.   I’m hoping the Ultrafine wins out.

When all is said and done, I hope to have chosen my favorite 100 ISO films, both for color and black and white.   If all goes according to plan, I will shoot at least one roll of each type monthly.   Lomochrome 92,  Kodacolor 100, and the new Ultrafine Xtreme 400 have had their outings and are awaiting processing.    Look for the first Film Fare post in a few weeks.