LOMOgraphy have announced a new multi-speed colour negative film which will be funded via Kickstarter.
The Kickstarter for LOMOChrome Metropolis XR 100-400 was launched on Tuesday morning (16 July). The film will be made available in a range of formats: 35mm, 120, 16mm and 110.
The Kickstarter went live at 10am BST and is has a funding target of just under £80,000. The films are expected to ship in February 2020, according to LOMOgraphy.
LOMOgraphy’s press release reads: “For the first time in five years a new colour film has seen the light of day – introducing LOMOChrome Metropolis – an original colour negative emulsion from the LOMOgraphy film manufactory.
“LOMOChrome Metropolis pays homage to the mother of all colours: black! Search for rays of colour in a sea of lightless skyscrapers, frame your subject as they trudge the streets of ghost towns, and disappear down sparsely lit subway entrances – embrace urban annihilation and take portraits unlike anything else. And if you happen to find yourself lost in nature: capture shaggy sheep in the Scottish Highlands, dawn creeping along the Mekong, or weathered wildebeest skeletons by the gates of Windhoek.
“Inspired by stark images of expressionism and modern urbanism, LOMOChrome Metropolis is the newest flavour in film photography – bringing the fresh taste of adventure to analogue artists around the globe – standing proud where megapixels and software matter no more.”
Kosmo Foto has been told the film is an entirely new film and is not a treated emulsion nor a batch of expired film (like LOMOgraphy’s earlier F2 film). From the test shots LOMOgraphy has released alongside the Kickstarter news, the film appears to have a strong “metallic look”, not unlike cross-processed tungsten-balanced slide films. LOMOgraphy says the film can be shot either at ISO 100, 200 or 400, with corresponding colour shifts.
“In a time of overwhelming technological distortion, oversaturation, instant gratification and creative deadening we’ve decided to take a few steps backwards – turning our eyes to the search for lost feelings and colours.
Read this: Kosmo Foto’s guide to the LOMO LC-A family
“Available in 35 mm, 120, 110 and 16mm format, Metropolis promises to bring a new perspective to every corner of the analogue world. Take your adventures to greater heights than ever before with LOMOChrome Metropolis’ unique extended 100-400 ISO range and fine cine-style grain structure.”
LOMOgraphy’s range of films have in the past been produced by major film producers such as Kodak, Fuji and Foma, but as yet there are no details about where this film was produced.
LOMOgraphy lists the film’s qualities as:
- Muted colours with an intense aesthetic pop
- The first colour film stock available in 35 mm, 120, 110 and 16mm in recent history
- Extended 100–400 ISO range
- C-41 processable emulsion
- #nofilter needed for stark colour shifts
- Fine cine-style grain
- Optimised sharpness and great reproduction of details
The film will be the latest in a range of films the Austrian film and camera producer has introduced over the last 25 years. The most recent colour film was the LOMOgraphy Purple film – a colour negative film with a strong purple cast – which was released in 2017.
The company’s range also includes three colour negative films – CN100, CN400 and CN800 – and four black-and-white films made by Foma and ORWO.
Kosmo Foto hopes to bring you more details about the film in the coming weeks.
I'm a New Zealander who has been living in London since the mid-1990s, shooting film seriously since the year 2000. Kosmo Foto was launched in 2012 and has since become a film brand, with the release of my first films Kosmo Foto Mono 35mm (2017) and Kosmo Foto Mono 120 (2019).
I’m doing everything I can to promote film photography in the 21st Century, and help it survive and thrive. If you want to write something for Kosmo Foto, please drop me a line at foto.dowling@gmail.com.
I wonder how it looks processed in E6…