German film brand ORWO has opened its film shop, with a range of black-and-white films which will start shipping this summer.
The new shop is the first time ORWO’s own films have been sold direct to consumers in individual rolls since the original East German brand went out of business in 1994.
The new shop follows the announcement of ORWO’s new 100-ISO film, Wolfen NP100, last week.
The new shop shows a line-up of six different black-and-white films, including some of ORWO’s classic cinema films available as individual 35mm rolls.
“Alongside new and improved classic motion picture emulsions, we are excited to release the first professionally finished photographic films launched by the company in 50 years!” ORWO said when the shop was officially launched on Friday (29 April).
The films are:
- Wolfen NP100: Described as an “exceptionally fine-grained film”, ORWO says this is “one of the first professionally finished films launched by the company in decades”. (€9.50 a roll)
- Wolfen UN54: Converted from ORWO’s popular UN54 cinema films, which has previously been rebranded as LOMOgraphy’s Potsdam film, part of their Kino range. ORWO says: “Featuring a classic fine grain structure and subtle contrast, there is a reason why this is our most famous emulsion.” (€10.99 a roll)
- Wolfen NP400: A 400-ISO film which can be show from 160 to 1600. ORWO says the film is “characterised by the quality of its grain, the rendering of details, and the wide of its grey scale”. (€7.99 a roll)
- Wolfen DP31: Described as a low-ISO film, “making it perfect for pinhole, portraits and street scene snaps”. ORWO says the film crushes shadows for a particularly high-contrast look. (€9.50 a roll)
- Wolfen DN21: This ISO-13 film is described as having a high dynamic range which “produces detailed tender renderings”. ORWO suggests its use for situations where fine grain and subtle transitions are needed. (€9.50 a roll)
- Wolfen PF2: This “high quality fine grain orthochromatic stock with a perfectly transparent film base” has an ISO of only 3. (€8.50 a roll)
All films are 36-frame rolls and all are expected to begin shipping in June 2022.
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.
Nice! It’s good to have more options and direct sales. But whew! The shipping. It’s going to cost almost €24 to ship to the US. I’ll wait on that. Hopefully a place like Blue Moon will get some in.