Harman Technology, the makers of Ilford and Kentmere-branded black-and-white films, have announced the year’s most unexpected film launch – a brand new colour negative film.
Phoenix is a 200-ISO colour negative film launched under a new film brand – Harman Photo.
The film has been described as a “work in progress” by Harman Technology, and is the first colour film to have ever been made on site at the Harman factory in Mobberley, near Liverpool in the UK.
“We are so well known for our black-and-white films that we are regularly asked why we don’t make colour films.” said Greg Summers, Harman Technology’s managing director. “We always believed this wasn’t feasible, but I’m delighted to say we were wrong!”
Summers said in late 2022 a small “skunk works” department was set up to see if a colour film could be designed, coated and manufactured at the company’s factory.
“It was initially an experiment to explore what was possible but what we achieved in such a short space of time is quite remarkable,” he said.
Harman Technology described the film as having a “a real ‘analogue’ look and feel”.
It added: “This is the first ever colour film made entirely from emulsion to cassette at the Harman technology factory in Mobberley, a significant and incredibly exciting milestone.
“This quirky, experimental film produces high contrast images with strong, visible grain and punchy, vibrant colours. It’s unlike any other colour film.”
(Images in the gallery provided by Harman Photo above by (clockwise top left to bottom right) James Cooper, Dan Rubin, Matt Parry, Neil Hibbs, Michelle Parr and Matt Parry.)
“With a DX-coded cassette and a box speed of ISO 200, Phoenix can be rated between ISO 100 and 400 but performs best in good, consistent light. On brighter days or when shooting into the light there is a possibility of halation.”
The film was announced at 4pm UK time on Friday 1 December. Selected retailers in the UK and around the world have been given limited stock of the first batch of the film to time in with the announcement. One stockist, Aperture Printing in London, told Kosmo Foto they would be limiting sales to only two rolls per customer.
The Harman Photo brand appears to have been specifically created to market Phoenix and any other colour films possibly produced in the future. Harman Technology is not able to market colour film materials under the Ilford name due to limitations when the original business was broken up after going bankrupt in the mid-2000s.
Harman Technology has offered suggested shooting tips for those planning to use the new film.
What to expect
- Strong visible grain.
- Punchy colours that can react differently depending on scanner settings.
- Strong greens, good reds, and vibrant blues.
- Possibility of halation.
- Some coating anomalies.
Getting the best out of HARMAN Phoenix 200
- Shoot in good, consistent light.
- Get your exposure correct.
- Works well for most subjects but…
- Works best for scenes and subjects that fills the frame.
“We think this is unlike any other colour film on the market,” said Giles Branthwaite, the company’s sales and marketing director. “As it is our first, we also recognise it is not perfect, but the film community is crying out for choice when it comes to colour, and we want them to know we are listening.
“This is just the beginning of Harman’s colour journey,” he said. “Sales from this film will allow us to further invest, refine, and improve our formulations, coating capabilities and colour technology. Our aim is that each new colour film we produce is an improvement on the previous.”
Kosmo Foto was one of a number of selected blogs and websites offered a sneak peek at the new film. Early in November we were sent two rolls of the film under strict embargo. We shot one roll on a LOMO LC-A in strong autumn sunshine after seeing example pics shot in strong light which resembled cross-processed slide film such as Kodak Elite Chrome Extra Colour 100 or the original Agfa Precisa CT100.
You can see selected images here:
These pictures, as well as some provided by Harman Photo shot by testers earlier this year, show strong contrast and eye-popping colours in brighter light. The blue bias is some of these images is heavily reminiscent of
The images were developed and scanned by Harman’s in-house Ilford Lab. Harman Technology have suggested the films be processed and scanned at labs using minilab scanners at smaller DPI as scanning with DSLRs or higher-resolution scanners gives a more muted and less contrasty image.
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.
Ugh….another “experimental,” “quirky” film that is essentially a film not ready for the open market, being beta tested by a paying customer. No thanks.
I appreciate Harman’s contribution to the so-called “film community,” but…..coating anomalies?? Seriously?
Well, you don’t have to buy it if you don’t want to, no one is forcing you to. From all I’ve heard, color film is very difficult to make, that’s why we basically only have Kodak manufacturing it to any reasonable scale. And if we want more than just Kodak, this is a start. I have confidence that a company like Ilford/Harman will continuously improve their color emulsions. Until then, there’s always Portra.
I’ve ordered a few rolls and can’t wait to try it!
It is a refreshingly different film to my eye. More like slide films that I used to shoot. Good on you Harman for having a go. I think that in spite of – but most likely because of its imperfections, it will be well received
What an odd way to describe the location of the Mobberly plant (near Liverpool) it’s much closer to Manchester. I appreciate the look of the film is not for everyone in it’s current form. Harman are actively seeking feedback and looking into ways to improve their coating. Yes it is essentially a beta testing run & yes your technically paying to be their testers, but who else is doing this? If we want more choice of films this is a great step. I actually like what I’ve seen from it so far. Would I like a more polished product with… Read more »