Phoenix 200, Harman Technology’s first unique colour stock, has now been released in 120.
The limited-edition medium format version of the film was announced on Thursday (5 September), some nine months after the film was first released in 35mm.
In promotional material Kosmo Foto was sent before the launch, Harman Technology said: “The film is consistent with 35mm emulsion ie experimental and therefore has some quirky characteristics.”
It added the following attributes:
• High contrast with strong, visible grain.
• The larger 120 negatives offer much more detail than a 35mm neg.
• Getting exposure right is still important for the best results!
• ISO 200 – but many say best results around ISO 100 (overexpose by one stop and process as standard).
The UK film producer said the film continued to show halation around highlights like the 35mm version, but this was preferable to overexposure which created problems with shadow detail.
Kosmo Foto was sent rolls of the new 120 film ahead of the release and you can see some examples below and in this first impressions post of the new film.
It also said the film worked ” best in constant, even light and scenes” and users should meter for mid tones or bracket exposures for best results.
It also recommended getting the film scanned at a minilab rather than using a DSLR or home scanner.
See more images in Kosmo Foto’s Flickr set
Harman Technology stressed the film was strictly a limited-edition release, and that its sales would fund the company’s further research into colour film development.
Phoenix 200 35mm was released on 1 December 2023 and Harman Technology said subsequent batches of the film released in 2024 had been improved thanks to further research and development.
Harman Technology had launched the “Summer of Phoenix” promotion earlier this year to encourage photographers to shoot more Phoenix film, and it has urged those shooting either the 35mm or the 120 to use the QR code on the inside of the boxes to give feedback on their experiences with the film.
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.
