Harman Technology released the first version of Phoenix back in 2023 in early December.
While that was perfect timing for those hoping for a new colour film in their Christmas stocking, there was one big problem for those UK photographers who got to test it: it was December.
I had one sunny day in which I could try and shoot the two rolls Harman Technology had kindly sent me, but it turned out there was only enough December sunlight for me to finish one, which I’d shot in my trusty LOMO LC-A.
The original Phoenix 200 had been touted – accurately as it turned out – as an experimental film that would look radically different to most colour negative films. Harman was very much learning on the go, and my initial results looked far more like a cross-processed slide film than a colour negative: increased grain, boosted contrast and dramatic colour shifts.
Phoenix 200 became a staple colour film to take somewhere sunny – the grain and contrast look much better in bright light than they do in muted conditions, and I’ve always enjoyed shooting cross-processed slide film on my travels. It always looks so epic under blue skies.
Phoenix II promised to be a different emulsion. There were a few sample images made available ahead of the release, showing far less colour cast and grain than the first version of the film.
Harman Technology sent me two rolls of the 35mm version of the film and two rolls of 120. I decided to take a day trip and shoot the two rolls of Phoenix II in Rochester in Kent. A cheeky location, perhaps, because you probably already know that another company that has been making colour film a little bit longer than Harman also hails from a place called Rochester.
I managed to time my daytrip to Rochester smack bang in the middle of the UK’s first summer heatwave. I wanted to see how the new film looked on both compacts and an SLR, so I took two cameras I had recently hauled around Germany – a Leicaflex and Minox 35AF compact. The Leicaflex’s Summicron-R 50/2 lens is the dictionary definition of sharp, and the Minox 35AF is a quirky little compact with vignetting that isn’t quite LOMO territory, but gets pretty darn close.
Both of these films were sent to Harman’s own in-house lab ahead of release. I have done very little to these scans, using only PhotoShop Elements automatic colour correction, and making minor tweaks to lightness and contrast.
The Minox film, taken on a trip across the Medway to a playground near an old Soviet submarine nicknamed ‘The Black Widow’, have a suitably LOMO-ish film – they remind me of the crunchy blacks, hard grain and blue bias of the original Agfa CT100 Precisa. They show, too, occasional blown-out highlights, though the effect is less dramatic than on the first version of the film.
Here’s some images where this xpro looks feels the most dramatic:
Not all of the Minox’s shots look quite this punchy – in other pics, there’s a decidedly more normal colour palette, though one that still looks more like an expired colour print film than a fresh roll of Kodak Gold out of the fridge.
The second roll looks much more conventional, though still with much more prominent grain than I would expect from a 200-ISO colour print film. Harman Technology said in pre-release notes that the film worked best when it was shot between ISO 100 and 200 so I may experiment further with some rolls shot at ISO 125 or 160 as the summer continues.
First rolls: Harman Phoenix II (120)
The Leicaflex shots show a different character in the film. Some remind me of Agfa’s long-discontinued colour films, including the peerless Ultra range, though the colour palette isn’t consistent. Some have an expired look, with a colour cast veering towards green/yellow. It’s not unpleasant, though I’d point out many of these shots are of Rochester’s buildings and green spaces. Portraits might have looked a lot weirder without some more involved post processing.
The film again shows some noticeable blow-out in the highlights, which you can see best in the shot below, with the woman appearing in between the stone walls.
Another shot taken from the same position, without that bright subject, looks a lot more conventional. Here in particular, the colours really remind me of Agfa colour films.
I shot a number of shots in Rochester’s Churchfields, and two shots stood out. The green in the shot below feels particularly soothing.
But perhaps the best example, at least in terms of colour rendition, is this shot:
The colours here are crisp and the grain is noticeable but not overpowering. As someone who hardcore misses the colour palette of Agfa films, this feels like it’s very much filling a gap that other colour films aren’t missing. Harman’s big challenge over the coming months will be making sure results are like this are more reliable. If they can do it, the new-look Phoenix II will become one of my summer staples.
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’ve just obtained sample rolls of Phoenix II in 135 and 120, looking forward to getting them shot while we have some bright weather.
I’d hung back from the original Phoenix, as I hated the grain on the 135, but the 120 would have been more tolerable.
I’m hoping the grain is better on the new stuff.