Lomography recently announced the release of a new type of film, LomoChrome 92, a stock of 400 ISO C-41 processing color negatives. The film is billed as a throwback to older stocks, with vibrant colors and a more noticeable grain structure.
LomoChrome 92
LomoChrome 92 was released at the same time as Lomography’s 30th anniversary, and while I’m not a fan of nostalgia, I’d love to have a good roll of color film. Lomo was kind enough to provide a test roll that I tried through the steps at Dancing of the Giglio in Brooklyn. The images taken below were taken on my Nikon F5 and Sigma 50mm f/1.4 Art or the Nikon 35mm f/1.4 AI-s lens.
In the initial press release, Lomography described the film as ideal for sunny days. Lomography says of emulsions: “With a strong film grain,” says Lomography of emulsions, “this attractive emulsion appears soft and enchanting in the sun and lends a delicate, picturesque look to photographs. yours at sunset. […] Vibrant reds and clean yellows stand out among attractive blue tones, while subtle pale tones take everyday shots to the next level. Produced using a unique color layering process and one-of-a-kind palette, this exceptional construction works in harmony with the film’s rich grain structure to create an explosion of nostalgic charm and classical analogy.”
And all of that might be true, but unfortunately, I could never find out. It was a rather gray day, with no sun at the Giglio Dance. That light may have its own unique character and produce nice, even skin tones, but it doesn’t really fit the type of shot Lomography wrote about.
I found colors to be well saturated, with strong warm tones and noticeable gradations in shadows and highlights. Grain was particularly noticeable in medium tones, while the skin tones of some of the participants were deep red. Underexposed or overexposed by two stops, movies still produce lovely images without any noticeable loss of quality.
My images were developed normally in the C-41 and scanned with my Nikon 9000 film scanner. I made minor edits (mostly to remove dust spots, but with some exposure adjustments) using Photoshop.
One big question I’ve been asked is if this is just another relabeled stock of movies. And it’s a reasonable question: we regularly see companies suddenly announce some new emulsion, only to discover it’s rebranded cinema or old Kodak or Fuji stock. Lomography says it’s a new recipe and there’s no markings on the film to suggest otherwise.
Final thoughts? Honestly, I wish Lomography good luck with this venture. I had amazing and memorable results shooting on Purple film, f2 and Metropolis. I enjoyed using this film and will probably shoot it in the future. Like any type of film, it has many strengths and weaknesses, but overall, I can see this as a well-balanced daylight film with many applications.
Lomography has stated that it intends to offer the format in multiple formats, including 120 and 110, although it is currently only offered in the 35mm format.
