Analog Therapy/Film test: Harman Phoenix 200 II… II – 2nd Roll. This Time 35mm.
Camera.
The consistent metering Rollei 35AF.
Film.
I tried the OG Harman Phoenix 200. A lot of it.
Had my fun. Have not used it in a while. Had read that a version II was out. Then when I stopped by the camera store recently Venu…
…asked if I was going to get any. Said that they said they improved it to make it more consistent. Then he showed me some test shots that they took at the shop.
Honestly?
I did not see a big difference. I do not think Venu did either. He also said that they shot it at ISO 125 after reading comments online.
Me?
As a creature of habit I always start by using film at box speed. And that is what I did.
That is what I did for the first roll of 120.
And that was very dark. As I said in that post:
…the scans came out very dark. What you see above is the result of increasing the exposure while scanning and then again in Lightroom. Otherwise, these would have all been throwaway pics.
In an attempt to get better results, I used ISO 100 this time.
Subject. (Also copied from the last post.)
What I do know from prior roles is that I wanted to take pictures of scenes and things, not people. Not people I like anyway.
Location.
As stated here…
…the plans this day included a couple of hours travel to sing with 100 Men In Black Male Chorus. Was particularly excited this day, a rare occurrence for your humble stoic, because we were trucking out a favorite song of mine that I get to co-lead this day. I wanted to record it. Combine that with me singing a compact camera was in order as the main image gatherer.
These are the surviving images with thoughts after.
Thoughts.
Well?…
Using ISO 100 did not make a noticeable difference. So I will let my notes from the first post on this film stand with minor edits.
Ok, let me cut it one break before I start.
I agree with the camera shop that this should not be used at the box speed. The GA645 Rollei 35AF has very accurate metering, and the scans came out very dark. What you see above is the result of increasing the exposure while scanning and then again in Lightroom. Otherwise, these would have all been throwaway pics.
Before I render a full judgment, I will try the roll of 35mm film I also bought at ISO 100 to get more light through it.
Nope.
Ok, that caveat sorted here are my thoughts.
Why is this rated for 200 when it seems it needs more light?
With the OG Phoenix I would see color differences from one roll to the next, but now I am seeing color shifts from shot to shot. Some pics above are completely tinted red while others are not. Odd.
What is with the pink hue?
Again, I will withhold final judgment until I try the next roll at ISO 100.
Made no difference.
But I think I like the original version better.
I do.
Edited cut and paste over here are some added thoughts.
One would think that I would be displeased with this film. I am not.
It is simply not my cup of tea.
I tend to favor consistent, like life image results.
So this is not for me. But…
If you are looking for an abstract film where you are not sure what you will get, here you go.
If you do decide to try it I have one suggestion.
Lots of light. A whole lot of light. High sun broad daylight of you can.
Not inside. Not cloudy sky days. Definitely not at night.
The first few pics above for instance.
They were still dark, but after much adjustment, they do produce an image I like. I even like the red tint.
All that being said, I am still glad Harman makes it. It is not all that expensive, and it is always good to have more options.
But I will not likely try it again.
And like last time, most importantly…
Another successful analog therapy session.
Happy capturing.
-ELW
Eric L. Woods 