FIRST LOOK AT HARMAN PHOENIX II FILM

The new Harman Phoenix II

In 2023, we had the experience of seeing a truly new color film, and from all possible companies, no one would have expected Harman, best known for producing Ilford B&W films. But in anticipation of that new film, we were given teasers from Harman, as the slow burn began and Phoenix rose into the photographic world.  Initial reactions to the Phoenix color film were mixed, with many finding fault of its narrow latitude, and the lack of a traditional orange mask.  I found that if it was shot in overcast conditions, it was better behaved.  I also figured out that it was better to scan the negatives as transparencies (positives) and then invert the images to get better color rendition.  That eliminated the possible problem with the lack of an orange mask.  I do my scanning with an Epson Perfection V700 Photo scanner, not rephotographing with a digital camera. I do know that my results were better with my second roll, since I was more careful in choosing the lighting situation.

Well, here we are in July, 2025, and Harman has introduced Phoenix II.  It's rated at ISO 200, and is DX-coded on the cassette. I shot it at box speed with my Nikon FM3A and a 35mm f/2 Nikkor.  I mostly shot on a sunny morning in West Asheville, because it's full of colorful murals and signs, and what better way to test color film?

I developed the roll myself, and used my FPP Universal Color kit, which I have used for other C-41 films with success, although it was designed for ECN-2 films.

I was a little apprehensive when I opened the developing tank -- hoping that I got decent results.  I had images, alright, but the negatives were "thin" and very purplish.  I hung the film up to dry, and they looked a bit better when I was about to put them on the scanner.  Still, they looked underexposed or underdeveloped, and maybe it was due to the developer already having done 14 rolls of film.  Maybe not. 

 

the sheet of negatives

I scanned the negatives as "positives" like before, because when I tried scanning as negatives, they were green mud.  After the scan was complete I opened the images in Paint Shop Pro on my Dell, and selected "negative image" which gave them a positive, albeit a very green images.  I then selected fade correction, and voila! They looked almost normal.  I did tweak them further for a bit brighter image in some cases.  In the end, they had very punchy colors, especially the greens.

 

positive image scan

 

inverted to a real positive

after applying "fade correction"

While the colors are quite vibrant, the film definitely has a bias towards greens.  Perhaps it was my developing in ECN-2 chemistry that was getting weak. Next roll, I'll send off for development if just to compare. Roll 2 is currently in my Nikon F75, and I'll update later if the results are different.

Scanning technique and post-processing is definitely important, and in the end, I was fairly happy with the results.  This is not a simple film to work with.  There is a definite improvement in shadow detail over the initial version of Phoenix.  The punchy colors are really something, and I like them a lot.  This is not your Gold 200.

There is some halation blooming in pinpoint reflections, as you can see in several frames. Definitely green dominant, but other colors are quite saturated, too.  Who will this film appeal to?  I think that anyone wanting something a bit different - and this is still an experimental film - will find Phoenix II attractive.  I'll need to shoot roll 2 and get it professionally processed to better evaluate it.  If you are looking for a film that has punchy colors and a different look from the typical C-41 films, you should give Phoenix II a try.

I congratulate Harman on sticking with this and not binning the project.  We need more film choices, and not just rebranding existing film stocks. Phoenix II is certainly not perfect, and I hope that Harman keeps making it better.  Making color film is not an easy task, and the fact that Harman is doing so is deserving of your support.

Here are some of the shots from this first roll.  

Overall, despite the developing/scanning steps, this is a very likable film.

Ilfocolor 400 Plus Vintage Tone C41 film

In December, I was in my local camera store in Asheville - Ball Photo Supply, and saw that they had this film for sale.  I was curious as to what it was, so I bought a roll.  Now, the only color film that Harman/Ilford is known to be manufacturing is the Phoenix 200 color film, so what it this? The cassette says “ILFORD Imaging Europe GmbH  ilfocolor.com” and of course, Process C41. So what is this?  A visit to the Ilford site reveals that it’s not the Ilford that we associate with the B&W films.  Single-use cameras, simple plastic cameras, ink-jet printing papers, and the Ilfocolor brand are found there.  Ilford Imaging Europe GmbH is the umbrella for Ilfocolor, Ilfochrome (remembering the Cibachrome connection from years past), Ilford ink-jet papers, and of course, inexpensive plastic cameras.  The Ilford site lists all of the company history, which is useful to know. 

If you go to ilfocolor.com, you'll see color films (C-41 and E-6) as well as color chemistry, and single-use and plastic cameras

If you go to ilfordphoto.com, you'll see b&w films, etc.

If you go to harmanphoto,co.uk, you'll see Phoenix 200 film

If you go to the Harman Photo site, you can see the difference, as follows:

“HARMAN Photo is a trading name of HARMAN technology Ltd, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of analogue photographic films, darkroom papers, and photo chemicals. Formed in 2005 by former managers of ILFORD Imaging UK, HARMAN technology takes its name from Alfred Harman, founder of the original ILFORD company in 1879. At the same time the company also acquired the facilities in Mobberley, England, the traditional home of their black & white photographic products, ensuring their ongoing production and survival. HARMAN technology Ltd was acquired by Pemberstone Ventures Ltd in 2015 and is now a pioneering imaging specialist blending the traditions of manufacturing excellence with a passion and commitment to its customers and the future of analogue film photography. Through significant ongoing investment, and backed by a world-class R&D function, a commitment to innovation, and a unique portfolio of equipment, facilities, and expertise, it is one of the world’s last remaining companies capable of the full end-to-end process of developing, coating, and finishing high quality analogue photographic products. Today, the company manufactures millions of units of film, paper, and chemicals under the HARMAN Photo, ILFORD Photo and KENTMERE ranges and ships these around the world and into the discerning hands of beginners, enthusiasts, students, and professional film photographers as well as leading labs, classrooms, and darkrooms.”

So, while the Harman Photo UK is a film, chemical, and photo paper manufacturer, Ilford Europe GmbH is not.  I assume that the ink-jet papers are manufactured by Ilford GmbH. The Ilfocolor films are manufactured by other companies.  In my previous post on the Ilfocolor Rapid Half Frame camera, I noted that the film looked like Kodak Gold 400.  There were no edge markings other than the frame number and a barcode.  So, it could have been Kodak-manufactured - maybe.  However, the subject of this post is Ilfocolor 400 Plus Vintage Tone. After having shot the roll in my Spotmatic SP, and developed by Ball Photo, I can say that it sure looks like Orwo NC500.  

In today’s world of corporate mergers, equity firms, etc., things can be complicated, and in the case of Ilford, things are very convoluted.  Branding is everything, and the dilution of a brand is problematic.  But it’s not terribly different from Kodak.  There are all sorts of items branded as Kodak, that Kodak does not manufacture, but have licensed their brand to other companies. Even within Kodak, we have Eastman, which is the brand of the cine-films, and then Kodak/Alaris, the consumer film division.  A far cry from the hegemony of Kodak in the 1970s-80s.  We are certainly Lucky in the present day to still have so many types of film available, no matter who makes them.

That brings me back to the the Ilfocolor 400+ Vintage Tone.  I have shot the Orwo NC500 and there is no doubt in my mind that the Vintage Tone is the same emulsion.  A 36-exposure roll of the Orwo NC500 is about $9.00, and a roll of the Ilfocolor 400+ Vintage Tones sells for $12-$15.  I’ve said before that Orwo’s branding is not great, and of course, Ilford’s branding is more recognizable. But to pay $3-$6 more per roll to get the Ilford branding, that’s up to you.  

Ilfocolor 400+ on the left side, Orwo NC500 on the right.

I am happy with the results from the film, as it was pretty much as I expected.  Of course, a dull January isn’t ideal for showcasing color, but here are some examples.  All negatives were scanned on my Epson V700. 

This definitely has the "Vintage Tone"

So, I hope that I haven't confused you too much!

Harman Phoenix 200 - One Roll Review

 

Like a lot of people, I’ve been curious about Harman’s release of an experimental color film, and like a lot of people, I really had no advance information about it.  No, I’m not a YouTube influencer, getting a preview at the Harman factory, nor did they send me an advance info packet.  Mike Raso of the FPP sent me a package with two rolls of the Phoenix film, along with the promotional info packet from Harman just a day after it was officially released.  I’ve been reviewing various film stocks on RCB for many years, and I’d like to think that my thoughts on various films have been helpful.  Most of the time, I have purchased the films that I review.  

Initial thoughts

First and foremost, I am thrilled that another manufacturer is taking a stab at doing color emulsions.  Yes, there are a bunch of different C-41 and ECN-2 films available, and some films supposedly from Europe are almost likely to be old stock, or repackaged Kodak Aerocolor film.  So, the idea that Harman would even attempt to produce a C-41 color film is pretty amazing. Yes, it’s touted as “experimental” even on the film box, but it’s a start.  

Second, this experimental film has already been YouTubed to death.  I wasn’t even sure that I was going to review it, but getting two rolls from the FPP definitely encouraged me to test it.  I live in Western North Carolina, so December might not be the optimum time for a film test, but I am giving it a go anyways.  

Third, I’m a sucker for oddball films.  Since I don’t usually have high expectations, I like it when a film favorably surprises me. It’s not always about color fidelity, either.  That’s the beauty of film vs digital.  If I want real color fidelity, I can always shoot with one of my DSLRs. Odd color shifts like we see in some of the Lomography films are something that digital just can’t do without a LOT of post-processing. The serendipitous nature of these oddball films means I’ll probably get at least a few shots that convince me to keep using them for special projects.  

Phoenix 200

Harman had been sending out teasers on social media for several weeks before Phoenix 200 was actually released.  Yes, I think almost everyone thought it was going to be a color film, but that’s all most of us knew.  Coming from a factory that does b&w, it seemed quite the challenge.   

My way of working with any film for the first time is to shoot it at the box speed listed by the manufacturer.  So, I knew that I was going to shoot roll number 1 at ISO 200 before I even put it in my camera.  I used my Nikon FM3A and my 50mm f/2 Nikkor-H that I have already raved about in this blog.

Over the course of two days, I shot it in later afternoon sun, and midday sun/slight overcast.  After shooting the roll, I dropped it off at Ball Photo in Asheville to get it developed only. No prints or scans.  I picked it up today, and the staff was very curious about this film.  No orange mask! I figured that since Harman/Ilford has a C-41 chromogenic XP-2, the film base may be the same as the XP-2. However, that’s just my opinion.  No orange mask is not a big deal, as the Kodak Aerocolor and all the rebrands of it, also do not have an orange mask.

I like that the film has “Experimental” as a descriptor.  It’s certainly a step in the direction of making a good color film, but as you will see, it has a ways to go.  

The negatives on my light table, taken with iphone

Inverted, just as they are - not too bad.

I scanned the film on my Epson V700, and after previewing the thumbnails, I went and adjusted the curves for every exposure, except for a few. Then, I worked with the files in Corel Paint Shop Pro (no damn Adobe subscription for me), which I have used since 2008.  In most cases, I corrected for faded colors to get what I thought was a better image than straight out of the scanner.  As others have noted, the film has noticeable grain.  The shadow detail is like shooting underexposed slide film on a sunny day.  Very contrasty.   This is all at the box speed, of course.  Now that I have shot that initial roll, I’ll probably shoot the film at ISO 80 or 100 on the next one.  

In Epson Scan, I had to adjust the levels for every image.

However, it definitely improved the result

Anyhow, here are some examples from this first roll.  I chose colorful subjects to test out the color rendition of Phoenix 200.  

Surprisingly, this last shot on the roll was fine the way it was!

As you can see, the results are not bad after tweaking nearly every image to my liking.  It almost reminds me of shooting some of the FPP Retrochrome.  The film definitely has a different look than the run-of-the-mill Kodak Gold 200.  Things that can mess up an exposure - too much contrast between light and dark areas, and shooting into the sun.  Shooting at highly reflective objects with specular highlight will show that their is no antihalation layer on the film.  

Is this a film that I would buy?  Well, it's experimental, so I would hope that Harman will improve version 2, and I'd definitely give that a try.  One thing I noticed was that inverting the iPhone shot of the negatives gave me a pretty good result, so maybe this is an instance where DSLR "scanning" would produce better results than my flatbed scanner.  

As it is, this is a film that in its current state, requires more than the usual post-processing to get an image that is appealing to me.  Other photographers may find it suits them just fine -- or not! I would not expect perfect results right out of the box, so that might be a non-starter for a lot of folks.  BUT -- I greatly appreciate what Harman is doing and hope that they continue to improve their film.  

JUNE 29 UPDATE

My second roll, shot with my Nikon FM3A, in late May- early June 2024, was scanned as a positive (transparency) and then in Paint Shop Pro, changed to a negative, giving me a much better result than the first try.

Here are some results