Ferrania P30 Review - First Impressions

[@JamieMPhoto]

I love this film! I usually don't like things that don't hold more shadow details, but there's just a certain charm to the look of P30. Also, I need to try it at 30 ...

[@sottius]

as usual you provide some of the best film reviews out there! and I really like your photos, too

[@pushingfilm]

Thank you!!

[@richardsimms251]

Very good video. Thanks RS. Canada

[@TheFilmFellow]

Cool video man! Contrast galore indeed but it definitely has its charms. Enjoyed that.

[@ManuelGuzmanPhotography]

So glad you put this out. I have a brick sitting in the fridge since the pandemic started. Gorgeous looking film, especially with the portraits.

[@pushingfilm]

A whole brick!! Haha time to get on it 😁

[@andrewdonaghey9372]

Really cool film stock. Definitely love high contrast B&W.

[@behindeachfilmgrain]

Nice contrasting and clean scans Hashem! Super nice results my friend.

[@theoldcameraguy]

Great images - Love the guitar shots in particular.

[@pushingfilm]

Thank you!

[@alanma3864]

Great job!!! You got fantastic results from thoughtfully shooting it. Definitely worth shooting this film and rating it lower to tame that contrast!! Thanks for the fab video.

[@brycepinson8641]

What a unique look. This should be an awesome film for landscapes on flat lighting days in my 4x5... Speaking of which 4x5 is coming according to Ferrania. Can't wait.

[@benjaminneoh]

Great snaps, Hashem. Also, I like how the video was broken up into those easy-to-navigate sections. Looking forward to the next one.

[@pushingfilm]

Thanks Ben!

[@xaviegarcia2657]

Super-informative! Great frames as well!

[@pushingfilm]

Thank you! 🙂

[@TheBigNegative-PhotoChannel]

a very interesting film. cool that you tested it. 👍

[@RobbieMaynardCreates]

Dang my dude, You got some great shots. I have been wanting to give that film a go. Thanks for the Dev notes 🤘🤘

[@pushingfilm]

Thanks man! And no probs, hope you get some good results 🙂

[@analogueandy8x10]

I use P30 120 at EI 32. It's lovely developed in Thornton's 2-Bath. It's a panchromatic film with slightly less red sensitivity, which does indeed give it a unique look. I use ortho films extensively (XRAY, Ilford's Ortho 80) and P30 looks very different from them.

[@RichardStroffolino]

I'm addicted to the inky blacks of P30, although it does make you really work to get a good image. I've found it great for portraits for people with blue eyes, it lightens them and give it a nice pop. Mostly semi-stand developed in Rodinal and been really happy with the tonality it brings out. One thing I've found its that since it has a really distinct look already inherent in the film, printing P30 negatives in the darkroom has generally been really easy.

[@SilverHalides]

Very nice and useful review. Would you consider to try reducing contrast in the development if you were to shoot the P30 again, for example by using something like Rodinal, or is it better to stick with normal contrast developers and bring contrast down in scanning like you did here?

[@pushingfilm]

Thanks! Really not sure what would wok out best, but perhaps using a weaker developer dilution to lengthen time, and less agitation could help tame contrast too.

[@JerryAdam]

Thanks for the review - it might be worth a try for ettr fine-art shots.

[@pushingfilm]

Agreed!

[@alexandermatragos]

I'm really interested in trying ferrania. But it's always low on availability, you really need to look out for it. Although I do like high contrast, I don't really love the way it looks, I want to give it a try though. Also, the way the out of focus leaves move in your background is so calming :)

[@leonard3090]

I really most like the two shots at 8:34 (absolute favorite shot) and 3:35. I think the film has a unique look and I personally like the way it handles with high contrast situations like 6:56. Thanks for the great informative video!

[@suchitgangurde3514]

These shots are really nice, especially the ones with the guitar. Definitely high contrast, but very classy indeed.

[@jenohogan9254]

I've been looking forward to this review. I accidentally shot my roll at 100iso. For the type of photography I did with my roll, I found I didn't have to do any editing from NLP. Mind you I get pretty extreme with my contrast. Lol over all it did a good job. Great shots btw. 😃

[@pushingfilm]

Thanks Jen! Yeah it's great when you want the high contrast look! It works well when the film has such low grain. A lot of the time high contrast is paired with really high grain due to higher speed or pushing, but this is unique 😁

[@pushingfilm]

BTW, you'll probably like lomo potsdam too

[@jenohogan9254]

@@pushingfilm Ooo I'm definitely going to try that one. Thanks for the recommendation. 😁

[@TheNegative]

This is going to sound weird but I feel like ortho film is the color film of the black and white world. You get such different shades that they almost have an effect that reminds of how colors look completely different from each other. Anyway, I love this film. It’s so rich looking.

[@talleyrand9442]

Hold up. You shoot it at 32 ISO. Wow. Very interesting. I will try this next time I have the pleasure to shoot it. Did you pull it in development? Thank you! Great review, sir.

[@pushingfilm]

Yeah about 1 and 1/3 stop over. I didn't pull in development, but then again, the time for dilution E isn't explicitly stated by ferrania.

[@luchinooliveros2469]

He didn't, the film is most likely just a 32 speed film. Shooting at "box" is underexposed. The naked photographers video on the film is also great

[@filmhowyalike]

Hoping they are able to release it in 120. I quite like it.

[@zguy95135]

Its such an interesting film, I shot mine at 25 and developed HC110 B for 5 minutes. If you treat it like slide film it'll give you beautiful shots that pop like nothing I've ever seen and some crazy fine grain.

[@thedondeluxe6941]

Great video os usual! I really like the P30 for street photography type stuff. Particularly with older lenses that aren't too contrasty. I've also noticed that it has a lower red sensitivity when shooting portraits, and that blue eyes look very bright. The quality control is lacking a bit, though. All my rolls have had some lines on them so far. Hopefully they'll sort it out soon, if they haven't already.

[@pushingfilm]

Thanks! I have heard that about the quality control, although luckily my roll was fine.

[@vangstr]

I agree with your viewpoint of P30 vs PanF. PanF seems more versatile and not so finicky like P30. Scanning PanF is much easier too!

[@nicholassheffo5723]

The film tends to have more silver in it and is close to the same stock they produced in the 1950s, and later. The Fellini comment is correct. Think LA DOLCE VITA. They are late in making some full color stocks and movie film, but I hope they get to it soon.

[@carltanner9065]

If you like that very strong, high contrast look in bright light, this film would suit, but you could push that look too far in some situations and it'd end up cartoon like. Though, I'd give the film a try.

[@FramesPerSecond]

Still haven’t shot any of my rolls and I’ve had them since January😅 Nice contrast

[@dodahlberg]

I love this film. Ferrania picked two of mine on Instagram; one with a LeicaflexSL and one with a CanonetQL17giii.

[@pushingfilm]

Nice! 😀

[@scottparis6355]

You really can use P30 in high-contrast conditions, but you have to develop it very delicately. Maybe 10 or 15% less time in the developer.

[@pushingfilm]

Thanks for tip!

[@etienneportail5122]

I absolutely love this film! The Fellini-like properties are really there (even if you don’t become a Fellini automatically...). This would probably become my most used / prefered film stock if it had not this low Iso value. Have a look at the bw Fellini movies and you will see what style to expect (and get inspired by the incredible movies by the way)!

[@lensman5762]

This used to be a cine film. In shooting movies the lighting is highly controlled, and at the time that this film was all the rage it was only Tungsten lighting. Something to bear in mind when exposing this film to 6500 K light.

[@Kitsaplorax]

Could you develop this film with a compensating developer for a lower contrast?

[@pushingfilm]

I think so! Overexposing and pulling should decrease the contrast too. But if the speed is too low, orwo/lomo postdam 100 has a similar look

[@Kitsaplorax]

@@pushingfilm I was thinking that 2 bath D-23 or Rodinal 1:75-100 semi-stand or Hübl paste 1:65 with sod. isoascorbate at a half gram/litre might get there too. Hühl paste is a glycin developer and if you use an alkaline fixer, it has a stain like pyro. That might be interesting. I still miss Verichrome Pan and Efke 100. Those were my standard films.

[@acmdv]

This is the photography version of the film they used to make the film "The Lighthouse" - www.imdb.com/title/tt7984734/?ref_=ttspec_spec_tt You can get this film (Ferrania P30) on Ebay (thats where I got mine from). Have you tried Rollei RPX 25?

[@pushingfilm]

Nice! Quiet a few movies were shot on P30 back in the day. I have shot RPX 25! it's really nice; sharper, cleaner look than this one but less "character"

[@redsphoto6708]

Great review! I guess I got lucky when I ordered a box of 10 of these many months ago haha.....(I was inspired to do so by the Analog Insights video on it and thought the whole story of Ferrania coming back to make film was so cool). I have only got 1 roll developed so far (lab developed and scanned) but I totally agree on the leans dark comment. I totally thought my metering was atrocious but am happy to hear that's kinda just how the film is. Will definitely shoot it at like iso 30 or something next time. I generally really like heavy contrast, but seeing the few portraits I took, I can see why it might not work for that specific case. That said, when you want biting sharpness and tonality, I feel this film really delivers. I love this shot of a vine for example www.flickr.com/photos/191721832@N04/50861403873/in/album-72157717986359506/ or flower www.flickr.com/photos/191721832@N04/50861404113/in/album-72157717986359506/

[@pushingfilm]

Hey thanks! glad the info helped. I would defintely rate it slower than 80 :-) And nice shots btw, I really love the way the grain shows in just a subtle & smooth, but noticeable way.