Harman Phoenix in 120 - an upgrade

[@Brause_Market]

the best phoenix 120 scans I saw today. super cool video.

[@pushingfilm]

Hey thanks!

[@GuernB2]

Using a circular polarizer when shooting on a sunny day gives a pretty cool result with Phoenix. Being able to darken the sky light makes other highlights pop and helps control the contrast of the scene a bit. Def worth a try.

[@riswanc]

Thanks mate! We need more videos like this, an oke film and how to elevate its capability, really love how this film performs considering its early stages

[@pushingfilm]

Thank you!

[@rodbland5101]

Your results with Phoenix are the best of any reviewer I've seen on KZbin

[@pushingfilm]

@@rodbland5101 thank you! I appreciate it 🙂

[@ryanbhangdia]

this video is so well done, the editing and pacing was really really nice

[@pushingfilm]

@@ryanbhangdia Thank you!

[@atl_mx5]

can't wait to try it. going through a roll of the 35mm version now. local shop still trying to get some 120

[@pushingfilm]

Hope you enjoy it!

[@jonny141]

hyped for this one

[@luciengraetz]

Great breakdown of everything, and Powerade Josh is an instant classic 😂

[@pushingfilm]

Thanks man! Hahaha "Powerade Josh" I love it

[@ribsy]

you got beautiful scans with it. some how i never had any overcast days to shoot on, the sun was always shining! lol

[@pushingfilm]

Thanks Ribs! I even ended up shooting it on sunny days and it turned out nice, to my surprise.

[@MeasuredLight]

Great video, Hashem! Thanks for such a really good, and complete, review! I am quite keen to give it a crack!

[@pushingfilm]

Thanks mate! Hope you enjoy it too 🙂

[@TheoMONNIER-go7mt]

promist filter shots are super nice! good job!

[@pushingfilm]

Glad you like them!

[@korysmouse3800]

Great review Hashem - wasn’t really interested in trying this film in 35mm but your review has me considering it for 120.

[@pushingfilm]

Thank you 🙂 Glad to hear that!

[@paulclose3426]

Great ‘write up’! I quite like the halation of the 35mm. I’ve got my first roll in the M6 and shooting the Voigt 35/1.4 wide open to exacerbate that halation effect to the max… Also as a user of FP4/HP5 for decades, I find the edge markings satisfyingly familiar!

[@Shaka1277]

I loved this, as I do with them all. Those 645 shots, particularly the close-ups, look fantastic!

[@pushingfilm]

Thanks Alex! I feel like the diffusion filter helped significantly.

[@pontushenkel3366]

Well, that was thourough.. Thank you! 🤜🏻🤛🏻

[@chopinho65]

This is exciting - looks really nice. If they make it more useable in the future it’s going to be great!

[@medamasensei]

You mentioned you exposed at ISO 125 and 100. Did you have it developed at 200?

[@c.augustin]

C-41 development is standardized, and if not mentioned otherwise, standard development was used; pushing can work, but it might result in heavy color shifts and ugly grain; pulling is not recommended, AFAIK. How the film is rated (in this case at EI 100 and 125, which is just overexposure), doesn't matter. Edit: And since he still complains about contrast being so high and shooting in low contrast situations, pulling is unlikely.

[@pushingfilm]

Yeah I developed at standard times. I think pulling would be worth trying if you self develop, but offers negligible benefit to justify paying a lab extra.

[@bongwaterboy42069]

Damn dog, did Damon a dirty!

[@hashemmcadam]

I messed up 😅 Would have been a nice shot too.

[@c.augustin]

Your self-scanned 120 images look quite intriguing! Give it some more iterations, and it might become an interesting color negative stock. These colors have their merits in my regards.

[@pushingfilm]

For sure! Kind of reminded me of Agfa Ultra or Optima

[@c.augustin]

@@pushingfilm Agfa Ultra and Optima were different in their times, but maybe some old Kodak stocks from the 70s or 80s?

[@TimGreig]

Just as I’m thinking, that looks like near Mansfield, you say, I’m up in the Victorian high country.

[@adrianemikko]

I would have loved phoenix immediately if it was launched in 120 first. I use my 35mm cameras for daily carry and I would always put something versatile in there like HP5 or superia. I just cannot commit all 36 shots for the phoenix look. For medium format though I would always be picky with subjects (plus I have two backs for the ETRS) I carefully meter and even let go of a shot if the light is bad (especially for ektar, slide film) I think phoenix is a “specialized” film and is perfect for sparse 120 shooting

[@viktorbilyk8284]

Great video. I think your lab did a poor job and wasn’t trying recommended settings from Harman. They can’t treat the negative same like its Kodak or whatever since it doesn’t have anti-halation layer hence the yellow tint in the scans.

[@matthewb21]

Damn.. Pentax 6x7.. my white whale 😊

[@flyingo]

I’m seeing a trend here.. Phoenix 120 stock, sent to you guys ahead of the release, is looking like the film sent to Australia and the UK is holding up to it’s 200 ISO a bit better than the film that’s been sent to US photographers - who are having better results when metering at 100 ISO or lower. Hmm..

[@pushingfilm]

@@flyingo I shot my rolls at 100 - 125

[@FelixGA9]

Word of advice. Color film has a narrow color band of sensitivity where it can produce its best color rendition. Working outside the band of sensitivity gives you color problems and exposure adjustments. On Kodak films that band usually falls between 4800-5200 kelvin. This is when those old school tests with a color chart. A color meter and CC filters comes into play. If you are Testing film you should first find that color temperature where the film renders color well. Then you need to filter to achieve that color temperature on location. If you are not treating your color films this way , you are getting half of what you could be getting out of them.

[@randallstewart1224]

35mm or 120, its the same film. The apparent "improvement" of the 120 roll film is just a matter of format. It gives a larger negative, so requires a lower degree of enlargement. In short, the grain, lack of sharpness, halation blooming, and some other objections to Phoenix are still present, just smaller and less noticed. Maybe Harmon should just issue it in large format only to solve all of its problem?

[@EntropyValley]

Not necessarily. There’s speculation that this is a “living” film stock at that Harman are playing with the formulation to try and improve it, which seems likely to me with the differences people have noted between 35 and 120. Especially since it’s a limited edition film. So they could be slightly different.

[@wateranthro]

​@EntropyValley that's my understanding as well

[@randallstewart1224]

@@EntropyValley that speculation is based on Harmon's advertising. The fact is that the film has been routinely marketed at full film prices for a year without improvement, and with no indication that the current status is changing. If Phoenix 200 were being produced in China and flopped into the market as a significant film, Instead of by an established British member of the photo industry, it would have been laughed off as a failed effort to copy a 40-year-old product and discarded from further comment in 30 days.