Last year, Harman introduced 35mm film photographers to Phoenix’ unique new take on colour. Now 120 photographers can enjoy this same rich palette, but with all the impeccable quality of medium format.
Whether this is good news or bad depends entirely on personal taste…curiously, the very Phoenix characteristics I like are the same one’s I don’t — which has me awkwardly straddling the fence. Young Nicole often gravitated toward the grainy, vibrant, contrasty look at which Phoenix excels, and that film would have slipped nicely into my whole cross-processing aesthetic and grungy vibe. Slightly less young Nicole would, however, appreciate a film with a bit more flexibility and fidelity.
I ran my Phoenix 120 roll through my Rolleicord Vb TLR on a sunny day. I used box speed (ISO 200) — no pushing or pulling. Mr. Consistent developed it for me using the FlicFilm C-41 developing kit, and I then scanned the negatives using a digital camera on a scan stand, and processed the raw files in Photoshop. I find these scans much easier to work with than a regular flatbed scan when colour correcting film.
Ilford Phoenix 120 is here! At $16.95 per roll it’s one of the most affordable colour 120 films available!
Here are few Phoenix’s taken on the Rolleicord Vb:
