Ferrania P33 - A Brand New Film From Film Ferrania

Film Ferrania, the resurgent film manufacturer based in Italy, have been very busy over the last couple of years. Projects that were put to one side due to the pandemic have been restarted and are now bearing fruit. Film Ferrania have added P33, a 160 speed panchromatic black and white film to their growing roster and I bought a couple of rolls to try it out.

Film Ferrania CEO Silvio says, "P33 is the culmination of our R&D efforts, merging analog tradition with technological innovation. We've meticulously re-engineered authentic emulsion recipes, focusing on enhancing versatility with a higher ISO and simplifying the development process."

This is like going to look at Grandma's recipe book and finding some of the ingredients are no longer available. The R&D dept have had to find modern equivalents, mix it all together and refine it until they got it right. This takes time and a lot of testing. Film Ferrania are in the the perfect place for this as they are based in the old Ferrania R&D lab using the equipment built specifically for small batch testing many years ago.

Film Ferrania also have a dedicated team of Film Photographers, both within their ranks and the wider film photography community, helping them to refine their experimental films to ensure it is ready for the film photography community to enjoy. It has taken Film Ferrania a long time to get to this point. The financial investment needed to refurbish machinery and make film to a consistent high standard has seen a lot of hard work behind the scenes and it's now paying dividends. 

Does this mean P33 is a good film? There's only one way to find out. I loaded a roll of P33 into my Nikon F801S and headed out for a wander to see what I could find to photograph.

I haven't used my Nikon F801S for a while and it felt good to be using it again. I spent my exercise days during lockdown using it alongside my Nikon D700 and loved being able to switch lenses between them both with no problems. This time I was out with just my F801S and had fitted my favourite AF Zoom Nikkor 24-120mm f3.5-5.6 D walkabout lens to it. I also shot the film at its box speed of 160 iso. The "Matrix" light metering built in to my F801S is accurate and its aperture priority mode gives me great results.

I shot the first half as I made my way home from shooting my Frugal Film Project film that I spoke of last week. I shot the second half a few days later, just seeing what I could find. I visited a couple of familiar compositions and also tried to find different things to photograph. I have been reinvigorated by the sunshine finally breaking through the rain, spring has arrived and my hayfever is under control. 

I wandered around the woodland and the public footpaths across the fields. This year the crop in the fields near my home is back to wheat and I reckon the farmer has rotated his wheat fields of the last couple of years to corn. I will find out soon enough now I can get out more and explore a little further. I also paid a visit to my favourite tree on the wash. It looks great with this year's foliage on.

It always seems like I have been out for only half an hour when I am really enjoying a photo walk, yet a couple of hours had passed, my roll of P33 was finished and I made my way home, thoroughly worn out.

A couple of dates later I developed my roll of Ferrania P33 with Rodinal 1+25 for 5 minutes at 20 celcius as suggested on the manufacturers website and soon had it hanging to dry in my bathroom. I scanned it with my Nikon D700, Tamron Adaptall 2 90mm f/2.5 macro lens, Valoi 35mm film holder, Pixl-Latr and A5 sized led light source. I processed the RAW files with Affinity Photo 2.

As I was editing my RAW files I noticed how the tonal range was very rich and full on P33. I normally do quick edits just to get a feeling for the film and then go back and really dig in and bring out the full dynamic range. Not his time, those quick edits were all I needed to bring the richness of P33 into my photos. There's one or two I would love to print in a darkroom with some deft dodging and burning. Film Ferrania P33 is descended from Ferrania's much loved golden days as the darling of Italian cinema. It really does shine and captures the details in the shadows and the highlights with little effort.

Film Ferrania P33 is definitely grabbing the attention of the community for all the right reasons and, dare I say it, giving people a choice between P33 and the legendary Kodak Double-X. Yes, I'm going there! It also gives Ilford FP4 and Fuji Acros a run for their money and it truly is a genuine contender amongst the slow speed B&W films out there.

 I will be doing side by side comparisons in the summer, but until then, here's a few of my favourites from my first roll of Film Ferrania P33 and as always I have placed them and more in an album on my Flickr account you can visit using the link below. I hope you enjoy them. You can buy P33 from stores around the world or via the Film Ferrania website link below. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

Film Ferrania P33
FilmFerrania.com

Frugal Film Project 2024 - April - 35mm

 April came around and it was the final day of the month before I was able to get out and shoot my 35mm roll of Kentmere 400 black and white film in my Olympus OM101. All the fun and frolics with cameras seemed to be done for the time being and I headed out for a wander with no real plan in mind, just to see what I can find.

I headed for my local woodland and nature trails and had fun photographing the trees as they are growing their new spring foliage. It's nice to see the trees wake up and go from being sleeping giants to wide awake and full of the joys of spring. Insects have been enjoying munching on the green leaves and sipping the nectar from the flowers, which of course helps the nesting birds build their strength ready for raising this years chicks.

I enjoyed having a wander in the spring sunshine and soon had my April roll of Kentmere 400 shot with my Olympus OM101. However, it had been beeping at me and I was pretty sure it meant the batteries were on the way out. I had spares with me just in case and I kept my eye on my frame count. 35, 36, 37.....38. Oh-oh! I began having suspicions and decided to rewind the film, just as a precaution. I hit the button and 2 seconds later the auto rewind stopped.

B%$$%£&S!

I headed home in case the film had snapped or something and to get a fresh roll. I put my camera in my dark bag and opened the back. The film had rewound. Time to RTFM*.... Turns out the beeping noise wasn't the battery indicator. It was telling me I hadn't loaded the film properly and it wasn't winding it on.

B%$$%£&S!

I retrieved the leader with my handy leader retriever and the lack of any curliness told me all I needed to know. Auto Load does NOT auto load all the time. With a few hours of daylight left I loaded the film again, correctly this time, and retraced my earlier walk. And to prove my bad luck, the light had gone from the great conditions I enjoyed on my first walk and yes, I kicked myself all the way round the woodland.

When I got home after my second walk of the day I was well and truly exhausted, but happy I hadn't missed the deadline through a stupid thing happening to a stupid boy who didn't load the stupid thing properly. I needed a lie down. Insert Captain Mainwaring meme here.....

I took a lttle time to recover and a few days later developed my film using Kodak HC110 1+47 dilution E at 20 celcius. Thank the deity of your choosing that it has images on it! Once dry I scanned it using my Nikon D700, Tamron Adaptall 2 90mm f/2.5 macro lens, Valoi 35mm film holder, Pixl-Latr and A5 size led light source. I processed the RAW files with Affinity Photo 2.

This years Frugal Film Project has been nothing short of a comedy of errors and if I had any hair, I would surely have pulled it all out by now. If it aint a duff camera, it's a lost screw or a film not loaded properly and it has seriously tested my patience. Good thing I already have happy pills....

Here's a few of my favourites from my April roll of Kentmere 35mm B&W film for the Frugal Film Project 2024. This year has been a labour of love, frustration and grim determination to succeed in the face of mechanical shenanigans and weather so foul it caused Noah to get his carpentary tools out. As always I have placed them and more in my Frugal Film Project 2024 35mm album on Flickr you can visit using the link below. I'm going to lie down for a while....

Frugal Film Project 2024 - April - 35mm

* Read The F&%$£!*g Manual! Stupid Boy.....

Dead Hands Cameras - 5 Cameras you will have to pry from my cold, dead, hands

An article that Alex Luyckx published on his excellent blog caught my eye and immediately grabbed my attention. A few fellow bloggers were having a conversation about their favourite cameras when an idea was born. I will quote Alex directly here, it's important to get the details right. Alex says.

"This idea comes from Jim Grey (Down the Road), from a conversation where Theo (PhotoThinkings) was looking for links for his review of the Voigtlander Superb. Peggy (Camera Go Camera) suggested he give her the camera, and Theo replied “this is a pry this from my dead hands camera.” Jim jumped on this and came up with the idea, the limit of five came from Stephen (Kosmo Foto) because that’s the number of fingers on one hand."

I figured it would be fun to do this too, probably because of FOMO, and I asked if it was ok if I joined in the fray. Alex graciously said "go for it!" It made life interesting for an afternoon as I went through my collection with the pro's and con's of each camera I own. Which of my cameras would make my list of 5 cameras you would have to pry from my cold dead hands? The first one should be no surprise.

Pentax SP500

The camera I came back to film with and so beloved that I sent it for a CLA in order to have it last for the remainder of my days. It is a no frills camera that does the basics with a simple match needle light meter to help you get your shots nicely exposed. It needs a battery to operate the light meter, but It works just as well without, it's a mechanical camera with levers and springs to operate the shutter for the right length of time needed. It also has a loud shutter that boldy tells everyone within 20 yards that "I have taken a photo!" I also bought a Helios 44m-4 58mm f/2 lens, a copy of the famous Carl Zeiss Biotar, and it was my only camera for the first few months as I got back into the joys of film photography after a 15 year break. I learned so much from this camera and lens that put me in good stead for everything I have done since 2017. I will probably be cremated when I die, but if I do manage to get a little plot of land that's forever mine, it's coming with me.

Goodman Zone Z1

 
Modern technology meets classic parts in perfect harmony. My Goodman Zone Z1 is the prize I won in a giveaway from PetaPixel.com and it has given me a deep appreciation of 6x7 medium format film photography. I have long been intrigued by 3D printed cameras and had given a lot of thought to getting one some day. Then the Photography Gods smiled upon me and sent this beautiful camera my way. I went back to school with this camera. It's a totally different style and one that I learned to enjoy, particularly after I defeated my nemesis, The Dark Slide! The addition of a hood, lovingly made by my awesome friend Dan in Hong Kong to help me get my focus right, made it complete. Dora Goodman and her team 3D printed the camera body, lens mount, focusing helical, sight and handle. The film holder is Mamiya RB67 medium format film holder. The lens is a Schneider-Kreuznach 90mm f/8 Super Angulon made for large format 4x5 or 5x7 field cameras. Both are readily available on the used market and If I want to change lenses, I can use any from a long list of lenses that Dora Goodman and friends have tried and tested on this great system.

Olympus OM-1

This was my dream camera when I was a young chap in the 1970's, courtesy of the "David Bailey? Who's he?" Olympus adverts. I finally got one in my 50's and it did not disappoint me. It is every bit as good as I imagined and then some. I bought it from an estate sale together with an OM-2, some lenses and accessories, so this has already been someone's "dead hands" camera. Thus it will also be mine when I shuffle off this mortal coil and join the choir invisible. Paired with a Zuiko 50mm f/1.4 it has given me so many great photos and I enjoy taking it out on sunny afternoons for a walk in my local countryside or the park in the town centre. It's also fully mechanical and only needs a battery to make the light meter work. Who needs light meters in summer when sunny 16 is so much fun.

Balda Baldax 4.5x6

This 90 year old German medium format film camera bailed me out when my other German camera, my Agfa Isolette I failed during the Frugal Film Project 2023. I wanted to keep using a folding camera for continuity and to keep participating in this fun activity. I enjoyed it so much I named it "Baldy The Baldax" and carried on with it in 2024. Despite having lost a screw, it is still going strong. Rain or shine, hot or cold, it produces the goods every time, despite my best ham fisted efforts at screwing things up. Loaded with film it fits in my pocket and is ready to use when I spot something that might make a good photo. It's a cracking little camera and affirms my belief that everyone should try a folding film camera at least once. They are elegant, simple and so much fun.

Nikon F801s

Friendship means a lot to me, especially when that friendship spans many years and many miles. I have been given a few cameras over the years by dear friends, but this is the first one and was given to me by my old mucker, Murray Stead. It was gathering dust in a box in his attic and he sent me a message asking me if I would like to have it. I immediately said yes and he sent it to me with a Nikon 50mm lens and a flash. After a clean it got it's first outing in the Park in town and has been blowing my mind ever since. It gave me a deep appreciation of Nikon cameras during the pandemic when I would take it out together with my Nikon D700 or my D90 and enjoy my allotted outdoor exercise time. It was an hour a day, but nobody said I couldn't use it all on the same day. As I write this it has a roll of Ferrania P33 loaded and ready for a blog in the not too distant future.

That's my five "dead hands" cameras. Honourable mentions have to go to my Olympus 35RC, Minolta X-700 and FED 2 that, despite being excellent cameras that I love to use, just didn't quite make the cut. If you would like to read more from photographers who also have their own "dead hands"cameras, please click the links below. There's some cool cameras out there, being loved by great photographers, waxing lyrical about their love for them and making great photos and memories along the way. I hope you enjoy them.

Alex Luyckx Dead Hands Cameras - five cameras I wont let go of
Jim Grey Down The Road - Dead Hands Cameras 
Camera Go Camera- Dead Hands Cameras - my top five cameras
Photo Thinking - Dead Hand Camera List
Aperture Preview - Dead Hands Cameras
Kosmo Foto - Five film cameras ill never part with
Mike Eckman - Five cameras ill take with me to the grave
Dave Whenham - Dead Hands
Austerity Photo - Dead Hand Cameras

Frugal Film Project 2024 - April - 120 medium format

A sunny morning in mid April gave me an opportunity to get out with my cameras and I decided to take two cameras out. I wanted to shoot my Frugal Film Project roll of Ilford HP5+ 400 for April in Baldy the Baldax alongside a roll of Harman Phoenix 200 in my Minolta Hi-Matic 7 rangefinder. The colour film we can talk about at a later date as the nice sunny morning soon had other ideas. Today we shall talk about my Frugal Film Project roll of Ilford HP5.

I headed into town and I had shot around 10 photos of spring colour in Mesnes Park when an ominous dark cloud appeared and was heading my way. I was waiting for blue holes between the clouds to light up the lovely new growth that has appeared this month and made my way to the Bandstand in Mesnes Park.

I had a feeling it was going to rain, but little did I know what was to come. I soon found out when the first spots of rain started to fall and I took shelter under the cover of the splendid Bandstand we have in Mesnes Park. It was time to change cameras and forget about taking any more colour photos for the rest of the day.

I was soon joined by a young lass on her balance bike who had just got to the bandstand ahead of her Mum and Grandma when the rain had started to really come down. She made me laugh when she boldly proclaimed, "It's chucking it down!" Oh the joys of being a 4 year old. We were soon joined by a few more folk and three dogs as we waited for the rain to stop. It didn't, it got heavier, then we had hailstones.

I had high hopes for a walk in the sunshine not half an hour before the rain started, but nature has a wicked sense of humour at times. It took around half an hour for the rain storm to finally move away and we could all go our separate ways, but only after being regaled by the innocence of a 4 year old nattering away without a care in the world. She brought a little happiness into our lives and showed us all it's the little things that mean the most. Bless her.

I was last one out from the shelter of the bandstand and I set about finding compositions and taking light readings with my Gossen Trisix meter. As I wandered through Mesnes Park I was stopped for a chat by a chap who was curious about my camera. We had a good chat about it and he told me he was visiting the park for the first time in around 30 years to see if there was anything to photograph.

He enjoys shooting Digital and was genuinely curious about this oddball with a vintage camera. It was nice to chat and introduce Baldy the Baldax to a new audience. It can be hard to comprehend how easy it is to use a basic viewfinder camera when you're used to all the bells and whistles a modern digital camera has. He appreciated the fact that my 90 year old film camera still worked thanks to the skills of the folk that built it.

I gradually made my way into Wigan town centre, taking photos as I walked and revisited a couple of compositions I had shot when I first used Baldy in May 2023. Yes, I have owned Baldy the Baldax for a year and it's been fun to use it for the project, despite giving me a fright and needing a bodge. Speaking of which, that bodge has done the trick.

I was able to open and close Baldy with no problems and I made sure to check the lens and shutter assemble was in the right position. I would find out for sure when I developed my film. I was having fun and it didn't seem like I had been out for long when my last frame was shot and I headed home. Guess what happened when I got home? The clouds departed and the lovely sunshine returned to stay for the rest of the day. Yes, nature has a wicked sense of humour.

I developed my film a day or two later in my now customary Kodak HC110 1+47 dilution E for 8 minutes at 20 celcius and soon had it hanging to dry in my bathroom. Digitising was done with my Nikon D700, Tamron Adaptall 2 90mm f/2.5 Macro lens, Valoi medium format film holder, Pixl-Latr and A5 sized led light pad. The RAW files were processed with Affinity Photo 2.

Most of my photos were shot at 1/100th of a second between F/8 and f/11 and I could see during editing that I got some decent exposures. Being out in the rain isn't my favourite hobby, but taking photos when the sun appears after a period of heavy rain does produce wonderful light and reflections. I also noticed my framing has definitely improved now that I have sorted Baldy the Baldax back into useable condition. The guitar string bodge held and the lens and shutter assembly now opens into the correct position. I will fix it properly at some point, but for now it will do.

Here's a few of my favourites from my roll of Ilford HP5+ 400 medium format film for the Frugal Film project 2024. Despite the weather "having a giraffe and taking the michael", I enjoyed my walk. I just didn't enjoy the three days recovery time I needed after it. However, summer is not far away and it can't rain forever here in dark, wet, cold, dull and gloomy Wigan, can it? Once the temperatures get higher I will loosen up a bit and be able to function better, 'he says hopefully'. As always I have placed them and more in my Frugal Film project 2024 120 album on Flickr you can visit using the link below. I hope you enjoy them.

Frugal Film Project - 120 Medium Format