Ferrania Orto 50

*This blog was written in February 2024 and sat for a time in case I needed it. I am working on a couple of projects and haven't anything for this week and, well, I'm glad I have a spare.

Ferrania have been working hard to increase their footprint in the film manufacturing business. I spoke of their excellent P30 black and white film in my first blog of 2024 and they have brought a new film to the market. Orto 50 has been in the stores for a few months as I write this and thanks to my friend Keith's generosity, I had a roll to try out and see what I thought of it. Orto 50 is a 50 iso film that needs a lot of light to bring out the best of it, so of course I left it until a gloomy day in winter to get my first impression of it.

Orto 50 is an "Orthochromatic" film and is only sensitive to blue and green light. It can safely be handled and processed under a red safelight in a darkroom without getting fogged or accidentally exposed. A "Panchromatic" film, such as Ilford HP5 and Kodak Tri-X, must be handled and processed in total darkness. It's a subtle difference and it can produce some funky results.

Because the film is not sensitive to red light, you can't use a red filter with it, you would just end up with black photos. It also means you can have a little fun with traffic lights and red signs. Post boxes and old red phone boxes here in the UK also show up black and if you like portraiture, bright red lipstick turns your model into a Goth.

I chose a dull day to shoot my roll of Orto 50 because I can be a little too impatient at times. I fully intend on getting more later in the year to make full use of what sunshine we get during spring and summer, but for a first use I had some fun and tested the limit of it's ability in dark, wet, cold, dull and gloomy Wigan.

I developed my roll of Orto 50 with Kodak HC110 dilution 1+119 for 30 minutes at 20 celcius. Ilford Ilfostop and Fotospeed FX30 finished my developing and I hung the film to dry overnight. I digitised it with my Nikon D700, Tamron Adaptall 2 90mm f/2.5 macro lens, Valoi 35mm film holder, Pixl-Latr and a5 led light pad. Raw files were processed using Affintiy Photo 2.

I wasn't sure about this roll given the dull day so I went long and gentle with developing and It seemed to do the trick. I was able to bring the photos to life in post processing, but see for yourself. Here's a few faves from my roll of Ferrania Orto 50 and as always I have placed them and more in an album on Flickr you can visit using the link below. I hope you enjoy them.

Ferrania Orto 50