Harman Phoenix - 120 Film

I was really taken aback by the contrasty, orange/red hues on this film. It made everything look like sunset even though it was a cold, crisp morning. Portraits look stunning, I recommend using a fast lens and taking advantage of a deep DoF to get the most out of the grain in the film.

Downsides - when shooting into the sun, there's a strange but not unattractive yellow 'halation' effect around strong white light sources. The film's a bit too grainy for low light, and you can lose a fair bit of detail in the grain too.

Having been exploring with Phoenix for more than a year, and thoroughly enjoying all the little creative sparks it offered, I was pretty stoked at the prospect of a 120 version! The larger film size definitely helps with finer grain and smoother tones, much as I love its quirks in 35mm . Phoenix wasn't ever the finest grain emulsion around, but then there's always Ektar or Portra for that. The 120 Phoenix is a welcome addition to any photographer's toolbox. It's the scruffy ass Punk kid to Portra's well groomed straight -A student, and all the better for it.

I really struggled with the film, Heavy colour casts, underexposure, extremely grainy. I can see many aspects in which it could work but it's definitely not one I'm going to be keeping in my rotation currently.

I want to love this film stock and using 120 format I can say I’m nearly there! The variation of the rolls of film give unpredictable but almost always interesting results. Great if you’re able to use the variable nature to your advantage, not so good if you want a uniform look. I’d use it again, 120 definitely better than 35mm IMHO

Having tried a roll of Phoenix in 35mm, I was keen to see what it might do in 120, but holding out for some autumn colour. I was even more excited than usual to click through to the scans, unsure what I would find, but hopeful...
Joy! Yellow beech trees came back as a lovely warm orange, verging on pink, perhaps helped by some halation from the bright sun behind. The strong contrast did give me some challenges, but at least made me think harder about what I was doing. The last few frames in Oxford had a real glow as well. Blue sky was almost turquoise, though very slightly blotchy over a large area in one frame.
I'm rating this as 5* in the context of being an experimental film, but one that gave me genuine delight. Definitely film! I'm very glad to have another roll ready to go when a suitable opportunity arises.
Thanks as always to AW for the processing.