I always love a good fast gritty film, so I was excited to try this one on one of my favourite walks. Back when I was a student, I used to process Kodak Recording Film in Rodinal for a sharp if gritty look. The 99 definitely delivered, though it's definitely a bit finer grained and sharper than I remember its Kodak counterpart being . That's actually a bonus and I look forward to trying a few more developers. Rodinal and Ilfotec HC are promising, but what can the new wonderkid on the block, 510 Pyro do? Developer choice can be so cucial, as some films are very picky. But I can really see the 99 being a great choice for landscapes and street work, even portraits, especially if you appreciate the work of the Japanese PROVOKE photographers, William Klein etc.

When I got this film I expected a grainy look however as there was no info on developing this with Ilfotec HC, I was in the dark. I guessed at a 9 min development time and these are the results. They're hardly the grain-fest I was expecting but beautiful nevertheless.
I shot the urban photos at night at ISO 1000 and the woodland shots at 800 ISO. I never expected such clean and sharp images from this stock. Would recommend this film.

I certainly made the right choice buying 3 rolls of this film, my first roll has been a fun surprise to get back as I wasn't 100% sure of what t expect but I knew it would have a strong contrast.
I personally love a grainy, strong contrast "gritty" film style, but I would be more careful for my next rolls as I unfortunately missed out on some shots due to either the films limited dynamic range or simply my own user error!
But overall I think this will be a great film I hope to buy more of soon, a little bonus is all the artifacts on this film, really adds to the aesthetic.

PS. Her name is Mo and she loves ham

Enjoyed this film, will be hunting more out from NCS.

Possibly would shoot at 800 rather than the box speed of 990 as my shots did come out slightly underexposed but I quite liked the results in this case.