Film Ferrania - Developments from October 2023 onward

[Agulliver]

The old line-up of Ferrania B&W films included P30 at 80ASA, P33 at 160ASA and P36 at 320ASA.

Film Ferrania themselves, and other sources, have mentioned recreating all three of these. We've had P30 for a while, P33 is certainly out there in the hands of a few and seems likely to be officially launched too. I would think P36 can't be too far off.

Now that would make a decent stable of B&W films along with the Orto, to bring in a steady income stream.

They have occasionally mentioned that work on colour is still going on in the background, but that they'll make no predictions or announcements until they have something solid to announce.

Something hot might well be P36.....36 is quite hot....320ASA was 26 DIN, that's also pretty warm....but we are all guessing.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

It's P33.

 

[Agulliver]

There's a new Instagram post from Film Ferrania promising something new tomorrow.

The post contains a very short video made of a few clips which appears to show a B&W film coming out of a Jobo tank after dev and fix.

So P33 seems as likely as anything.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

There's a new Instagram post from Film Ferrania promising something new tomorrow.

The post contains a very short video made of a few clips which appears to show a B&W film coming out of a Jobo tank after dev and fix.

So P33 seems as likely as anything.

If you go back to my post #64, you can see P33 on the film canister... I will definitely give it a go, but only in 120. Hopefully they'll have it in that format along with the 35.

 

[Nzoomed]

As I understand the economics, they've really prioritized being a functional and sustainable business over putting out color film asap which says to me they're shooting for p30 in 160 and 320 before anything with color. Especially considering hype around color has burned them in the past...

I agree, looking back the Kickstarter route was probably an unrealistic goal, all the roadblocks that happened didn't help the situation either. But at least they are now consistently making film and have two different types in 35mm and 120 formats available with at least another one that appears to be released in the coming days.
Making profit and consistently making film of any kind is probably the priority for them too.
But it will definitely help when they can bring back an E6 film on the market, as there is a huge gap in that market.

 

[cmacd123]

road blocks seem fairly common these days, look at the problems Foma seems to be having at the moment with Cassettes. I am all for encouraging Ferrania in any way just to help them get critical mass.

 

[abruzzi]

I'd prefer some sheet film, but I can't imagine how that would be construed as "hot".

 

[Revenant]

What does "I.C." stand for on the developing chart?

 

[MattKing]

What does "I.C." stand for on the developing chart?

I'm guessing it is "Contrast Index" - but in Italian

 

[Revenant]

Thanks.

 

[runswithsizzers]

Looks like P33 (in 135) is for sale now on the Ferrania Website: https://www.filmferrania.com/products/ferrania-p33-135-36-160-iso

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

P33! Told ya! I'll wait for 120... And I'll wait for it to come to NA. $53 US dollars to DHL a few rolls to me?

 

[loccdor]

CineStill selling it February 29th. Just got an email.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

CineStill selling it February 29th. Just got an email.

Thanks for the heads up!

 

[pentaxuser]

But it will definitely help when they can bring back an E6 film on the market, as there is a huge gap in that market.

Can I ask: What is the evidence that a gap exists that is big enough to make it worth Ferrania's time and expenditure on resources to bring out an E6 film?

pentaxuser

 

[Nzoomed]

The old line-up of Ferrania B&W films included P30 at 80ASA, P33 at 160ASA and P36 at 320ASA.

Film Ferrania themselves, and other sources, have mentioned recreating all three of these. We've had P30 for a while, P33 is certainly out there in the hands of a few and seems likely to be officially launched too. I would think P36 can't be too far off.

Now that would make a decent stable of B&W films along with the Orto, to bring in a steady income stream.

They have occasionally mentioned that work on colour is still going on in the background, but that they'll make no predictions or announcements until they have something solid to announce.

Something hot might well be P36.....36 is quite hot....320ASA was 26 DIN, that's also pretty warm....but we are all guessing.

I expect this is what they intend to do.
Is the difference between P30, 33 and 36 just film speed or are there other characteristics that differ between films?

Can I ask: What is the evidence that a gap exists that is big enough to make it worth Ferrania's time and expenditure on resources to bring out an E6 film?

pentaxuser

E6 has the biggest gap in the market right now with far less options than a decade ago.
When film ferrania announced their intention to introduce their scotchchrome formula, the market was even in worse shape as Kodak had taken ektachrome off the market, that was probably a key reason they announced it at the time.
There are a ton of black and white films on the market, but less with colour.
While Kodak has introduced ektachrome back, there is still a lack of options, particularly with film speed, etc.
Agfa recently stopped their E6 aviphot and fuji have reduced their line of products.
Even more importantly is having more E6 film options available to keep reversal film alive.
Don't forget that the founders of film ferrania are in the motion picture industry and one of the reasons for saving the company was so they could get their hands on motion picture film.

 

[Agulliver]

There was a huge gap when Film Ferrania did the kickstarter....Ektachrome was gone and Fuji were rumoured to be quitting (though that is a constant).

With Ektachrome back and Fuji still in the game, and it's a very small game, there would seem to be less of a gap in the market. The real area for growth these days is C41 colour negative film.

But what Film Ferrania seem to be doing right now is getting a consistent revenue stream by manufacturing some B&W films that have appeal. I don't know much about P33 but I've shot P30 and it's not like anything else on the market. I like it for certain subjects, and it's got a following.

They've said that they are still working on colour film, but who knows when we'll see it. I am just happy that another new film is on the market, hopefully it will find it's niche and make some money for Film Ferrania with P36 following.

 

[Nzoomed]

There was a huge gap when Film Ferrania did the kickstarter....Ektachrome was gone and Fuji were rumoured to be quitting (though that is a constant).

With Ektachrome back and Fuji still in the game, and it's a very small game, there would seem to be less of a gap in the market. The real area for growth these days is C41 colour negative film.

But what Film Ferrania seem to be doing right now is getting a consistent revenue stream by manufacturing some B&W films that have appeal. I don't know much about P33 but I've shot P30 and it's not like anything else on the market. I like it for certain subjects, and it's got a following.

They've said that they are still working on colour film, but who knows when we'll see it. I am just happy that another new film is on the market, hopefully it will find it's niche and make some money for Film Ferrania with P36 following.

Agreed, I'm just happy the company has survived and pulled out through the darkest of times, plus covid and are still here to tell the tale.
I'm more of a colour shooter, never really ventured into black and white.
I shoot alot more C41 these days because it's cheaper and more convenient, however the cost of film has risen ridiculously and not sure why.
I recently paid over $40 NZD for a single roll of portra 400!
Used to cost me only around 20 dollars not that long ago.
At those prices, I would go back to E6 quite happily.
I like to shoot one or two rolls of the stuff per year.
I'm trying to go after the retro look with what I shoot.
I've had good results with E6 and various negative films that give it that raw look you were used to with photos shot in the 60s and 70s.
I think that's partially why Lomography is so popular too, lots of people experimenting with expired films and low quality cameras.
It's not about perfection, but rather getting that raw image that only film can provide.
Sure, you can mess around in photoshop, but that takes away all the fun.

 

[kitspics]

has anyone seen if someone will have their bulk rolls in stock? I tried to order the p30 bulk roll but it was already sold out. Would love a p33 or 36 bulk roll too

 

[bfilm]

With Ektachrome back and Fuji still in the game, and it's a very small game, there would seem to be less of a gap in the market. The real area for growth these days is C41 colour negative film.

I would really like to see another good E6 film. Ektachrome seems to be fairly consistently available, but Provia is only very sporadically available. I also like acetate film base. Ektachrome only uses acetate base on 135, and then the 120 is on polyester base. Provia uses acetate base for both 135 and 120, and I think Ferrania would also use acetate base for both formats.

I very much like the look of color transparency films and also like that they represent much of the best days of publishing, when photography was on transparency film, scans were with photomultiplier tube drum scanners, and printing was with offset lithography (and maybe even gravure sometimes).

 

[B&Wpositive]

Question pertinent to this topic:

What kind of film cassettes is Ferrania currently using? If I buy some P30 from Adorama/B&H/Freestyle/etc. now in the US, are the Ferrania cassettes still the reloadable ones with end caps that are easy to remove? Or have they switched to something else?

 

[bfilm]

What kind of film cassettes is Ferrania currently using? If I buy some P30 from Adorama/B&H/Freestyle/etc. now in the US, are the Ferrania cassettes still the reloadable ones with end caps that are easy to remove? Or have they switched to something else?

I don't have experience with reloading film, so I don't know if you will be able to tell from this, but there are pictures of the cassettes at the Ferrania website.

https://www.filmferrania.com/pages/p30

https://www.filmferrania.com/products/ferrania-p30-135-36

 

[retina_restoration]

CineStill selling it February 29th. Just got an email.

Blue Moon Camera in Portland will also be stocking P33 on February 29th.

 

[brbo]

What kind of film cassettes is Ferrania currently using? If I buy some P30 from Adorama/B&H/Freestyle/etc. now in the US, are the Ferrania cassettes still the reloadable ones with end caps that are easy to remove? Or have they switched to something else?

Ferrania used reloadable cassettes? When?

I only bought P30 from the first batch and the cassettes were normal "single use" cassettes that every other manufacturers use (except from Lomography and Orwo for films from InovisCoat and other smaller outfits that respool films from other manufacturers which use the new plastic reloadable cassettes).

 

[abruzzi]

last time I bought P30 in 135, it was in a fairly standard metal casette. But I haven't purchased any 35mm film in a few years, so I don't know if it has changed.