Back in 2017, the new Ferrania finally shipped their first black& white film, the Ferrania P30 Alpha.
This is one example of my 1st test of this film.
I made some pictures, and cut that part from the film roll and developed it in Kodak HC-110 dilution B for 5 minutes.
Needless to say I was pretty happy with that result.
The remainder of that film was exposed some time later and then again developed in Kodak HC-110, but this time I used dilution H for 12 minutes.
Then I tried Ilford’s ID-11 developer with this film. dilution 1+1 and 13 minutes development time.
Then in march 2018, I used Bellini’s D96 developer. This developer was advertised as being the generic developer for Ferrania P30 film.
I used the stock solution with 8 minutes development time. This gave me the right atmosphere I was looking for.
Waiting for more P30 film.
Since I did not have more P30 film and the D96 developer has not a very long life time, I started using Kodak Double X. This is a cine film but with a higher sensitivity.
Then in 2022 P30 new version came to the market with a nice feature: A QR-code which gives you information about the production date like:
Film TypeFERRANIA P30-135
PRODUCTION INFO
Batch169
PancakeB2
Production Date25/07/2022
Again I developed this in Kodak HC-110, dilution H for 10 minutes.
It was uinder exposed and I should have used 12 minutes developing time, like I did earlier, or even better, use dilution B. This is one of the better images.
Then I discovered that the Lightmeter was set to ISO 200, so I tried again on another fotoshoot. I decided to keep the developer and time the same: Kodak HC-110, dilution H for 10 minutes. Exposure is much better, film is easier to scan than the one above.
And then in 2023: surprise: P30 in 120 format!
Since I do have a Ferrania Elioflex camera, I used that for the test of this film and developed it in the most Italian developer I have: PMK made from Bellini raw chemicals by Nik and Trick fro 13 minutes.
And now I have the opportunity to not only use Ferrania film in a Ferrania camera, but also make photographs in the town Ferrania in Italy. comined with a visit to the Ferrania museum and Ferrania manufacturing site. Of course I try to develop in an Italian developer as well, Bellini’s version of HC-110, since the PMK had more bromide drag than HC-110.
Finally: We flew to Genova and travelled by car to Cairo Montenotte to visit the Ferrania Film Museum. There we got a nice introduction to Ferrania and a private tour in the museum. After the lunch we went to Ferrania to visit their manufacturing site. (no photos from that though 🙂 )
And then: Ferrania P33
During our visit we got to see the manufacturing process and the first examples of Ferrania P33.
This is an ISO 160 film. Just like P30 it is a rich silver content film, more sensitive but a bit less contrasty. The official introduction was anounced in february 2024 and I had to test it ofcourse. Unfortunately it is only available in 135 format, but a 120 version will follow they told us.
Here are some examples photo’s I made with my Canon AE1- FD 1.4/50mm.
Development was again in Bellini’s Euro HC, the Kodak HC110 clone. Development time was 11 minutes in Dil. H (1+63)
I am very pleased with the result. It gave easy to scan negatives and for me, very nice tonality!
