Hands on With LomoChrome 92 Film

Lomography recently announced the release of a new film, LomoChrome 92, a 400 ISO C-41 process color negative stock. The film is touted as a throwback to older stocks, with vibrant colors and a more noticeable grain structure. 

LomoChrome 92

LomoChrome 92 is being released at the same time as Lomography’s 30th anniversary, and while I’m not a big fan of nostalgia, I am a sucker for a good roll of color film. Lomo was kind enough to provide a roll for testing, which I put through the paces at the Dancing of the Giglio in Brooklyn. The images shot below were captured on my Nikon F5 and Sigma 50mm f/1.4 Art or Nikon 35mm f/1.4 AI-s lenses. 

In the initial press release, Lomography described the film as ideal for sunny days. “With a powerful film grain,” Lomography said of the emulsion, “this enticing emulsion appears soft and mesmerizing in the sun and brings a subtle, painterly look to your photos at dusk. [...] Vibrant reds and clean yellows pop out amongst fascinating blue tones, whilst delicate pastel undertones take everyday snaps to a new dimension. Produced using a unique color layering process and a one-of-a-kind color palette, this special construction works in harmony with the film’s rich grain structure for a burst of retro charm and classic analogue character.”

And all that may be true, but unfortunately, I never was able to find out. It was a fairly gray, sunless day during the Dancing of the Giglio. That lighting can provide its own unique character and make for nice, even skin tones, but it doesn’t really fall in line with the type of shooting Lomography wrote about.

I did find the colors well saturated, with a strong warm tone and a noticeable color shift in the blacks and shadows. The grain was particularly noticeable in midtones, while the skin tones of several participants had a strong red cast. Under- or overexposed at two stops, the film still produced lovely images without any significant loss of quality. 

My images were developed normally in C-41 and scanned with my Nikon 9000 film scanner. I made minor corrections (mostly to remove dust spots, but with some light exposure adjustments) using Photoshop. 

One big question I’ve been asked is whether this is simply another relabeled film stock. And that’s a fair question: too often, we’ve seen companies come out of nowhere and announce some new emulsion, only to find out it’s rebadged cinema film or old Kodak or Fuji stock. Lomography says it’s a new formula, and there are no edge markings on the film to suggest otherwise. 

Final thoughts? Honestly, I wish Lomography luck with this venture. I’ve had excellent and memorable results shooting on their Purple, f2, and Metropolis films. I enjoyed using this film and could see shooting it in the future. Like any stock, it has a mix of strengths and weaknesses, but by and large, I can see this is a decently balanced daylight film with a wide variety of applications.

Lomography has stated that they intend to make this available in multiple formats, including 120 and 110, though currently, it is only offered in 35mm.