Film Review: Original Wolfen NP100
A disappointing film from a disappointing man.
NP100 is an ISO 100 black and white film available in 135 format. It’s adapted from ORWO UN58+ motion picture film, with the addition of an anti-halation coating. I picked up this roll on a lark while visiting Warsaw this summer, and thought it might be something fun to try out—I had no real expectations for it.
Then I learned that Filmotec, the owner of the Original Wolfen and ORWO brands, is itself owned by Jake Seal, a notoriously toxic dude who is also prone to overpromising and underdelivering. So let me just be super clear from the outset that regardless of my findings, I will not be buying more Original Wolfen or ORWO products beyond what’s already in my freezer (looking at you, massive pile of Washi S).
Which is just as well because honestly this film is trash, at least in my hands. There is a lot of lost shadow detail, which is disappointing in an ISO 100 film—I expect more dynamic range from slower films. And the contrast (which I normally love!) is really high off the film. I’d rather have some latitude to add contrast in post when shooting what is nominally a general-purpose film.
Moreover, this film has a lot of grain for an ISO 100 film. Again, I like grain, but I would expect slower films to be finer grain, but the grain structure is on par with FOMA Fomapan 400 (which is notoriously grainy, if you didn’t already know).
Sample Photos
These photos were all shot with a Tiffen Red #25 filter.
Technical Details
I used my new testing technique to produce the charts below. Film was exposed for Zone V, and developed in Adox XT-3, dilution 1+1, for 8'19" @ 19,5Âş with intermittent agitation (using the Massive Dev Chart formula for ORWO UN54+).
Well, that’s curious. Either this film behaves weirdly at low ISO, or my camera’s low-end shutter speeds need checking again. But there is a huge jump in contrast between ISO 50 and ISO 100.
Let’s just ignore what’s going on at ISO 50 for now, shall we? This film barely qualifies as ISO 100. The contrast is already really high at box speed, with 𝛾 = 1,48, and just skyrockets with additional underexposure. And at ISO 100, Zone 0 and Zone I are essentially indistinguishable. This is not a film with a lot of latitude, and I don’t think it is likely to push well. I won’t bother trying.
It might be useful to look at the results for Ilford FP4+, a very well-behaved film, to get a sense of what we’re looking at here.
Conclusion
Original Wolfen NP100 is a grainy, extremely contrasty film with low dynamic range. That said, obviously it can still produce some nice-looking photos! You just have to be willing to put up with some loss of shadow detail shooting at ISO 100. This is not a film for me, it seems.
And on top of that, obviously I will not be buying more of this film for reasons stated above—I don’t relish giving my money to toxic men.
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