NC500 is nothing but part of the name of the product. ISO 400 is of course its sensitivity. The look of those pictures is definitely very distinctive. Nothing like Kodak does or Fuji used to offer. I'm sure that there is a market out for that look within the street photography, lost places or social documentary analog photographers. Salgado might like this color scheme. ORWO was one of the major Eastern Block film manufacturers during the cold war, and had the monopoly for film in Eastern Germany (GDR) during that time. ORWO arose from the AGFA facilities which happened to be located in the Soviet occupied parts of Germany. ORWO is an acronym for "Original Wolfen", Wolfen being the town where the film producing factory was located - and still is located today. Today, the company is owned by an investment outfit, which happens to also own what remains of AGFA Leverkusen, and thus reunited the Western and Eastern parts of the pre-war AGFA company. ORWO films are produced by Filmotec GmbH, which is producing the ORWO b&w films for many years now, the Wolfen NC500 is produced by InovisCoat GmbH, a coating specialist, which is a sister company of Filmotec since 2020. Thus the NC500 is not branded ORWO but WOLFEN, and you won't find the NC500 on Filmotecs webpage, although it is - to my knowledge - at least assembled, packaged and sold by Filmotec in Wolfen. I'm not sure where the coating takes place, though, but I believe that this is done far away from Wolfen by InovisCoat near Cologne/Germany. And it's of course already sold out.
@@Zetaphotography This video is about NC500, not NC400. NC400 is a different emulsion with different color characteristics. And for an unholy price-tag.
@@ribsy Originally InovisCoat developed a 500 ISO Motion-Picture-Negativefilm. This film is now sold (without a remjet layer) as Wolfen NC500. So the name comes from the history this emulsion has:)
I actually like the color. It gives a "journalistic" / "archival" type of look. I wouldn't use it for a artistic photoshoot but for reporting or documenting, I love it.
Reminds me of Metropolis in the sense that it's got an underbaked looked - they're super distinct and having that specificity is all what having options is about!
I wonder how new Orwo will come in night shots. Definitely gonna check this. Still, I can't believe we actually have brand new color film from Orwo in 2023.
I remember that I used ORWO in the late 60s and early 70s as an alternative to B&W. It came from East Germany and was a lot cheaper than Kodak or Fuji. The film was not orange and the colors were the exact opposites. The prints looked what I then called quite gray. Now I would say unsaturated. Also not very sharp. My camera could do better. Still, it had colors at a price I could afford. The images I saw in your video reminded me of the images I got then. Bland, but IN COLOR!
The colours are similar to Orwo slide film from the 1970s and 80s. Very warm, in fact some people used an on-camera filter to correct the orange/brown tint. As Ribsy said, it has an underexposed look with a muted colour range.
Back in the film era, professionals were all about sharpness and accurate color reproduction. So it is funny that people now want a more "vintage" look for their film. They want the type of color reproduction that you would have found in an inexpensive consumer grade film in the past. I am not saying that or this film are bad. I just think it's funny. Personally, I'm glad they are keeping film alive by giving the audience what they want.
Before you addressed it towards the end of the video..when looking at the shots, I was thinking "Hey, wasn't this a cinema film"? And if so...likely as not, much like Vision3, it is meant to come out somewhat flat and desaturated, so that you could have a wider gamut of color grading options. I too would like to see this done in ECN-2..as that is what gives Vision3 its "ready to grade" look....kinda like shooting RAW or Log on a digital camera, it's meant to be color corrected and graded in post. I"m guessing this may be too...I"m actually surprised they said to use C41.... Great seeing you again Ribsy.....have a great day!! CC
I am waiting for leaves and grass to pop out here in poland to try my few rolls of nc500. I’ve seen some nice examples of green palette that this films produces.
The history is definitely huge. In Wolfen the world's first color film was produced. In the end of WW2 American photo specialists were in town even before it was seized by the troops. The goal was to get to secret film formulas. Also the inventor of the color film who held hundreds of patents and was head of the production was immediatly taken. Interesing fact as this whole region was going to become occupied by Russia and not the US.
I was going to buy some when my local shop got some in (Freestyle) but it sold out before I made my decision to actually get it. Looking at your images, i'm feeling like I didn't miss out. I'm sure there will be people that love that desaturated grainy look, but I don't think it's for me. (edit: I might buy a roll or two anyway) Thanks for sharing.
The website of inoviscoat states that the motion picture film from Orwo had asa 500 and they did keep the name but due to the change from ECN2 to C41 this film is now supposed to be shot at asa 400...
I've got 3 rolls of this, think I'll try bracketing the first roll by +1 & +2 stops to see what it looks like. Also wondering about optical darkroom printing with the low orange mask. Do you think adding a 'blank' C41 neg in the holder with the NC500 would help with filtration the end print quality?
ORWO and FOMA were most popular film in the eastern block. While FOMA was mostly B/W (only) Orwo had pretty decent colorfilms that looked like the old German films from the 30s from the Agfacolor process before C41... but this looks kinda different
Walmart website says: At the core of their new color film lies a unique chemical formula based on the wonderful and legendary Agfa stock last used in the Oscar-winning film 'Out of Africa'. Famous for their greens, desaturated shadows, and enhanced grains, these are all aspects that we are embracing for their new addition.
It looks nice :) I like the photo with the fireworks alot. Funny that you got the film from a shop. Indeed I'm still waiting for my order to arrive, but as soon as I see it in a shop near me I'll be getting it too haha 😅😅
I always over expose color film by 1/2 to 1 stop to eliminate graininess in shadows and commonly use ECN-2 processing, even on C-41 film. Doing so will likely give more saturated colors.
Maaaaaan...First off, thank you Ribsy. Always appreciate the videos. This film looks straight up like Metropolis to me or a slight variation of it. To your point, I think developing it in ECN2 with a proper LOG grade might make it a bit more interesting. ORWO's being so weird on the messaging of these products. Perhaps they need to be obtuse since there may be a potential conflict of interest with InovisCoat and their silent contracts with Lomography, etc.? Regardless, it doesn't instill confidence in the product.
There’s two versions of Metropolis. The original version, which possibly sold out? And the current version. Color profile looks the same or similar but this current version has more contrast.
Interesting! I returned to shooting c41 films in 2022 and it would be worth picking up a roll or two and try out during the spring and summer season 2023. As a reference, I shot a 120 roll of metropolis and liked the results so a desaturated film interests me!
I‘m just glad ORWO produces again. Finally my countries Film industry starts to work at it again. You want the facts? I recently watched a few documentaries and read articles online. The history behind ORWO and Agfa is rather a tragic one. So Agfa invented the first usable color negatives. After WW2 the Americans stole the knowledge and patents from Agfa‘s Wolfen factory. The soviets took the machines and some technicians and engineers. It’s sad but at the same time Germany systematically murdered millions of jews so you can’t blame them for taking that after winning against Germany. Later the factory in Wolfen came under the jurisdiction of the USSR. After some time has passed the west and the east started to rebuild Germany, meaning also it’s Film industry. But there were two Agfa companies now. The one in Wolfen and one in Leverkusen, Agfa in the east and the western Agfa. This has led to some confusion and other issues between these two and thus the Agaf Wolfen renamed itself to ORWO (Original Wolfen). The staff and knowledge was mostly the same but the ones in Wolfen called themselves the „real“ Agfa. It also startled the staff in Wolfen at first after the renaming. Fun fact ORWO had the most women in its company out of all East German companies. After the USSR fell, so did ORWO slowly. Agfa in the west also died due to digital cameras taking over and also other factors I’m not aware of. That’s all I know. Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong. Edit: ORWO has all the history on their site. Just checked it out www.orwo.wtf/about
@@ribsy just edited my comment telling the facts and story I know. Thank you for publishing your video though. Would have never known this otherwise haha I hope it’s all correct and contains all the info
@@ribsy What I mean is professional Hollywood colorists practically never grade straight Log footage. They always use a gamma transform. These images are not Log for color grading reasons.
Back in the day, we had similar looking films that were generally referred to as "European color". Their colors were rendered more as pastels. Central and northern European countries preferred them, while the Mediterranean countries, the USA and Japan preferred more saturated color. Of course, the photographer would pick one depending on the " look " that they wanted to achieve. Just some useless trivia from an old guy.
Did you shoot the new photos with the Canon P? I get really desaturated colors with the P's 50 1.4. If that's the case will be interesting to see how a new lens renders the image using this film
As far as I know. Agfa was split up in two divisions after WW2, one in Wolfen(east), one in Leverkusen(vest). In the beginning of the 60ties they split up, and the eastern division became Orwo. Orwo was, at the time the second largest producer of film in the world. The Orwo of today, is actually now again working with what is left of the German Agfa division(Inviscoat), so the circle is closed so to say.
I shot a roll recently and I'm sure it's a relative to Lomo Metropolis. The grain structure and color etc are reminiscent. Not the dopest film I've shot but i's unique in it's rendering.
I like the desaturated look of the film. Could be nice depending on the use case. I wouldn't use it for everything but it would work in certain situations.
Kinda reminds me of Eterna and old old S35 stock kinda like it.... question is though... is Orwo just repackaging or actually developping the stock themselves? Also whhyyyy is all color film sold out in europe???
i saw another video where the shades in the photos were really brown or purple and i didnt like it. i like more the way that your photos turnef out. i got a reto ultra wide and slim camera and it comes with the NC500. wondering how can i avoid the purple shades...
Interesting! I'm curious if the negatives have any info in the highlights or if those highlights are just totally blown out. Not something I'd choose on any regular basis either way though.
The Germany the film is made in is the original, first-ever AGFA plant, which became part of communist Germany after WWII and The Cold War, renamed ORWO (ORiginal WOlfen plant) in 1964. The newer Agfa plant built later for their last series of new films was torn do (!!!) after the spin-off of the company from parent company Agfa-Gevaert did not work out by the mid-1990s sadly. ORWO had a slightly different muted color than Agfa, maybe because of communist cost-cutting, but if you shoot older ORWO color or black and white, no matter the results, the film tends to curl and not be as good as Agfa film for the same period, granted they were well-stored enough to be shot now. To see what ORWO color could look like outside of still samples you can find on the internet, see the restored frames of the feature film THE FIREMAN'S BALL (1967) directed by the late, great Milos Forman to see how the color could look at its best.
How did it print? Does it need extreme magenta correction due to green mask? Does it have similar problems as Vision3 has with color crossovers, when processed in C-41?
Aside from scanning, exposure, and development techniques, lighting conditions may also play a role here. Your photos look to have been taken in low-contrast, cool light. The results will likely look very different in full sun, maybe more like the results you got earlier?
ORWO was producing color films and slides during DDR times and was making the best films avialable in the Soviet Union. Though, chemistry inside was a little bit different. For producing this stock I think they've just restarted an old line, but there also was Agfa color film... why not to restart it? Germany still should have technology but not to develop it again. Anyway... Germany was the country first to introduce chromogenic color negative film (Agfa did it almost simultaneously in 1930s with Kodachrome, though Kodachrome was a slide film)
Thanks for sharing this! Got my hands on a roll recently, but haven’t shot it yet. I might rate it at 400 to see the difference in the results, your shots do look a little too muddy even in even lighting
Back in the day, ORWO in Wolfen was the East German counterpart of German Agfa in Leverkusen. Both locations used to be Agfa but, following the division of Germany after WWII, Wolfen was in the East, and Leverkusen in the West. ORWO fell on hard times following the reunification, but it was survived by Filmotec which continues making the ORWO-branded black and white film. I kind of assumed they also did this one. InovisCoat, on the other hand, says that they trace their origins back to Agfa Leverkusen and directs all enquiries about NC500 to Filmotec. So who knows, maybe Wolfen and Leverkusen teamed up again after all these years to release this film. If so, I wish them all the best.
I shoot expired film to test out cameras -- and your shots/scans look *VERY MUCH* like when I shoot expired (and not stored well) Fuji 800 at 200 -- same washed out look, lack of true blacks, not-very please grain. For my testing it is fine -- I can tell if there are light leaks, consistent exposure or any major camera/lens malfunctions. *RARELY* I will be surprised and find a pleasing image where the odd image factors just "work" -- but when I saw your first images in this video, expired Fuji (Superia) 800 is immediately what I thought.
@@ribsy Mr. Azevedo is onto something as this 500ASA/ISO is based on the AGFA 320XT color negative they used to make and the two companies (Cold War notwithstanding) shared the same chemistry history and even did film for each other into the 1990s. However, the flat color look reminds of the color limits on the mid-1980s Agfa RS films that toned down the color to look more like Fuji. Not RSX or anything else with RS in it, just RS itself. Why both 500 rolls would have these issues when 320 XT did not is odd, unless ORWO combined elements of 320 and some RS to get the rolls you are getting here.
@Phillip Banes Made in Japan by Fuji. They were really transparent about Fujifilm 200 being Gold with releasing the specs and writing made in the U.S.A on the package. They didn’t have to do either.
Hipsters try to turn bad into good, but the fact is, during the days of film, this film stock wouldn't have been adopted at all. It would have been trashed as horrible garbage. You can't polish a turd with words like "unique". Given that this wouldn't have been acceptable 50 years ago, our standards should be even higher today.
the difference between 400 and 500 is miniscule. i don't think the results will vary tons based on that distinction. also the naming convention is really dumb then -- why name is NC500 knowing that its just going to mislead people
Always expose film at the recommended ISO at least initially, then go from there. If you have exposed this film at ISO 500 (incorrectly), then it has been underexposed by 1/3 stop, which is never a good thing with print film. It will bring up the grain in shadows, darken the shadows, and lower the highlights. Overexposing by 1/2 to 2/3 stop is probably where you should be to give the film enough light to produce the correct look the film is designed for. Underexposing a film then saying you don't like the look is very misleading.
Trust me, do not buy it anymore. I bought 8 rolls and all of them looks like expired film… i don’t know why you have to pay around 14€ in Europe for this s**t. I wrote a mail to ORWO buy they are soooooooo busy, that they cannot answer me.. really, do not buy this film.
I did charity shoots for a good cause. No help in costs or re-inbursements! True donations.. The organizers did supply film for publications and a show for all involved. Fuji pro colour, similar to that miserable portra! No vivid colours! Professionally I used Kodak Gold! It had fire and contrast and vivid colours! Why? Because many people at weddings also took photos. I had no desire to 'try' and explain why my photos, were so soft and watery! I used Gold for everything! If you like washed out colour, no strong contrast, I'm so happy for All of you! I think in my opinion, all these 'new' films are crap. Waste of fluffing time. My Nikkor lenses had strong contrast, compared to older Leitz Lenses from Leica! Guess who won the race in popularity? Canon soon shifted it's perception, in race to equal Nikon! Being born in South Africa with a strong sun, and much UV light, 2 miles in sky.. Yup 2,000m above sea level. Deep black shadows. No portraits at midday! In open shade! Maybe! I adore colour! Lot's of colour! Alex Webb would have gone nuts! Rachel, his wife, in tears, with her poetic images..Don't get me started on hi-speed lenses with no depth of focus. Use a lousy lens, hazy,damaged and Telextender. save a lot of money.. Nice article. But..
I have one word for this film. HORRIBLE. Prior to shooting ORWO NC500, my least favorite new film was Cinestill 400D. NC500 has helped me realize that Cinestill 400D is a far better film. With NC500, the grain is like mud in blue skies. Some colors were so far away from reality that there wasn't even a hint of what the true color was. Brown was the new purple according to Orwo NC500. This was far more Out of Africa and definitely not The Color Purple. There was also evidence of a light leak in a camera that has never had a light leak....so I'll assume the light leak came with the film. My photos, overall, have the look of very expired film poorly stored. Cinematic? Hardly. Would I shoot it again. Not a chance.
I hate that they call it NC500 even though it says ISO 400 on the side of the box. That’s just a prime example of Germans being to dumb for marketing again.
The desaturated look is very unique compared to what’s currently in the market. It’s always nice to have different options!
yea it is def unique
NC500 is nothing but part of the name of the product. ISO 400 is of course its sensitivity.
The look of those pictures is definitely very distinctive. Nothing like Kodak does or Fuji used to offer. I'm sure that there is a market out for that look within the street photography, lost places or social documentary analog photographers. Salgado might like this color scheme.
ORWO was one of the major Eastern Block film manufacturers during the cold war, and had the monopoly for film in Eastern Germany (GDR) during that time. ORWO arose from the AGFA facilities which happened to be located in the Soviet occupied parts of Germany. ORWO is an acronym for "Original Wolfen", Wolfen being the town where the film producing factory was located - and still is located today. Today, the company is owned by an investment outfit, which happens to also own what remains of AGFA Leverkusen, and thus reunited the Western and Eastern parts of the pre-war AGFA company.
ORWO films are produced by Filmotec GmbH, which is producing the ORWO b&w films for many years now, the Wolfen NC500 is produced by InovisCoat GmbH, a coating specialist, which is a sister company of Filmotec since 2020. Thus the NC500 is not branded ORWO but WOLFEN, and you won't find the NC500 on Filmotecs webpage, although it is - to my knowledge - at least assembled, packaged and sold by Filmotec in Wolfen. I'm not sure where the coating takes place, though, but I believe that this is done far away from Wolfen by InovisCoat near Cologne/Germany. And it's of course already sold out.
Ok and then what’s NC400 vs NC500
@@Zetaphotography This video is about NC500, not NC400. NC400 is a different emulsion with different color characteristics. And for an unholy price-tag.
its interesting that they label it 500, even tho its a 400
@@ribsy Originally InovisCoat developed a 500 ISO Motion-Picture-Negativefilm. This film is now sold (without a remjet layer) as Wolfen NC500. So the name comes from the history this emulsion has:)
I got 5 rolls. Going to do some fashion shoots with it and some landscape work to test it under various conditions.
I actually really like the desaturation and grain here. This is totally a look and a style I think a lot of people can get behind.
yea do i think a lot of people will like it
I actually like the color. It gives a "journalistic" / "archival" type of look. I wouldn't use it for a artistic photoshoot but for reporting or documenting, I love it.
i actually think the opposite - looks better as an artistic look! 😅
@@ribsy what would u use for journalism
Reminds me of Metropolis in the sense that it's got an underbaked looked - they're super distinct and having that specificity is all what having options is about!
exactly! more options is the goal
I wonder how new Orwo will come in night shots. Definitely gonna check this. Still, I can't believe we actually have brand new color film from Orwo in 2023.
yea im curious too, i assume prob not well
I remember that I used ORWO in the late 60s and early 70s as an alternative to B&W. It came from East Germany and was a lot cheaper than Kodak or Fuji. The film was not orange and the colors were the exact opposites. The prints looked what I then called quite gray. Now I would say unsaturated. Also not very sharp. My camera could do better. Still, it had colors at a price I could afford. The images I saw in your video reminded me of the images I got then. Bland, but IN COLOR!
interesting! thanks for sharing those details
@@ribsy my pleasure, for what you have done for me with your videos.
The colours are similar to Orwo slide film from the 1970s and 80s. Very warm, in fact some people used an on-camera filter to correct the orange/brown tint. As Ribsy said, it has an underexposed look with a muted colour range.
Always great to see another film. It would be interesting to see the stuff cooked in ECN-2.
yea im def gonna try ecn2 next
Be sure to buy a few rolls and test it let us know
Just ordered a 3 Pack of it. No matter if it can keep up the quality for the price, new color film wants to be supported.
totally agree. the principle is what matters here
Godamnit, now I need to learn how to print...thanks, thanks a lot
hahah good luck
Back in the film era, professionals were all about sharpness and accurate color reproduction. So it is funny that people now want a more "vintage" look for their film. They want the type of color reproduction that you would have found in an inexpensive consumer grade film in the past. I am not saying that or this film are bad. I just think it's funny. Personally, I'm glad they are keeping film alive by giving the audience what they want.
digital cameras give us the precision and sharpness. film is a natural way of going in the opposite direction
To know if it's a cine film, check the sprockets. Still film has more square sprocket hole corners while the cine stuff is more rounded.
interesting
finally, a soviet film look without having to mess with old soviet film
something like that
Looks like vision-2 when developed in c41 chemistry. Thanks for the vid, bud!
yea looks old
Great video, looks super warm. I think orwo had negative and positive color films many years ago. :)
yea the scans were warm - you might be able to change that
I really like the look, personally.
yea its not bad!
Before you addressed it towards the end of the video..when looking at the shots, I was thinking "Hey, wasn't this a cinema film"? And if so...likely as not, much like Vision3, it is meant to come out somewhat flat and desaturated, so that you could have a wider gamut of color grading options.
I too would like to see this done in ECN-2..as that is what gives Vision3 its "ready to grade" look....kinda like shooting RAW or Log on a digital camera, it's meant to be color corrected and graded in post.
I"m guessing this may be too...I"m actually surprised they said to use C41....
Great seeing you again Ribsy.....have a great day!!
CC
yea all of these are good questions. and orwo should answer all of these haha
Thanks for the review. Reminds me of some Fuji stocks with the green tint, almost.
yea exactly! but not as good imo
I am waiting for leaves and grass to pop out here in poland to try my few rolls of nc500. I’ve seen some nice examples of green palette that this films produces.
i don't really like it
Limited Edition? Let’s have some 100ft rolls please Orwo 🙏🏽
would be nice ... but expensive haha
ISO 400 being clearly printed on the canister would remove all doubt in my mind regarding where to start with ISO.
i didn't even notice that until after shooting the film ... you know, since its named NC500 😆 i just don't get why they would do that
@@ribsy it may have just been their 500th batch or their 500th emulsion formulation or something like that ;)
The history is definitely huge. In Wolfen the world's first color film was produced. In the end of WW2 American photo specialists were in town even before it was seized by the troops. The goal was to get to secret film formulas. Also the inventor of the color film who held hundreds of patents and was head of the production was immediatly taken. Interesing fact as this whole region was going to become occupied by Russia and not the US.
Interesting!
I was going to buy some when my local shop got some in (Freestyle) but it sold out before I made my decision to actually get it. Looking at your images, i'm feeling like I didn't miss out. I'm sure there will be people that love that desaturated grainy look, but I don't think it's for me. (edit: I might buy a roll or two anyway) Thanks for sharing.
ye its def not for everyone
The website of inoviscoat states that the motion picture film from Orwo had asa 500 and they did keep the name but due to the change from ECN2 to C41 this film is now supposed to be shot at asa 400...
interesting. thats alot of work to find out how one should shoot the film haha
The color palette reminds me of a lot of folks' favorite Fujifilm settings, but with way less contrast
yes indeed
It's not an every day use film, but that look certainly has a place.
yea agreed
I just got mine this week!
lucky you! haha
This really looks like lomo metropolis, also the film base. The yellow
yup for sure
I've got 3 rolls of this, think I'll try bracketing the first roll by +1 & +2 stops to see what it looks like. Also wondering about optical darkroom printing with the low orange mask. Do you think adding a 'blank' C41 neg in the holder with the NC500 would help with filtration the end print quality?
thats really interesting - i def didn't consider that
ORWO and FOMA were most popular film in the eastern block. While FOMA was mostly B/W (only) Orwo had pretty decent colorfilms that looked like the old German films from the 30s from the Agfacolor process before C41... but this looks kinda different
gotcha!
Coz it was original Agfa production plant nationalized in GDR 😀
@@tomfu6210 yeah, that’s why they stuck to pre WWII colors. They didn’t do much inventing afterwards. Maybe some minor but definitely not huge
Walmart website says: At the core of their new color film lies a unique chemical formula based on the wonderful and legendary Agfa stock last used in the Oscar-winning film 'Out of Africa'. Famous for their greens, desaturated shadows, and enhanced grains, these are all aspects that we are embracing for their new addition.
yea ive read that before. think ecn2 might bring out the best of this film
It looks nice :) I like the photo with the fireworks alot. Funny that you got the film from a shop. Indeed I'm still waiting for my order to arrive, but as soon as I see it in a shop near me I'll be getting it too haha 😅😅
so many people still waiting
I always over expose color film by 1/2 to 1 stop to eliminate graininess in shadows and commonly use ECN-2 processing, even on C-41 film. Doing so will likely give more saturated colors.
i find ecn gives less saturation but more room to play in post
I would try that again at 200 and would love to see how it compares
yea agreed
Maaaaaan...First off, thank you Ribsy. Always appreciate the videos. This film looks straight up like Metropolis to me or a slight variation of it. To your point, I think developing it in ECN2 with a proper LOG grade might make it a bit more interesting. ORWO's being so weird on the messaging of these products. Perhaps they need to be obtuse since there may be a potential conflict of interest with InovisCoat and their silent contracts with Lomography, etc.? Regardless, it doesn't instill confidence in the product.
you said it ... not me! hahaha 😅
There’s two versions of Metropolis. The original version, which possibly sold out? And the current version. Color profile looks the same or similar but this current version has more contrast.
Morning Ribsi!! Nicely done as always 😊....
thanks for watching!
Interesting!
I returned to shooting c41 films in 2022 and it would be worth picking up a roll or two and try out during the spring and summer season 2023.
As a reference, I shot a 120 roll of metropolis and liked the results so a desaturated film interests me!
yea you might like this too!
Loving the look on this film stock!
yea its not bad
Keep those videos coming 🙌🏾
yessir!
I‘m just glad ORWO produces again.
Finally my countries Film industry starts to work at it again. You want the facts? I recently watched a few documentaries and read articles online. The history behind ORWO and Agfa is rather a tragic one.
So Agfa invented the first usable color negatives. After WW2 the Americans stole the knowledge and patents from Agfa‘s Wolfen factory. The soviets took the machines and some technicians and engineers. It’s sad but at the same time Germany systematically murdered millions of jews so you can’t blame them for taking that after winning against Germany. Later the factory in Wolfen came under the jurisdiction of the USSR. After some time has passed the west and the east started to rebuild Germany, meaning also it’s Film industry. But there were two Agfa companies now. The one in Wolfen and one in Leverkusen, Agfa in the east and the western Agfa. This has led to some confusion and other issues between these two and thus the Agaf Wolfen renamed itself to ORWO (Original Wolfen). The staff and knowledge was mostly the same but the ones in Wolfen called themselves the „real“ Agfa. It also startled the staff in Wolfen at first after the renaming. Fun fact ORWO had the most women in its company out of all East German companies. After the USSR fell, so did ORWO slowly. Agfa in the west also died due to digital cameras taking over and also other factors I’m not aware of.
That’s all I know. Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.
Edit: ORWO has all the history on their site. Just checked it out www.orwo.wtf/about
agreed! still have lots of question tho 😀
@@ribsy just edited my comment telling the facts and story I know. Thank you for publishing your video though. Would have never known this otherwise haha
I hope it’s all correct and contains all the info
Similar split happened to Zeiss
@@johnkaplun9619 interesting
Cine scanner scan in Log to have data and bandwidth. A large enough linear file will give you the same amount of editing capability.
yea ive done videos about log scans
@@ribsy What I mean is professional Hollywood colorists practically never grade straight Log footage. They always use a gamma transform. These images are not Log for color grading reasons.
Back in the day, we had similar looking films that were generally referred to as "European color". Their colors were rendered more as pastels.
Central and northern European countries preferred them, while the Mediterranean countries, the USA and Japan preferred more saturated color.
Of course, the photographer would pick one depending on the " look " that they wanted to achieve.
Just some useless trivia from an old guy.
Interesting
Did you shoot the new photos with the Canon P? I get really desaturated colors with the P's 50 1.4. If that's the case will be interesting to see how a new lens renders the image using this film
nope! used the eos 300v and a 40mm 2.8 lens
As far as I know. Agfa was split up in two divisions after WW2, one in Wolfen(east), one in Leverkusen(vest). In the beginning of the 60ties they split up, and the eastern division became Orwo. Orwo was, at the time the second largest producer of film in the world. The Orwo of today, is actually now again working with what is left of the German Agfa division(Inviscoat), so the circle is closed so to say.
interesting!
I shot a roll recently and I'm sure it's a relative to Lomo Metropolis. The grain structure and color etc are reminiscent. Not the dopest film I've shot but i's unique in it's rendering.
its def related
A interesting film 🎞
yea interesting for sure
I like the desaturated look of the film. Could be nice depending on the use case. I wouldn't use it for everything but it would work in certain situations.
agreed!
reminds me a lot of lomo metropolis !
yes indeed
gosh i hope they will bring back 27 B&W
yup!
Kinda reminds me of Eterna and old old S35 stock kinda like it.... question is though... is Orwo just repackaging or actually developping the stock themselves? Also whhyyyy is all color film sold out in europe???
i dont have the all the details
i saw another video where the shades in the photos were really brown or purple and i didnt like it. i like more the way that your photos turnef out. i got a reto ultra wide and slim camera and it comes with the NC500. wondering how can i avoid the purple shades...
yea i don't like it
Interesting! I'm curious if the negatives have any info in the highlights or if those highlights are just totally blown out. Not something I'd choose on any regular basis either way though.
the dynamic range definitely seems reduced compared to other c41 films
The Germany the film is made in is the original, first-ever AGFA plant, which became part of communist Germany after WWII and The Cold War, renamed ORWO (ORiginal WOlfen plant) in 1964. The newer Agfa plant built later for their last series of new films was torn do (!!!) after the spin-off of the company from parent company Agfa-Gevaert did not work out by the mid-1990s sadly. ORWO had a slightly different muted color than Agfa, maybe because of communist cost-cutting, but if you shoot older ORWO color or black and white, no matter the results, the film tends to curl and not be as good as Agfa film for the same period, granted they were well-stored enough to be shot now. To see what ORWO color could look like outside of still samples you can find on the internet, see the restored frames of the feature film THE FIREMAN'S BALL (1967) directed by the late, great Milos Forman to see how the color could look at its best.
thanks for the info! very interesting
@@ribsy Sure. I have much more if you need it, so if you reply again, I'll give you. way to contact me. Agfa is one of my favorite film stocks.
great overview. always love your addition of darkroom prints. made me decide against getting this film, the blacks are wayy too muddy for me.
yup
I like the green tint. Looks cross processed.
yea def, i do think its crossed processed when doing c41 (unoffcially)
There is something about the look of the results, I may have to buy a roll.
yea give it a shot
How did it print? Does it need extreme magenta correction due to green mask? Does it have similar problems as Vision3 has with color crossovers, when processed in C-41?
yea i had to compensate for the clear base quite a bit
Aside from scanning, exposure, and development techniques, lighting conditions may also play a role here. Your photos look to have been taken in low-contrast, cool light. The results will likely look very different in full sun, maybe more like the results you got earlier?
perhaps!
the colour of the negatives and colour pallet of the film remind me of lomo metropolis
yup!
ORWO was producing color films and slides during DDR times and was making the best films avialable in the Soviet Union. Though, chemistry inside was a little bit different. For producing this stock I think they've just restarted an old line, but there also was Agfa color film... why not to restart it? Germany still should have technology but not to develop it again. Anyway... Germany was the country first to introduce chromogenic color negative film (Agfa did it almost simultaneously in 1930s with Kodachrome, though Kodachrome was a slide film)
thanks for sharing the knowledge
What ISO should that film be exposed for? 500? 400? 200?
probably 200
Thanks for sharing this! Got my hands on a roll recently, but haven’t shot it yet. I might rate it at 400 to see the difference in the results, your shots do look a little too muddy even in even lighting
yea, i just don't expect a big difference between ISO 400 and 500
Yeah shoot that thing at 200
Reminds me of Lomo Metropolis..but slightly better.
yup ... thats it 😅
Super curious if this can be pushed given its flat profile.
i doubt it. the grain and muddiness will get too aggressive
Back in the day, ORWO in Wolfen was the East German counterpart of German Agfa in Leverkusen. Both locations used to be Agfa but, following the division of Germany after WWII, Wolfen was in the East, and Leverkusen in the West.
ORWO fell on hard times following the reunification, but it was survived by Filmotec which continues making the ORWO-branded black and white film. I kind of assumed they also did this one.
InovisCoat, on the other hand, says that they trace their origins back to Agfa Leverkusen and directs all enquiries about NC500 to Filmotec.
So who knows, maybe Wolfen and Leverkusen teamed up again after all these years to release this film. If so, I wish them all the best.
thanks for all the info!
Why all the secrets? No one is proud of making this?
It looks cool
yea not bad!
Are they planning on making in permanent? Everything they've done so far, including the NP100 B&W film has been limited.
no clue!
what is the RA-4 paper used here?
Fuji crystal archive luster
The look is similar to the old Agfa look, like Agfacolour
interesting!
Looks like under exposed lomo metropolis, without the red pop, which is the only reason to shoot metropolis imho.
yup agreed
I shoot expired film to test out cameras -- and your shots/scans look *VERY MUCH* like when I shoot expired (and not stored well) Fuji 800 at 200 -- same washed out look, lack of true blacks, not-very please grain. For my testing it is fine -- I can tell if there are light leaks, consistent exposure or any major camera/lens malfunctions. *RARELY* I will be surprised and find a pleasing image where the odd image factors just "work" -- but when I saw your first images in this video, expired Fuji (Superia) 800 is immediately what I thought.
interesting point
For the desaturation and grain, I'd say this is a 200 film actually. Or even 100.
yea potentially. this def seems to benefit from overexposure
@@ribsy Mr. Azevedo is onto something as this 500ASA/ISO is based on the AGFA 320XT color negative they used to make and the two companies (Cold War notwithstanding) shared the same chemistry history and even did film for each other into the 1990s. However, the flat color look reminds of the color limits on the mid-1980s Agfa RS films that toned down the color to look more like Fuji. Not RSX or anything else with RS in it, just RS itself. Why both 500 rolls would have these issues when 320 XT did not is odd, unless ORWO combined elements of 320 and some RS to get the rolls you are getting here.
I wonder how it behaves overexposed +1 stop
prob more shadow detail
We still don’t now that Fuji actually stopped making film.
yup we don't know
@@ribsy We still get Superia 400 regularly in Germany. I just bought five rolls with expiration 07. 2025!
@Phillip Banes Made in Japan by Fuji. They were really transparent about Fujifilm 200 being Gold with releasing the specs and writing made in the U.S.A on the package. They didn’t have to do either.
@Phillip Banes It’s. That’s what I’m saying. I‘ve been shooting this film for a long time. I’d notice sooner or later if something changes.
@Phillip Banes What’s going on? I already told you. Why are you interpreting some sort of state of unrest into my answers?
Definitely a niche film.
for sure
Now available in the UK for £20.95 (or $25.88) a roll. YOU'VE GOT TO BE JOKING!!!!🤣🤣🤣
hahaha thats wild! i paid $16 usd
It's actually 400ISO. the 500 in the name throws everyone off.
yea ... no info from them either
Hey i could send you the other color stock they made, NC400
that would be awesome. DM me on IG @ribsy__
@@ribsyDM sent!
same as lomo metropolis?
thats the rumor!
This film may have its place in being used as red scale film.
interesting
Hipsters try to turn bad into good, but the fact is, during the days of film, this film stock wouldn't have been adopted at all. It would have been trashed as horrible garbage. You can't polish a turd with words like "unique". Given that this wouldn't have been acceptable 50 years ago, our standards should be even higher today.
its not my ideal film stock, but i don't think its shit
looks totally different from what we can see on their website
yea agreed
Reminds me of Lomo metropolis but not as cool and contrasty
indeed!
Looks like a great winter film, desaturated and depressing.
hahaha
is this like cinestill ?
nope. completely different product
@@ribsy ..thx....
At $19 a roll Portra is still cheaper
yup - i paid $16 tho
the grain is too strong for me, and i really like grain lol
yea its a bit off-putting
Orwo clearly states in their website that WOLFEN NC500 is 400 ASA film. If you shot it at 500 ASA, you just underexposed the film.
the difference between 400 and 500 is miniscule. i don't think the results will vary tons based on that distinction. also the naming convention is really dumb then -- why name is NC500 knowing that its just going to mislead people
Your prints exhibit a green cast a very interesting and retro look but not my cup of tea.
yea the film def has a tint to it, even when you edit it in post
Quality looks crappy to be charging premium. I think i'll stick w kodak MP films
thats my main problem - its VERY expensive
Always expose film at the recommended ISO at least initially, then go from there.
If you have exposed this film at ISO 500 (incorrectly), then it has been underexposed by 1/3 stop, which is never a good thing with print film. It will bring up the grain in shadows, darken the shadows, and lower the highlights.
Overexposing by 1/2 to 2/3 stop is probably where you should be to give the film enough light to produce the correct look the film is designed for.
Underexposing a film then saying you don't like the look is very misleading.
I have to say i really don’t like the look 😂 reminds me of agfa vista 200. But yeah, thanks for the review
totally! it not my favorite
Trust me, do not buy it anymore. I bought 8 rolls and all of them looks like expired film… i don’t know why you have to pay around 14€ in Europe for this s**t. I wrote a mail to ORWO buy they are soooooooo busy, that they cannot answer me.. really, do not buy this film.
nope i wont't buy anymore
I did charity shoots for a good cause. No help in costs or re-inbursements! True donations.. The organizers did supply film for publications and a show for all involved. Fuji pro colour, similar to that miserable portra! No vivid colours! Professionally I used Kodak Gold! It had fire and contrast and vivid colours! Why? Because many people at weddings also took photos. I had no desire to 'try' and explain why my photos, were so soft and watery! I used Gold for everything! If you like washed out colour, no strong contrast, I'm so happy for All of you! I think in my opinion, all these 'new' films are crap. Waste of fluffing time. My Nikkor lenses had strong contrast, compared to older Leitz Lenses from Leica! Guess who won the race in popularity? Canon soon shifted it's perception, in race to equal Nikon! Being born in South Africa with a strong sun, and much UV light, 2 miles in sky.. Yup 2,000m above sea level. Deep black shadows. No portraits at midday! In open shade! Maybe! I adore colour! Lot's of colour! Alex Webb would have gone nuts! Rachel, his wife, in tears, with her poetic images..Don't get me started on hi-speed lenses with no depth of focus. Use a lousy lens, hazy,damaged and Telextender. save a lot of money.. Nice article. But..
👍🏽
bro is the mister complainy complainer
?
@@ribsy bro all you did in this video was complain
I have one word for this film. HORRIBLE. Prior to shooting ORWO NC500, my least favorite new film was Cinestill 400D. NC500 has helped me realize that Cinestill 400D is a far better film. With NC500, the grain is like mud in blue skies. Some colors were so far away from reality that there wasn't even a hint of what the true color was. Brown was the new purple according to Orwo NC500. This was far more Out of Africa and definitely not The Color Purple. There was also evidence of a light leak in a camera that has never had a light leak....so I'll assume the light leak came with the film. My photos, overall, have the look of very expired film poorly stored. Cinematic? Hardly. Would I shoot it again. Not a chance.
pretty much agree - the film isn't great
I can already see the new @theatticdarkroom episode from here
yup
1st
🙌
I hate that they call it NC500 even though it says ISO 400 on the side of the box. That’s just a prime example of Germans being to dumb for marketing again.
agreed
You do your own colour darkroom printing?!! That’s wild; huge respect. Does Roger ( @shootfilmlikeaboss ) know?
yes he does!