Kodak Vision 3 - first impressions

Some time in the early days of summer I went to the lab to drop a film to be developed.

“What do we have here?”, Dan asked me. “A Kono! b&w” was my answer. “Don’t you dare call it standard” said him, reading from the film canister. “Did you use it?” I asked. “No”, said Dan. “Ok, I will bring you a roll next week” I said. “Is not working like that” was his reply - “Will you use an expired film?” he asked. “Sure, why not?”. “Then we swap. Deal?”. “Deal!”. So I swapped a Kono! b&w for an expired Kodak Vision 3. Don’t know for how long was expired so I asked Dan: “What should I expect from it?”. “Hmmm, cinematic”.

So I loaded the film in my beloved Yashica Lynx 5000 as I knew that the camera won’t let me down and I used in the next couple of months. Today I want to share with you the results and my experience.

Knowing that the film is expired I used it at box speed (ISO 400) - the safest option. After getting the film back from the lab and scan it myself, my first impressions are: a green colour cast all along (the environmental coditions didn’t matter), a bit washed colours (normal for an expired film I say) and a pleasant contrast.

My first stop was in the city, where I managed to get any photographer’s dream: a colourful alley in a contrasty lighting situation. The only inconvenient for me is the green colour cast, otherwise I’m happy with the image.

For the next experience I brought the film to the park where I tried to photograph colours against the sky. Happy with the result, not happy with the scratches on the left hand side, but that’s another story that is still under investigation.

With the following image I’ve tried not only the film but the camera too: I used a very shallow depth of field keeping the lens opend at f/2.8 and get as close as I could to the subject. For a 45mm lens at f/2.8 I’m happy with the result (lesson learned of how far can I push the camera) but regarding the film, again I’m not happy with the green cast - it is very obvious.

The green tint is visible even on a sunny day as was the case with the following image.

I’ve tried my luck in the magic forest and the results are the same - green colour cast. One might say that the green cast is normal in a forest but to me is too much, I have the proof from digital camera or the phone.

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The only time when I was a bit luckier in the magic forest was when I photographed reflections. I still see a subtle colour cast but it might be only because I know that is there.

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This experience convinced me yet again that when using a colour film, sunny days are your best friend, it is the only way to get out the best of that emulsion regardless who’s making the film. Will I use Kodak Vision 3 again? If it comes my way, sure, not a problem, but I’m not going to look for it. Will I use other colour film? Of course, even if it is only for experimentation. I think for the next colour film I will be using long exposure only but until then I will stick to black&white.