Observations: On the single roll of Ferrania P33 that I’ve shot, I saw a variety of performance characteristics both good and bad: higher levels of contrast that are on the order of what Fomapan does, inconsistent shadow brightness, very fine grain, the ability to handle very bright subjects nicely even when I had my camera pointed up toward a bright blue sky, and pleasing tonality especially with evenly-illuminated subjects. There is a silvery look to those grey tones that reminds me of Ilford FP4 Plus. I also had fun playing around with SilverFast NegaFix film profiles—photographs taken on Ferrania P33 seem to take on rather interesting characteristics depending on what scanning profile I apply. But since I look for a bit more exposure latitude and a bit less temperament, I was ultimately left feeling a little lukewarm about Ferrania P33. Sunny 16 photographers who shoot without a light meter may have some trouble deciding how to handle its somewhat oddball ASA rating of 160. Is this a slow or medium speed black and white film?
Nikon F with Nikkor-S 50mm f/1.4 lens, Ferrania P33 film, 1/500 sec., f/5.6.
In certain situations, Ferrania P33 can show decent shadow detail when exposing for mostly bright areas.
Left: Nikon F with Nikkor-S 50mm f/1.4 lens, Ferrania P33 film, 1/250 sec., f/5.6.
In even light, this film stock is capable of showing subjects with excellent tonality.
Right: Nikon F with Nikkor-S 50mm f/1.4 lens, Ferrania P33 film, 1/500 sec., f/8.
Ferrania P33 handles subjects under harsh light very well.Nikon F with Nikkor-S 50mm f/1.4 lens, Ferrania P33 film, 1/500 sec., f/8.
Although I knew I was exposing for highlight regions in this composition, I was a little disappointed with shadow brightness especially on the lower right. I may have underexposed this image a bit, but there again this photograph shows the unforgivingness that Ferrania P33 can have for exposure setting errors.
Left: Nikon F with Nikkor-S 50mm f/1.4 lens, Ferrania P33 film, 1/250 sec., f/8.
Ferrania P33 is capable of rendering some subjects with nice tonality under blended light.
Right: Nikon F with Nikkor-S 50mm f/1.4 lens, Ferrania P33 film, 1/125 sec., f/2.8.
I tried to strike a balance between highlights and shadows in this shot, but I was just a little bit disppointed with shadow brightness.
