Ferrania P30 Alpha is Dead, Long Live Ferrania P30

If you follow the film photography community and there’s a chance you do if you follow this blog, then you will have some idea of the rocky road that is the modern version of Film Ferrania. When they burst on the scene, they had the grand dream of bringing a new colour slide film to market using one of the few remaining buildings from the OG Ferrania plant in northern Italy along with a tonne of equipment, materials, and notes. You probably also realise that this dream has not yet been achieved. That doesn’t mean they’ve been sitting around doing nothing all that time. And they do have the capacity to produce film, not what even they were expecting.

The result of that first run is known as P30, a modern take on a classic Ferrania Film. So rather than wait for something that may still come, I jumped and switched to P30, and it would be P30 that would mark my third ever film review. I even bought another five rolls of the Alpha film for further enjoyment. But Alpha was never intended to be a full production film, only a proof of concept. The goal remained to produce a colour slide film. So, when a trip into Toronto came with some bright sunlight (fairly harsh actually) I took the chance and loaded up my first roll of the new stuff into my trusty Nikon FE and 35mm f/2.8 lens to shoot on a walk through the city with my father-in-law.

And then production stopped, Alpha was dead. But don’t get all weepy, because P30 Alpha is dead, Long Live P30. Honestly, I can’t see any difference between Alpha and Production of P30, which means Ferrania produces a good product. I am a little disappointed in these, mostly because I picked a developer I was never happy with P30 in. Always worth giving it a second chance and following the developing instructions (30 seconds initially, then 5 seconds every 30″), it seems a little harsh for me. But I am happy with the results I was able to pull out in post.

So what are my next steps with the new P30? Well, I have two rolls earmarked for a trip to Montreal in May. Then I aim to use one turn to try shooting it at ASA-32 (Just because), and then process a roll in Cinestill D96, those will probably be the Montreal rolls. And the final roll, will probably just be used on a photo walk or future trip when I feel like it.