KONO Releases 3 Beautiful New Film Emulsions You’ll Want to See
KONO is at it again with three brand new film emulsions and one is unlike anything we’ve seen.
KONO is a brand we’ve known and loved for several years. They create some cool, quirky film we’ve only truly appreciated after we looked around at the entire landscape. Digital photography is capable of so much. It even emulates the look of many films. So to get something unique, film manufacturers have to create a look you can’t get digitally. And that’s what KONO is doing with some of their new films announced today. Later today, you’ll be able to pick up emulsions like KONO Delite Art 100 at Freestyle Photographic or on KONO’s website directly.
KONO Delite Art 100
KONO Delite Art 100 is an ISO 100 color negative film. It’s only coming in Medium format 120. KONO says this film is based on a professional film stock, but they’ve tinted it to provide a different saturation, hue, and contrast. It’s an ISO 100 film that delivers some really cool looks that are hard to get digitally.
This is the film we’re most excited to test. It’s one of the few we’ve heard of in the 120 format only. I mean, think about it. How would it look through a Mamiya RB67? Or what about the Pentax 67? Or the Fujifilm GW 690 III? I’ll be using it with a Mamiya 6, so I’m very excited to see what comes of this film.
I think it’s going to provide an intriguing challenge for scanning and exposing. You’ll probably think the colors will be one thing, but they’ll render another way instead. You’ll need to really use color filters on your lenses or just embrace the look. What I’m also super curious about is how it reacts to flash. From the sample images, we can already see what it does for blues. Of course, this is a daylight-balanced film, but how will it look with all the trippy colors?
From what KONO tells us, the effect will be more muted if you overexpose the film. But if you underexpose it, it’s going to become more intense.
Sample Images
KONO Monolit 3
KONO Monolit 3 is a black and white film coming in 35mm. It’s specifically an ISO 3 orthochromatic film with 36 exposures, so it’s really, really slow. You’re not going to get a film this slow. You’re essentially going to be shooting very long shutter speeds. Film like this used to be used for displaying text in a movie.
We expect photographers to take this into landscapes and deserts to work with it. It’s not a portrait film unless you’re using some crazy powerful lighting packs. It’s also not a city photography film unless it’s a clear sky. But this is clearly a landscape film. And it’s going to be beautiful to see what it does on a cloudy day with a graduated ND filter.
KONO Monolit 3 Sample Images
KONO Monolit 100
KONO Monolit 100 is a black and white panchromatic film. It comes in 35mm format and has 36 exposures. This is a more conventional film and it’s easier to use. You can use it for landscapes, portraiture, daytime shooting, etc. What’s going to be fascinating to find out is how it differentiates itself from other emulsions and why you’d choose it over Acros or Earl Grey films.
KONO makes a lot of references to vintage cinema film for this one. If that’s the case, it’s going to be fascinating to work with then. I think Leica R or Leica M lenses might be best. Otherwise, using Zeiss primes could render a gorgeous look. I believe that some Japanese optics might be a bit too sharp for it, or they’ll lack character. But we’ll have to test it out to be sure.
KONO Monolit 100 Sample Images
