Ferrania P33 Review: A New B&W Film!

Italian film manufacturer, Film Ferrania, has released a brand new film, P33, which is a 160iso panchromatic black and white film. Ferrania states that P33, is “a leap forward in black and white photography that seamlessly combines innovation and tradition for outstanding results.” and the results are in fact, outstanding! P33 retains the fine grain and well punchy tones of Ferrania’s P30 80iso B&W film but has a higher sensitivity of 160iso as well a lower contrast, making it more versatile and forgiving than P30.

As a traditional dip & dunk lab who develops B&W in house as well as offers true B&W prints on silver gelatin paper we’re always excited about brand are B&W film stocks! It was a pleasure testing P33 and we were very happy with the results as not only is the fine grain beautiful and very sharp but where it excels most is its’ incredibly smooth tones and medium contrast which provides a lot of shadow detail. In our opinion, the look of this film reminds us a lot of the original FujiFilm Acros 100 but since Acros 100 is no longer made we compared P33 to Ilford’s FP4 plus 125 as well Cinestill’s BWXX to give you and idea of what to expect from this film.

As you will see the comparison below, P33 has more subtle tones and lower contrast than Cinestill BWXX which is known for it;s punky tones and more noticeable gain. P33 in comparison to Ilford’s FP4 Plus 125, are a much closer look but we find the P33 has slightly better shadow detail and despite being a high iso than FP4, it has finer grain which is very sharp!

Ferrania P33’s 160iso makes it ideal for daylight photography and with its medium contrast and high exposure latitude it’s a great option for landscapes, architecture, and street photography. Its beautiful tones and smooth tonal transitions make it a great for portraiture as well. In comparison to P30, Ferrinia’s 80iso B&W film, it haves less contrast and much more forgiving when it comes under or overexposure. If you like shooting with fine grain B&W film, like: Kodak TMAX 100, Ilford Delta 100 or FP4 Plus 125 but want to try something new, we highlight recommend this film as it has some of the smoothest tones we’ve seen and it truly produces beautiful results. Cinestill is the official North America distributor for this film and will have it for sale February 29th for $11.99.