Testing the New LomoChrome Color '92 Sun-Kissed Edition: Pulling and Pushing
5We recently welcomed the arrival of our LomoChrome Color '92 Sun-kissed Edition film, and in Lomography tradition, we decided to put it to the test with a classic pull-and-push comparison. The purpose of running these tests is to look at the latitude of the new film, examining the color, grain, and contrast level in the shadows and highlights.
Pushing film means underexposing your roll when shooting, and then making up for it during your development by altering the development time and temperature for color film. Pulling involves overexposing your film by one stop, and it needs compensation during development as well. Here we have applied the necessary adjustments during development to successfully compare each roll of film.
To understand how much you are pushing or pulling, keep the film's box speed ISO as your point of reference. When you go out to shoot, it is easier to set your camera to the desired ISO number and let your device read the light accordingly. Box speed indicates the production assigned ISO values.
LomoChrome Color '92 Sun-kissed Edition is rated at 400 ISO. Pushing moves the ISO up. Going to 800 ISO means a plus one stop increase, then 1600 is two stop increase, etc. Pulling goes the opposite direction, minus one 200 ISO for one stop decrease and 50 ISO for a two stop decrease. For this test we did a classic -1 stop and +1 stop, consequently rating our film at 200 ISO and 800 ISO.
Color:
At box speed, our new formula glows with a charming sunset tone. The warm white balance gives this film a seductive and cozy feeling.
When we pull the film, the overall colors become more brilliant. The warm golden tones are muted and share the spotlight with colder shades. While it is normal for pulling to result in a subtle pastel tone, we appreciate the retention of the vibrant saturation, and the variety of shades present in the shadows and highlights.
Pushing is slightly more challenging with this film. Even though we get brilliant and punchy reds, the other colors have a high risk of getting lost to the overpowering dark shadows.
Grain:
The LomoChrome Color '92 Sun-kissed Edition retains the grain structure of its predecessor. At 400 ISO the grain is present, but it does not overpower the image. We can still appreciate the sharpness of its structure.
Pulling is always of great assistance if you're aiming for fine grain. Naturally, decreasing our ISO lowers the grain latency without compromising the overall sharpness.
When pushing this film the grain becomes a visual element that is hard to ignore, and the film structure becomes more visible.
Contrast:
At box speed this film demostrates a robust formation, contrast is strong, with definitive shadows and highlights. Details in the shadows can be perceived to a darker degree and get lost easily.
Pulling proves to be the sweet spot for this film, expanding the latitude while still preserving the highlights. At 200 ISO we gain more room to play, recovering a good amount of information from the shadows, without losing details in the highlights.
Often, when people think about pushing, they have a certain look in mind. Commonly, this technique is employed not only to extend the light range in later hours of the day, but to get a grittier look, with stronger contrast.
Arguably this look is already present at box speed with LomoChrome Color '92 Sun-kissed Edition. When pushed this film loses information in the shadows, leaving the images with almost no room for adjustment.
The nature of this film already provides noticeable virtues at box speed. The LomoChrome Color '92 Sun-kissed Edition reaffirms the reputation of Lomography film with a unique color cast, decisive grain structure, sharpness, and stark contrast. We believe in character and uniqueness, and this new formula delivers versatility to photographers ready to experiment with bold and brilliant film stocks.
Note* As the film used for these photos were test rolls some images contain a visible red line.
Grab a roll of LomoChrome Color '92 Sun-kissed Edition on our online shop.
written by eparrino on 2024-07-17 #gear #new-film #film-latitude #pull-and-push-test
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