Never heard of Ars-Imago? Neither had I, until I stumbled upon these rolls, a couple of months ago, on the internet. Without really giving it any thought, I bought a roll of each to try out (two rolls of color, and one in black and white).

So what’s the deal here? What really got me excited in the first place was the vision3 on imago 250 and imago 500. These two rolls are made from Kodaks vision3 film, and cut down to fit 35mm, just like the stock from Cinestill, their popular 800T film. The big difference between Imago vs Cinestill, is that Cinestill has removed a layer of the emulation called the remjet layer. With the remjet layer removed, it allows the film to be developed in regular c41 chemicals, just like regular 35mm film, instead of the ECN-2 process - that motion picture film needs. With the remjet layer removed, we introduce a lot of halation to the highlights, a feature 800T is well know for, and the reason why I really like 800T.

I really didn’t think it through before buying, which resolved in me sending my two rolls to Germany for it to be developed, since I don’t think there is, or to my knowledge is a lab, that can handle ECN-2 process in Denmark. The black and white double XX film, was just a simple black and white process, so there were no problem getting that developed here.

Let’s take a closer look at the different rolls, and dig into my initial thoughts. We’ll start with the double XX. I haven’t had the time to scan these myself, so what you see here are all, unedited low lab scans.

*“on a walk in Nørresundby” Shot on Double XX*

On the last image, we clearly see lightleaks - these must have been from production, just like the Cinestill 800T, where you are almost guaranteed lightleaks on the first two shots (i’m not quite sure, but I believe that Ars-Imago hand roll the film, into the canisters). All shots are shot I Nørresundby, on my Nikon F80.

My initial thoughts of the Double XX is, that it is way too contrastful for my taste. It kinda reminds me of why I would rather choose T-Max over HP5. I always like the grey tones more, than the harsh contrast between black and white. That said, I will not discard the stock right away. I like the photos on my roll, and maybe there is a project somewhere down the line, that makes me look in this direction. The ISO of Double XX is 250, but I shot the roll as 200. It has a perfect amount of grain - which really suits a black and white film, in my opinion.

Let’s jump along to the Imago 250, I again shot this as ISO 200, and the results blew me away - especially the colors of the film stock. Again these are low lab scans, since I haven’t scanned them myself - yet.

*“Hesselholdt & Mejlvang performs SOS Save Our Souls” Imago 250*

*“Peter Falktoft after a talk at Kunsten” Imago 250*

*“Sankthansaften at Musikkens hus, Aalborg” Imago 250*

The Imago 250 looks great at first glance, the grain as well. I can’t wait to scan them myself. If the process was way easier, with regular c41 chemicals - the Imago 250 would definitely be my go-to film stock for color. The greens look sooo good.

There isn’t that big of a difference between the Imago 250, and the 500. And it gave me the same results as the 250, I really liked it.

*“Alexander Tovborg’s - Troens Ridder, at Aros” Imago 500*

*“Casper Clausen Lead singer of Efterklang" Imago 500*

*“Efterklang concert, Kunsten” Imago 500*

*“Before the concert, Efterklang - Kunsten” Imago 500*

Just as the 250, the Imago 500 blew me away with its color - especially the greens and blues. I am looking forward to seeing the colors after my process with scanning and converting at home. But I only imagine that it will make me more excited about the photos and these rolls of Ars-Imago.

All the shots on Imago 250, and 500 were shot on my Nikon F80 (there will be a blog post about it, sometime in the future).

If you have any questions, or just want to give me your thoughts about my post or blog, or anything really - just let me know and reach out down below.

Ars-Imago

Yashica Dental Eye II