Review: Lomography Redscale XR 50-200

7

A great film when for when you’re in complete control over your ISO setting!

I’ve been wanting to try the Lomography Redscale XR 50-200 film for some time after seeing the stunning effects other Lomographers have managed to produce. However, I read that the effect only varies between different ISO settings, and at the moment the only film camera I have is the Sprocket Rocket which doesn’t allow you to set the ISO. Nevertheless, I went ahead and got myself a box to see what I could get from this film.

I’m very careful whenever using this film, that I only shoot in direct and bright sunlight. I did try some bulb settings (without the tripod) but most shots are done in the normal N mode using the cloudy aperture setting. The results are not really good — many shots are really strong in contrast to the extent that the shadows are completely underexposed. Bulb shot turned out better though, but then again I didn’t expect them to be so gloomy even under bright daylight. I didn’t try a lot of double exposures for this roll, so I can’t comment on that.

Subsequently, I loaned a Nikon FM2 from my college photography lab as it can control the ISO settings. As it is a really good professional SLR camera, I had complete control over all the settings and I love how this time I can try every ISO speed from 25 to 200. The results – when I got them back from the lab – were stunning!

The photos at a low ISO are in a retro, sepia-ish tone, and the details, shadows, highlights are great. I’m totally pleased with the film – It adds a very pleasant warm hue to my photo collections!

I guess I will keep the last film to be used on another camera that can control the ISO setting. Using it with the Sprocket Rocket really limits this film’s capabilities, but I guess if I had a tripod with me, then it might be a different story. In conclusion, using this Redscale XR 50-200 film with the appropriate camera will yield fantastic results, especially in the lower ISO region!

written by shuttersentinel17 on 2011-06-09 #gear #film #review #redscale #warm #lomography #135 #iso #xr #user-review

7 Comments

  1. ariannapaloma
    ariannapaloma ·

    hey! i'd like to try the redscale film on my canon and i found your article is really helpful. the photos are very nice, i really like the retro style. could you tell me the ISO combination you used? thanks so much!

  2. shuttersentinel17
    shuttersentinel17 ·

    Hi! Thanks, I love the film too; if used in the right way it is really stunning.
    I can't really remember the ISO combination I used - the purplish, pinkish ones should be ISO25, while the red ones are higher, like 200. if you can, try doing double exposures at ISO50 or 100?

  3. ariannapaloma
    ariannapaloma ·

    Thanks! So i will try with 25 ISO and i will also try the double exposure. If the result will be good, i will write an article and let you know! :) Thanks again!

  4. shuttersentinel17
    shuttersentinel17 ·

    No problem! Have fun and looking forward to reading your article!

  5. imnotgic
    imnotgic ·

    So that's how I should use it! I must give Redscale XR a shot again :) Thanks for the tip!

  6. shuttersentinel17
    shuttersentinel17 ·

    @imnotgic no problem and hope to see your redscale photos! :)

  7. bonadriel
    bonadriel ·

    Hi, I was wondering when you set them at ISO 25, do you still develop for ISO 200?

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