Orwo Wolfen NC500 – Pushed a stop (or 2)

I waited a long time to shoot Orwo Wolfen NC500. When I got my hands on a few rolls, I was determined to do something different. I’d already seen plenty of box speed results, with many disappointed due to the muted colours and visible grain. Reflecting upon this, I wondered, how can I make NC500 colours pop a little? But first I’ll take you on a journey on my complex relationship with this film.

2022 film launches

2022 was a good year for film launches. Before Easter we had CineStill launch 400D and Adox launch Color Mission. With flat rate shipping to Australia, to make it worthwhile I bought 20 rolls of each, keeping some and selling the rest on to friends.

In June 2022 we had a third new film launched when Orwo announced the production of a new colour negative film Wolfen NC500. When pre-sales opened up, I was all over it like a hipster on a beanie. I excitedly preordered 20 rolls, keen to get my hands on some new European colour film. The test shots looked good, not quite as wow as Adox Color Mission, but promising.

The expected shipping date of July was pushed back once, then twice. Then, frustratingly, kept rolling into the future. By early January 2023 some friends already had their rolls, but many of us waited and waited.

In early July 2023 Lomography launched yet another new colour negative film: Lomo Color 92. Or was it a new film? I felt like I’d seen its palette somewhere before, but I ordered 10 rolls.

When it arrived, it came in boxes with a Made in China sticker on. Peel back the sticker and it revealed ‘Made in Germany’. The conclusion many of us made was that Color 92 came out of the same factory as NC500. Not surprising given that other Lomography films Purple, Turquoise and Metropolis are all made in Germany.

I finally get my hands on NC500

Fast forward to early 2024 when I finally got my hands on a few rolls of NC500. This was somewhat of a bittersweet moment, this was the film I’d been waiting so long to try, but 18 months after I was expecting it.

As a lover of vibrant rich colour, I decided to do a little experiment. I rated rolls of NC500 at higher speeds and had the film pushed 1 or 2 stops by my lab. I’ve previously pushed CineStill’s 400D with great results so I was confident i’d get some more contrast and saturation from this process.

Why I push colour negative film

Many photographers don’t understand why I like pushing colour negative film. They see it as unnecessary and even stupid. Here are the 3 cases for me asking my lab to push film:

1. Dusk handheld shooting – I love this time of the day but I like to move fast and don’t want to set up a tripod. Rating a film higher than box speed allows me to get shutter speeds 1/60 second or faster in low light.
2. Shooting with my Fujifilm Natura Black – the ‘moonlight’ camera loves fast film. So much so, when you load up a roll of ISO 1600 film or faster, it shoots wide open at f/1.9. 1600 speed film is as rare as rocking horse crap these days. One viable option is to add a DX code sticker to a roll of 400 or 800 speed film and trick the camera into thinking it’s ISO 1600. Then send to your lab and ask them to push the film a stop or 2.
3. Finally, my reason for pushing Orwo NC500 – I wanted more contrast and saturation. This is usually what happens when you push film, though you might also end up with your shadows being crushed and significantly more grain. I was wiling to take the gamble.

Pushed Orwo NC500 results

All up, I’ve shot 4 rolls of Orwo NC500:

• the first 2 rolls I shot with my Minolta TC-1 at ISO 800, asking my lab to push each roll a stop
• the next 2 rolls I shot on my Fujifilm Klasse S, one at 800 and one at 1250, asking my lab to push them 1 and 2 stops respectively.

Overall the pushed rolls show better colours and contrast than rolls shot at box speed. The grain is about the same, perhaps a bit higher in underexposed areas.

So is this my go-to film for pushing now? No, not quite. CineStill 400D still gets that title. I’m pleased to have finally shot NC500 and got some interesting results out of it. Falling into the Marmite / Vegemite category, it’s more of an acquired taste than a crowd pleaser.

I’ll shoot the couple of rolls I have left but won’t buy anymore for now. It’s not well loved by the community, but I tell you what, if it was the only colour negative film left, I’d be grateful for it.

If you’d like to see even more pushed Orwo NC500 photos, make sure you check out my video Push Orwo Wolfen Color NC500 For Best Colours .

Thanks for reading! I publish videos about compact film and digital cameras on YouTube, my Substack is a mix of film and digital, and my ‘Matt Loves Cameras’ podcast is 100% film.

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