I’ve said it a dozen times: I’m not much for in-depth reviews, especially when it comes to film. Don’t get me wrong, there are others who do film reviews that I enjoy reading/watching. But when people ask me about any given film, I respond in the most practical way possible. Either I like it or I don’t. Or I’m somewhere in the middle.

So…on to Lomography Berlin Kino.

This 400 speed film is described by Lomography thusly: “…a panchromatic black and white negative film inspired by and designed to emulate the aesthetics of the New German Cinema movement.” When I first read about it I was intrigued and I fully intended to buy a roll. But I put it off and by the time I made it a point to actually buy some, it was sold out everywhere I looked, including the Lomography online store. All this was sometime in early 2019.

Leaping ahead to February 2020, I finally got my hands on a roll of 35mm Berlin Kino. I popped it into my Olympus OM-2n, metered for 800 and, after firing off 36 shots over the course of a couple of days, developed the film in HC-110 (A).

What do I think of Lomography Berlin Kino?

I like it. A lot. The tone, the grain structure, the contrast (at least when metering it at 800 ISO). It’s just got a look to it that I’m drawn to. And yes, it dries flat! These are the things I care about.

At about $9 a roll from B&H, Berlin Kino certainly won’t be an everyday film, but I will shoot it every chance I get.

Here are some shots from my inaugural roll.

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