HarmanPhoenix II 200

Harman Phoenix II 200 is an ISO 200 color negative film for C-41 processing, released in July 2025 as the second generation of Harman’s experimental Phoenix [1] [3]. It is not the same film as the original Phoenix (now sold as Phoenix 125): Harman describes more normal contrast and color balance, finer grain and wider latitude, while still calling it a creative, experimental film [1].

Look and color

• No orange mask. Harman warns that color rendition “can be unusual compared with an established colour film”, and that the negatives look purplish in standard C-41, which it says is normal [1].
• Softer than the original. Parallax finds colors “still far from true to life”, with hints of pink and green in the midtones, but “more subtle and better balanced” than before [6].
• Pastel rather than vivid. PetaPixel says colors “lean towards pastels more than vivid, high-saturation” [4]. Digital Camera World calls them “stylized” and notes that the purplish base can lead to unexpected hues [5].
• The scan matters. Harman gives scanner starting points, such as saturation +2 and tone adjustment “All Hard” on a Fujifilm SP3000 and chroma 100 on a Noritsu, milder than the saturation cuts it advised for the original [1] [8].
• Halation. The datasheet says the film “can exhibit halation in high contrast lighting” [1]. Digital Camera World sees a slight tendency towards it [5]; Parallax finds it still present in the highlights [6]. A reader comment on Analog.cafe describes the halos as more orange than the red ones of CineStill; this is one commenter’s view [7].

Tonality

• Contrast. Harman says it is more normal than the original’s [1]. Parallax reports “more controlled contrast” and better highlight and shadow retention [6]. PetaPixel: “not too harsh to where shadows get crushed, but just enough to give a nice visual depth” [4].
• Latitude. Wider than the original, per Harman [1]. A commenter on Analog.cafe puts the gain at about one stop; that is not from Harman [7].
• Exposure. Best results between EI 100 and 200; Harman advises bracketing at first, particularly in bright scenes [1]. PetaPixel warns that an underexposed frame loses the film’s character [4].
• Curve. Harman publishes no characteristic curve, so no slope or toe can be quoted [1].
• Push: not recommended. Long exposures: no correction from 1/10,000 s to 1 s; beyond that, adjusted time = metered time^1.31 [1].

Grain and sharpness

Harman claims finer grain than the original Phoenix but publishes no RMS granularity or Print Grain Index [1], so no table of neighbors is possible: for scale, Kodak Gold 200 is rated PGI 44 for a 4×6 print from 35 mm [10].

• PetaPixel calls the grain profile “crunchy”, and recommends the film for 120 rather than for 35 mm shooters concerned about grain [4]. Digital Camera World also mentions crunchy grain [5].
• One Analog.cafe commenter finds it fairly grainy in high-resolution scans yet smoother than other new small-batch films [7].

Spectral sensitivity

Under daylight (D55), the three layers form separate, moderately overlapping bands: blue about 360 to 520 nm, green about 480 to 600 nm and red about 570 to 720 nm, each peaking near 2.7 to 2.8 on an undefined “relative sensitivity” scale [1]. The red layer stops near 720 nm, where the original’s red curve trailed off near 760 nm under tungsten light [8]; the two charts use different light sources, so this suggests, but does not prove, a less shifted red.

Names, status and history

• July 2025. Harman released Phoenix II, in which “each layer and component has been redesigned” according to press coverage [3]. Harman’s page says it is made at its Mobberley, UK factory [2].
• Formats. 36-exposure DX-coded 35 mm cassettes and 120 roll film, edge numbered 1 to 19 [1].
• Status. Listed on Harman’s site on September 30, 2026 [2].
• The original Phoenix. Harman repackaged it in August 2026 as Phoenix 125, with the same characteristics, per Harman [9]. Phoenix II remains the ISO 200 film.
• Datasheet. July 2025 edition, hosted by Harman [1].