Washi X (35mm) Review & Photos

Film Washi X is an interesting 35mm colour negative film with a twist; unlike most colour films, it is “maskless”. The lack of an orange film base alters this film’s colour reproduction, giving your photos delightful warm tones. This saturated look is gloriously reminiscent of early colour photographs from the 40s and 50s. You can develop it in the standard C-41 process, but thanks to its transparent base, you can also process it as a slide film with the E6 process.

Film X is ideal for photographers who want to experiment, and create images with a vintage aesthetic. This film is best used in daylight, so it is perfect for sunny days to capture colourful scenes. Specifically, reds and greens will pop with increased saturation, so be sure to seek these colours out for your photo sessions.

Film X is supplied spooled onto a recycled 35mm cartridge. As these are not DX-coded, you will need to manually set the ISO on your camera.

“X” is a technical film with no orange mask that gives beautiful warm toned and highly saturated pictures witch recall the first color negative film of the 40’s & 50’s. It also offer the possibility to process it in both C41 (negative) or E6 (slide) process.

filmwashi.com

Key Features Of Film Washi X

Pros

• Saturated scenes with warm tones
• Reds pop, greens look gorgeous
• Vintage vibes!

Cons

• A little more expensive
• Must be loaded and unloaded under subdued light to avoid light leaks
• Cannister is not DX coded, set ISO manually in your camera

History of Washi X

Lomig Perrotin founded the Film Washi company in 2013, from humble beginnings. The company started out in a closet in his Paris flat, where he produced hand-crafted sheet film. Nowadays, the company operates out of ex-army containers somewhere in Brittany. The ethos of Film Washi is to operate as a “small film factory” focused on innovation, simplicity, and maintaining a small ecological footprint. Their goal is not to compete with the major film makers but to carve out a niche offering novel films and curious coatings.

Welcome to the wacky world of Washi! Many of their films are “hacked”. Meaning, these are stocks made by the major film makers, that have been altered and re-spooled for use in regular photography. Some examples include films that were originally designed for; medical X-rays, aerial surveillance, near infrared use, and motion picture sound recording film.

This specific film, Washi X, had previously been available in limited quantities as a ISO 400 version in 2015. In 2002, X 35mm colour film came back into production at Film Washi, this time as ISO 100. The film stock is spooled into recycled 35mm cannisters, in keeping with the company’s eco-minded ethos. The transparent polyester base (lacking an orange mask) enables the use of E6 processing as well as the more typical C-41 process for colour negatives.

But what is Washi X? Film Washi has been tight-lipped as to which film stock they are re-spooling here. But internet film-sleuths believe they have solved the mystery! The consensus is that it is Kodak Aerocolor IV, which was originally designed for aerial photography and reconnaissance.

Shooting Beautiful ruins and lost place in Lebanon

In the weeks before my road trip to Lebanon, I was carefully considering 35mm film options. It was going to be hot and sunny on this summer tour, so I was thinking something around ISO 100 would be good. I decided on colour film again this time, but which stock to use to best capture the beauty of Lebanon’s abandoned places.

This trip was going to be something different, something new. With that in mind, I wanted my film choice to reflect this. I picked up a can of Washi X earlier in the year, drawn to the lovely typewriter-style font as much as the interesting story of the Film Washi company.

My Impressions of Washi X

I followed the advice, and I loaded this film in subdued light. I decided to be extra safe, loading the film inside the hotel inside of my dark bag. No light leaks for me!

Wow, these images are definitely warm-toned! The saturation is gorgeous, especially the greens of the plants. The shots of the trains are some of my favourites; the orange tones of the film augment the rusty browns. It was very hot in Lebanon, and you can almost feel that in these images. I even found a red VW Beetle, and I can confirm that reds really do pop with Washi X.

One issue I did spot, albeit a minor issue. Most of my photos were shot in glorious sunshine, but some were shot in shaded interiors. In these interior images, the shadow detail is lacking, and the shadows look a touch muddy. Perhaps a little more overexposure would have helped.

Example Photos I Have Taken on Washi X

Here are the shots from my adventures all over Lebanon, shot of Washi X 35mm film. Also, a bonus shot from my little layover trip to Cyprus that I took to finish off the roll. Enjoy!