Harman Switch Azure 35mm film review: this film is nuts, and I kind of love it

I was thrilled to learn that Harman was releasing yet more new color film. Harman Switch Azure joins Phoenix and Phoenix II in the firm’s growing stable of color negative films. The previous stocks have already garnered a reputation for creative unpredictability, but Switch Azure promises to ramp that up to eleven.

It’s called ‘Switch’ because you can expect colors to switch. Blues can turn orange, reds can turn purple, and yellows can come out a distinct shade of ‘azure’ (blue, if you didn’t know). Harman also says that the film can come out quite differently depending on how you scan it – even switching from a Fujifilm to a Noritsu scanner, say, can produce markedly contrasting results. Clearly, the emphasis is on creativity and fun rather than consistency.

As such, I really wasn’t sure what to expect. I’d loved the slightly chaotic magic of Harman’s Phoenix II – would Switch Azure be able to recapture that, or would it be simply too off-the-wall for its own good?

Specifications

Price & availability

Harman Switch Azure is available in 35mm and 120 formats. Recommended pricing from Harman is $12.99 / £12.50 for the 35mm version, and $10.99 / £10.99 for the 120 version – we're still waiting on confirmation for US pricing, and will update when we have it.

This puts it pretty much bang in the middle for color film; more expensive than the likes of Kodak ColorPlus, less expensive than Kodak Portra. It’s processed via the standard C41 color process, so it's cheap(er) and easy to get developed.

Performance

Wow. I don’t know what I expected, but… wow.

When I reviewed Harman’s Phoenix II, I described it as ‘unpredictable’. Had I known that Switch Azure was coming, I probably would have kept that word in the tank, because Switch Azure makes Phoenix II look like Kodak ColorPlus.

This film is gloriously, unrepentantly nuts. Blue and white are rendered in various shades of pink, magenta and orange. Shots taken within seconds of each other might have radically different pink and purple hues. Skin tones will frequently come out blue – yes, blue. Even forearmed with the knowledge that film’s whole raison d'être is the ‘switching’ of colors, you will still likely be very surprised when you see your scans for the first time.

A good kind of surprise? Well, that’s going to be a matter of personal taste, but I was very happy with a lot of my images shot with Switch Azure. One thing it really has going for it is that it is not the kind of film that needs lovely golden-hour light to look its best. I was forced to shoot on some truly miserable, dull, grey British days (no other types of day were available), and Azure gave those listless skies a real sense of atmosphere. There aren’t many film stocks that can make an overcast day at Hastings beach look like Blade Runner 2049, but Switch Azure managed it.

I also liked the level of grain in images; as an ISO 125 film, Switch Azure produces a fairly fine grain. It’s perceptible, giving images a little bit of analog ‘bite’, but is never too much. The daylight ISO makes it pretty versatile, and you shouldn’t have any problem shooting it in most conditions (though when images are significantly underexposed, they take on a nightmarish green that is best avoided).

But it’s not all gravy. Again, this is a matter of taste, but I do not care for the blue skin tones. My least favourite images from the rolls were consistently the ones with blue people in them – it even turned a poor unfortunate tabby cat blue, and not a particularly pleasant shade of blue at that. It looks more like a mistake than an intentional effect. I also had several shots come out drenched in a neon shade of purple that put me in mind of Lomography’s LomoChrome Purple film (which is honestly not my favorite).

But the shots I liked, I really liked. And this film makes no bones about what it is – that crazy unpredictability is baked into the name.

Sample images

The following images were all shot across two rolls of Harman Switch Azure, one on a Canon EOS 300 with a 28-90mm f/4-5.6 lens, the other on a Pentax ME Super with a 50mm f/1.2 lens. They were shot at box speed, developed without any pushing or pulling, and scanned using a Noritsu scanner. They are unedited, aside from a little cropping and straightening.

All images were captured across three or four days in Hastings and London, during which time the weather was consistently miserable, grey and overcast.

Verdict

You wouldn’t let Harman Switch Azure within a mile of a serious professional shoot – but this film is a heck of a lot of fun. I loved the strange, haunting atmosphere of so many of the images I captured with it, and enjoyed particularly how it was able to lift some uninspiring shooting conditions into something wonderfully strange. Images that would have looked utterly dull on Kodak Ultramax came out atmospheric and memorable.

It is extremely not-for-everyone – I’m betting a few of you have been thoroughly put off by my sample shots. But the crazy unpredictability of Harman Switch Azure makes shooting it feel like a real adventure, and the fact that it scans differently on different types of scanner has me already hankering to shoot and process another roll to see how it comes out.

Harman Switch Azure alternatives

Harman Phoenix II produces a stylish look with distinct grain. It’s not particularly true to life, but it is more consistent and stable than Switch Azure.

If you enjoy the dramatic purple look that Switch Azure can sometimes produce, then Lomography’s LomoChrome Purple will give it to you by the bucketload.

See our full guide to the best 35mm films