Written by Samantha Stortecky
Hello friends! I’m back with another fun film stock review: Lomography LomoChrome Metropolis
Now that it’s summer and we can start getting outside and enjoying the warm weather, it’s time to bring out all the fun and experimental film rolls.
I’ve had my eye on the Lomography LomoChrome Metropolis film for a while now. I ordered a few rolls back in December, and when spring hit, I knew it was the perfect opportunity to try this funky film out!
Find LomoChrome Metropolis at B&H Photo or on Amazon.
The Look of LomoChrome Metropolis
One of the major appearances with this film is the desaturation within each image. It would absolutely shine with city or street photography as the muted tones would give it that gritty appearance.
Not only does this film have a very muted look to it, it tends to lean heavily into the green tones and has a decent amount of grain even when shooting with 120 film.
Once again, this film gives a very edgy appearance with a lot of beautiful grain, contrast, and desaturations.
How to Shoot & Rate Lomo Metropolis
When I shot LomoChrome Metropolis, I stuck with the 400 ISO, and I shot it within various different settings such as a cloudy day, inside during afternoon, and sunrise and sunset.
If you’re looking for a slower speed film with a similar film, Elektra 100 might be a good fit.
I found this film tends to retain a lot of its color when shot during a high sun time. The bright sun brings out a lot of the vibrancy and rich green tones.
And for metering, I metered this film for the highlights. If you know me, you know I always meter for the highlights because we like to keep it consistent around here!
Cons of Shooting Lomo Metropolis
One of the cons could potentially be the desaturation, especially if you’re in a situation where you would prefer a lot of color.
While this film would look perfect for city or street photography, I only had the option of using it around my little suburban town. So if you’re looking for a film that will document grass and nature well, this might not be the film for you.
Another con would be how it photographs during cloudy days.
Because this film naturally has a lot of desaturation to it, when shooting during an overcast day you run the risk of losing a lot of natural color and having a washed-out image.
And the Pros
Ok, let’s get into the pros!
As far as experimental film stocks go, this one was very easy to shoot with as long as you know what to expect when you receive your scans back.
Like most film, it handles highlights and shadows very well and has a nice contrast in its rich blacks and whites.
It’s also an experimental film that comes in both 35mm and 120 film. Many of the more experimental stocks are only available in 35mm, so it’s great that there are more shooting options with Lomo Metropolis.
And lastly, a big pro for this film is how well it handles bright sunny days. Because of the muted tones, this film would be great to shoot on a bright sunny day where there is a lot of grass.
High sun days with grass tends to produce images that are oversaturated, which is where this film’s desaturation could shine beautifully!
Well friends, that’s it for me. I hope this little review inspires you to start experimenting and shooting all the fun film stocks!
Thank you so much, Samantha! Samantha is a regular contributor here at Shoot It With Film, and you can check out her other articles here, including a Fujifilm Instax SP-2 printer review and 5 Unique & Experimental Film Stocks You Need to Try.
You can also check out more of Samantha’s work on her website and Instagram.
Let us know any questions you have about LomoChrome Metropolis film below in the comments, and you can pick up some for yourself at B&H Photo or on Amazon.
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Blog Comments
Michael Elliott
June 23, 2023 at 11:03 am
Ah the glorious desaturated tones of Metropolis, semi monochrome, semi colour. I haven’t gotten used to it enough to really say I found how to shoot it best, sometimes I get awesome results, other times a mush. Still, it’s one of the more usable Lomo “experimental” films in terms of getting realistic colours.