Lomography Lady Grey 400 is a panchromatic black and white negative film in 120 medium format, ISO 400, standard black and white processing. It is sold as a pack of three rolls, which puts the price per roll well below single medium-format stock.
How the picture looks
An ordinary, classic look with no affectation: visible but even grain, normal contrast, a recognisable black and white signature. The maker notes one quirk — negative density in the shadow areas runs slightly lower than usual. In practice deep shadows drop to black a little sooner, and the negative itself is thinner and quicker to scan.
What to shoot on it
Lomography themselves recommend it for action, sport, street and available-light work — ISO 400 in medium format buys freedom that ISO 100 never offers. Add anything that needs a lot of rolls: a trip, a shooting day, learning your way around a new camera.
How to shoot it
Its chief virtue is stated plainly by the maker: the film is relatively forgiving of exposure error. That makes it easy company for old cameras without meters, for judging exposure by eye, and for medium-format rangefinders where metering is always approximate. Meter at the nominal ISO 400; when light is short, err toward more rather than less.
Processing and scanning
Any standard black and white developer at the usual ISO 400 times — D-76, ID-11, Rodinal, HC-110. It is a tolerant film, good company for anyone learning to develop, and with three rolls in the pack you can spend one testing your routine.
How it compares
In its class it competes with Ilford HP5+ and Kentmere 400 in 120: HP5+ gives more shadow density and richer tonality, Lady Grey gives a lower cost per frame thanks to the three-pack. Lomography does not disclose who coats the emulsion, so it is fairer to compare results than origins.
