Lomography Purple XR 100-400

LomoChrome Purple is the closest thing the current C-41 catalog has to a working Aerochrome substitute. The original formula appeared in 2013, sold out fast, and went through a 2019 reformulation and a 2021 Petillant edition that brought the chemistry closer to a stable production stock instead of the one-batch curiosity it started as. Lomography has been more open about Purple than about most of their rebrands, describing it as a custom emulsion designed to shift green foliage toward magenta and pink while leaving blue skies relatively intact.

The color trick relies on swapping the spectral sensitivity of two of the three color layers. Where Aerochrome used a true infrared-sensitive layer to make chlorophyll glow, Purple does the same effect approximately on standard panchromatic chemistry. The result is not identical: Aerochrome shifts toward pink-red on most foliage, while Purple sits more reliably in the lavender-to-violet range. Skin tones come back peachy. Skies stay close to true blue with a slight cyan lean. Reds get muddy. It is a film for green-heavy subject matter, which is why it gets pointed at gardens and wooded landscapes more than at people.

ISO range is 100 to 400, with the box recommending 200 as the default. Rate at 100 in bright sun for deeper purple saturation, and at 400 in shade for a quieter shift with more contrast. Below 100 the colors lose their character. Above 400 the grain takes over. The current Petillant emulsion has finer grain than the 2013 batch and a more linear response across the rated range.

Compared with Aerochrome you give up the wild pink and gain consistent C-41 processing. Compared with LomoChrome Turquoise the shifts are softer and more pleasing on people. Available in 35mm, 120, and 110. The 35mm and 120 ship in three-roll bricks; the 110 cartridges come as singles or in five-packs.

Reciprocity exponent is 1.20. Zone Light Meter applies the correction past one second. A 30-second meter reading lands at about 60 seconds at the negative. Long exposures will compound the color shifts in ways the published math cannot predict. Bracket when the light gets weird.