Harman is bringing Phoenix back. The original one, released in 2023 and later discontinued. One thing is different: the number on the can drops from 200 to 125.

Why lower the number?

Harman's reason is short. That's how people were shooting it.

Harman Phoenix 125 retains the same characteristics that you loved (or hated) about the original Phoenix 200 but with a new speed of 125 to reflect how you told us you shoot it.

Harman Photo

People who shot Phoenix 200 mostly gave it extra exposure. Word piled up in the community that setting it at 100 or 125 opened up the shadows and steadied the color. Harman put that word on the can.

Who decides the box speed?

Usually the manufacturer decides and users follow. If they don't like the speed, users adjust on their own. That's why words like push and pull exist.

This time it went the other way around. Users' exposure habits added up and moved the product spec. It could happen because Harman stays close to its community.

There's a practical upside, too. The 35mm version comes DX-coded at 125. Load it in a camera that reads film speed automatically and you no longer have to touch a thing.

Official Harman graphic. Next to the Phoenix 125 packaging is the line changed the speed, not the attitude.
The line Harman attached to the announcement: “changed the speed, not the attitude.”© HARMAN technology Ltd / HARMAN Photo. Used for reporting purposes.

The film itself hasn't changed

Only the speed changed. High contrast, chunky grain, punchy color, glowing halation: the original's personality is all still there. It's the same film that split people into lovers and haters.

C-41 is the standard. Harman says it can also be developed in E6 or ECN-2. Not many labs in Korea handle those two processes, so check before you drop it off.

Sample shot of street signs at night. The red neon glows and the contrast is strong.
A Phoenix 125 sample Harman released with the announcement. The glowing halation is still there.Photo by Casey Thurman, courtesy of HARMAN Photo. Used for reporting purposes.

Don't mix it up with Phoenix II

Let's sort this out before going further. Harman now has two Phoenixes.

Two films with similar names

  • Phoenix 125 · The 2023 original, brought back. Only the speed changed, from 200 to 125. Rough personality intact
  • Phoenix II · The successor released in 2025. ISO 200. Refined color reproduction and a newly made base

Two products from different generations sell side by side. Want it rough? Go 125. Want it tidy? Go II.

Harman Phoenix 200 box and cassette as released in 2023. Harman Phoenix II 35mm box and cassette.
Left, the original 2023 Phoenix 200. Right, the 2025 Phoenix II. The one with the new speed is the successor to the film on the left.© HARMAN technology Ltd / HARMAN Photo. Used for reporting purposes.

Price, and the situation in Korea

Harman has also cut prices across its color line. What's been published, though, is UK retail pricing. Korean retail prices and import timing have not been confirmed yet. We'll add them to this article as soon as we know.

Film prices have done nothing but climb for years. News of a price cut is rare in itself.