35mm Review : BOEN Jogjakarta 200 Film - Affordable Film Camera

In this post I will make a quick review on BOEN 200 FIlm Camera. This is an expired film camera that use ECN-2/BW developer format. I use this film on my Pentax Espio 140.

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6/8/20243 min read

Hi! I'm going to share my opinion on the BOEN Jogjakarta 200 negative-film roll. Disclaimer: I’m not an expert in this field, however, I'd like to offer some insights into this film that might be helpful if you're currently searching for a film with many exposures at an affordable price. This film isn't expired, but I bought it in 2021 and eventually used it in 2022, by which time it had expired.

This is an expired 35mm film that uses the ECN-2 or black and white developer system. This one roll of film has 36 exposures and can be pushed or pulled by 2 stops. I bought it on Shopee, and it costs around 65K IDR, if I’m not mistaken, which is definitely cheaper compared to other films. The reason for its lower price might be its expiry, but despite that, the quality of the imagery it produces remains unaffected.

With this film, you can produce grainy-textured imagery with cold-toned color photos. The colors it produces are not vivid and often not accurate. The results tend to show more of a green tone. Considering its ISO 200, if you use it to photograph pictures in low light or indoors, it will likely produce grainy and dark-toned colors. If the light isn't sufficient, be aware that the objects might not be visible due to the grainy texture. However, if you use it for outdoor photography with lots of sunlight, you'll get stunning green-hued photos with a hint of 80s vibes.

The colors it produces are not accurate, as most of the pictures I got have a green-hued color with a grainy texture. I don't think this film is intended for indoor photography or low light conditions since you might not get pictures as crisp or sharp as you would outdoors. This could be due to the film itself being expired or because it uses ECN-2 for development, which cannot use the common scanning development process used for C-41 films. I'm also not familiar enough with ECN-2, so here I cited from lomography.com:

“ECN-2 and C-41 refer to the development process used for these two types of photographic film. Film made for ECN-2 development can be used for both motion picture and still photography. It has a remjet layer that protects it from various types of damage. It is also tungsten-balanced, which means it produces color-correct rendering under artificial lighting. C-41 film, on the other hand, is mostly daylight-balanced and produces color-correct results in natural light. There is also a difference in the chemicals used when developing the film, which give specific characteristics in terms of color. ECN-2 colors tend to appear more muted, as the process was designed to require post-processing and color correction after development. Conversely, C-41 films will have more saturation and contrast after development.” Source: lomography.com

Final verdict: This film is one of the most affordable films you could get with many exposures. The pictures are grainy and not really suitable for use in low light conditions; however, in good lighting, it will produce great green-toned hued pictures. Since the one I used was already expired, it might contribute to the picture results not having vivid color grading and having a lot of grainy texture. It uses ECN-2 developer, which will cost you more compared to C-41; however, it's still cheaper when considering the total cost from film roll to the development process. Overall, I do recommend this for those who want to take street photography not really focused on objects' actual color; it will surprise you with a gorgeously vintage and mysterious look.