This Is How I Roll Maverick 125 - 35mm Colour Negative Film
From aerial reconnaissance to your camera bag.
Originally engineered to photograph the earth from altitude. Now available for photographers whose ambitions are somewhat closer to ground level.
This Is How I Roll Maverick 125 35mm Film is an ISO 125 colour negative film built on Kodak Aerocolor IV, the aerial mapping emulsion, hand-rolled into recycled canisters in the UK. Ultra-fine grain, high definition detail and accurate colour on a thin polyester base. Standard C-41. 36 exposures, no DX code.
What Makes This Is How I Roll Maverick 125 Habit-Forming
Aerial Origins, Photographic Results
Aerial photography demands a film that resolves fine detail from altitude, handles wide dynamic range across varied terrain, and keeps colour accurate under conditions ordinary photographic films were never designed for. Those requirements translate directly at ground level into sharpness that holds under scrutiny, colour that does not drift, and tonal depth that rewards careful scanning.
Ultra-Fine Grain
The grain structure is exceptionally fine, producing clean, smooth negatives that reflect the technical origins. For photographers who want the finest grain available in a colour negative at this speed, the aerial heritage is a genuine advantage rather than a marketing angle.
Rated 125, Not 100
This is where Maverick differs from its siblings. The same emulsion is sold elsewhere rated at 100, and This Is How I Roll rate it at 125. Given how much latitude the stock carries, the practical difference is small, but it does mean setting your meter deliberately rather than assuming.
Accurate Colour and Dynamic Contrast
Clean and precise rather than warm or stylised, with contrast that gives images real depth. It suits landscape, architectural and fine detail work where colour accuracy matters as much as character.
Thin Polyester Base: Flat Negatives, Handle With Care
The honest limitation, and it cuts both ways. The thin base dries completely flat, which is excellent if you scan your own negatives. It also makes the film susceptible to light piping. Load in dim or subdued light and store it in the black canister pot rather than a clear one. The same two habits apply across every This Is How I Roll stock on a thin base.
The Base Is Not a Normal Negative Base
Separately from the thickness, Aerocolor IV does not carry the conventional orange mask that colour negative inversion assumes. It affects how the negatives invert rather than how they develop, so scans can come back looking wrong if handled as ordinary C-41.
No DX Code: Set Your ISO Manually
No DX code on the recycled canister. Set your ISO to 125 by hand. Cameras without manual ISO control are not compatible, which rules out a good number of point and shoots.
Standard C-41 Processing
Develops in standard C-41 chemistry at any colour lab, including here at Chemical Dependency Lab. No remjet, no unusual requirements in the tank.
| Format | 35mm, 36 exposures |
| ISO | 125 |
| Type | Colour negative |
| Process | C-41, no remjet |
| Source emulsion | Kodak Aerocolor IV |
| Base | Thin polyester, not conventionally orange-masked |
| DX coded | No, set ISO manually |
Is Maverick 125 the same as SantaColor, Elektra or Aeronega?
They all come from Kodak Aerocolor IV. What differs is who rolls it, what speed they rate it at, how it is packaged and what it costs. We stock four of them because those differences are real even when the emulsion is not.
SantaColor 100, Flic Film Elektra 100 and Alien Film Aeronega 100 all rate it at 100 and the first two arrive DX coded. Maverick is the one rolled in the UK, rated 125, in a recycled canister with no DX code and no box. If you want the least packaging and do not mind setting the ISO yourself, this is the one.
Why does Maverick 125 have no DX code?
It is hand-rolled into recycled canisters rather than factory-loaded, so there is no DX pattern printed on the shell. Set ISO 125 manually. Any camera that reads DX only and offers no manual override will default to whatever it assumes, which will not be 125.
Does Maverick 125 need special processing?
No. There is no remjet backing, so it goes through standard C-41 alongside everything else. The thin base and unusual mask affect handling and inversion rather than development, which matters when choosing where to send it rather than how it gets processed.
Best For Landscape, architectural, travel and fine detail work in good natural light or controlled studio conditions. The ultra-fine grain and colour accuracy suit anything where image quality and tonal precision come first, and the flat-drying base makes it particularly good for photographers who develop and scan at home. C-41 development, scanning and printing are available here if you would rather hand it over, and we know what the base is before we start inverting.
Perfect for: Landscape and architectural photographers chasing the finest grain a colour negative can offer, studio and controlled light work, home developers who scan their own negatives, and anyone whose colour dependency has outgrown the standard options and wants something with a more interesting history.
Maverick started its working life photographing terrain from altitude, and the precision that required in colour accuracy, grain structure and tonal range is exactly what makes it compelling on the ground. It is not the most versatile film in the bag and does not pretend to be. What it offers is genuine technical quality with an unusual provenance, hand-rolled in Britain, at a price that reflects both.