Ebay acquisition



A rainy cold day, not much to do except look into a few forums, and check out if any interesting finds are listed on Ebay.
Whilst searching for Agfa film I came across the above item for $4.99, and thought 'why not' and was the highest bidder (well the only bidder).
My buy is an Ansco/Agfa Ultra-speed film from 1941.
I'll be interested to see what condition the film is in, I'll bet it is not going to be usable as it went out of date 66 years ago and probably has the 'vinegar syndrome' that afflicts so many films of its age.
If there is any result I'll be sure to post here, if not I'll have a nice tin to keep odds and ends in.

©Mark Antony Smith 2007

Mr Lincoln Has Retired



This typed notice has been on the door of a closed chemists shop in my city for over ten years. The shop is kept in good repair, and has recently been repainted– but remains empty.

All Images and text ©Mark Antony Smith 2007

Agfapan 400


Another film from the now defunct Agfa. The Agfapan range of films were hugely underated in my opinion, and APX400 probably suffered in that respect more than the rest of the range, living in the shadow of both Tri-X and HP5.

'Wensum Emporium' APX 400 at 1:50 18 mins in Rodinal (Duotone Record Rapid effect)
Personally I feel that's a shame, as it has the wonderful tonal range of the rest of the Agfapan films, with a lovely grain structure and accutance which compares favourably with Tri-x, and to me is preferable to HP5.

Below is a 100% crop of to show the grain pattern:


After Processing the film has a grey base colour, this is normal not due to base fog or poorly stored film, and although it prints/scans well, it may look strange if your normal film is something like Neopan.

It really is a shame about the demise of Agfa. I nearly didn't bother testing their films, but they are just SO good! If I hadn't given them at least a mention it would have been unfair as they are still available though many retailers.
When the current batch are gone one of the truly great photographic emulsions will be history.
So one to try out of curiosity but not a long term prospect.

All images and text © Mark Smith 2007

Warmtone


This photo is a picture of Thrigby Church taken from a high walkway (in a Tiger pen) I liked the cross in the wall, and I've aslso tried to mimic Agfa Record Rapid Paper (monitor willing).
To achieve the effect I made my own record rapid Duotone in Photoshop.

All Images and text ©Mark Antony Smith 2007

Fuji Provia 400X


I first tried a 400 ASA slide film from Fuji about 17 years ago, in those days you were grateful of the speed and accepted the grain which was quite a bit 'grittier' than their 100ASA offering RDP but still good for a 400.
Recently Fuji released Provia 400X which is claimed to be the finest grained slide-film in its class with grain similar to that of emulsions a stop or more slower.
Here is the Advertising blurb:
"Fujichrome Provia 400X features Epitaxial Sigma Crystal Technology for ultra-fine grain along with new generation couplers and new colour correction technology for excellent performance and image stability".

Well I'm not exactly sure what "Epitaxial Sigma Crystal Technology" really means in respect to grain in the final image other than it's Fuji speak for their version of T grain and controlled crystal growth. Nonetheless ultra fine grain in a 400ISO and I'm all ears (and eyes) ; so what does the film look like?
Below is a shot taken in bright outdoor light:



As you can see contrast is good, colours are clean and well saturated. On close inspection grain seems to be very fine indeed much as promised.





Looking at the 100% crop I was surprised how good this film actually is, very sharp and fine grained certainly as good as some slower slide films.
It impresses me that a major company like Fuji is committed enough to put out a film like this, especially as they produce digital cameras and sensors. I can't help wondering if we will see many more improvements to film technology as sales slow because of the continuing shift to digital, hopefully we'll see one or two more improvements in what must be films twilight years.

All images and text ©Mark Smith 2007

X Process (or X-Pro)
Cross Processing is when you put a film though a chemistry that it was not designed for i.e E-6 reversal film though a C-41 Negative developer.

It is a very easy way to get "wacky" colours and extreme contrast and suits a wide range of subjects.

I have found that the best way to do this is to buy cheap out of date slide film, as colour fidelity isn't an issue here and then find a willing minilab for process only.

Be sure to inform the Lab that you want it to go though the wrong process as a helpful lab assistant may just send it off for E-6 process!

When you get your negatives back they will look like this:

Little or no shadow detail and a purple/blue colour with clear rebates.

After printing or scanning the positive image will probably look very strange, high contrast and normally quite yellow or green (the unpredictability is part of the fun):

Depending on your subject you might like to leave it just like that, but in the above picture I felt that green skin tone was not that flattering.

So for the final rendition after scanning I sent the image to Photoshop to 'tweak' it in curves in order to give slightly better skin tones and increase the contrast. There is really no correct rendition of a cross processed image, but that's one of the things that makes it fun, you could even do a series all with different hue adjustments.

Experiment!

All Images and text ©Mark Antony Smith 2007

Milky Way

'Milky Way' Leica M4-P 1sec at F2 on Tri-x, light from passing cars

I feel there has been quite a lot of technical type entries of late, so for a change here's a shot taken in low light.

Agfapan 100

Athough Agfafilm are no longer trading (Chemical and minilab are) there is still a fair few rolls of this and their other films still available.
The batch I have is dated use by 2011 and is probably the last batch made before the Leverkusen factory shut down.
Agfa APX is a 'conventional' grain structure film with a very long tonal range and fine grain and is I believe one of the best (if you can find it) for portraits or any long tonal range subject.

Unfortuanately this film is becoming harder to find especially in 120, so if you want to try it now is probably your last chance.
It has been one of my standard films for many years and once it has gone it will be sadly missed.
The best thing about this film is its ablity to hold on to highlights and the same time retain good shadow detail, combined with Rodinal at higher dilutions it gives tonal values that are beautiful.


I love this film for its ability to keep shadows and highlights and maintain what seems to be a huge range of tones inbetween.
This helps to give an illusion of an almost three dimensional image, and in my opinion APX is one of the most 'underrated' emulsions of all time.

All images and text ©Mark Antony Smith 2007

Adox CHS 100 ART



The Adox brand has had a very complex history. Originally a German company formed in 1860 by Dr Carl Schleussner to manufacter photographic plates both for cameras and X-Ray (Dr Schleussener was a pioneer in X-Ray photography).
Fast forward to 1952, when they introduced a range of 35mm films, renound for their thin emulsion and outstanding sharpness, which became very popular with photographers.

Ten years later Adox became the property of American company DuPont, who then licenced the film technology to Yugoslavian company Fotokemika, who kept on poducing the original emulsions under a new name EFKE.

Now into this century, and the films are still produced in Zagreb (Croatia) to the original 1952 specs, but the film has now returned back to the Adox branding- confused?
Well don't be! Adox 100 and EFKE KB21 are basically the same emulsion, not only that they haven't essentially changed since the 1950's
Here is a shot I took on EFKE KB21 (100) in 1991:



So how does the 2007 EFKE/Adox rate?
Firstly the film is packaged quite well, 120 rolls come in a neat container, 35mm come in the type of cassette that can be reused should you 'roll your own' and looks to be the same type as Ilford and Agfa used in the 1970s.
The films feel thin when you load them into the camera (and later in the film spiral for processing).

I set the ISO on my spot-meter to 100 as in my experience these are 'fussy' films that need good exposure and development to give best results. But when you get accustomed to their idiosyncrasies they can be more than rewarding, with smooth tonal range and very good sharpness.
Below is a shot of a local church taken on a rather dull afternoon.



and the 100% crop



If you look at the lower centre right area you'll notice the time on the City Hall clock 3:47, the sharpness is pretty good for a cubic crystal (as opposed to T-Grain) film although in duller conditions I may in future rate this film at 80ISO or process it at 1:50 as the grain is quite visible in the sky area.

This film is one I would use if I wanted high sharpness, but needed long tones with just a little grain.

All Images and text ©Mark Antony Smith 2007

Ilford FP4 Plus



This film was the first B&W film I ever used, although now called FP4 'plus' it has very similar characteristics to the original.
One thing that has changed is the packaging which is a white box rather than the old black, something that has made me confuse it with Ilfords other 100ISO film Delta 100.
FP4 is a 'medium' speed (125ISO) film with quite fine grain and good tonal range. I feel (as do some other photographers I know) that it is best when slightly down rated to 80-100ISO and this is how I have used it for many years, as it gives better shadow detail.



Whenever I come back to FP4 using it feels like I'm with an old friend; I know its basic character so well. It does most things very well which makes it a good all round film but personally I feel it can lack depth in certain situations, but most of the time it suits the job very well.
Grain and sharpness I rate as good, in fact if you look below I was surprised how good the 100% crop looks.



Below is the 100% crop.


The Black bag has gold writing on it, and this can clearly be seen, definition is a little low but this could be the 1950's lens. Tonality is very good as this image was taken in bright sunlight, although I'm sure Rodinal helped preserve the scale.
FP4+ is a very capable film, and one that most photographers could use with confidence if they need a medium speed film.

All Images and text ©Mark Antony Smith 2007

Fuji Neopan Acros



This film despite having the word 'new' all over its packaging has been around since 2002, I suppose compared to others in these tests that is fairly new!

This film has one of the finer grain structures of 100 speed films, depending on which developer you opt for will give grain similar or better than T-Max 100 (TMX), and is an excellent choice when accutance and fine grain are called for.

Some feel that the film is a little contrasty and can look 'clinical' or 'metallic' and dare I say digital feel. While it may be true that there are films with a nicer tonal range this can be helped by developer choice.



Above is one of my first attempts with the film and is processed in Paterson FX39 and clearly shows the films overall contrast whilst still holding the highlights although I feel the shadows are a little blocked

Below is the result you get from a Diluted Rodinal (1:100 at 18 mins)


Notice how the highlights (especially the sky) have been held yet so has the detail in the shadows this is one of the reasons I rate Rodinal so highly, for its ability to work well with variable dilution's.

Grain is very fine in fact probably the finest 100 speed available although it is very close to T-Max 100 I prefer Acros for the way it both scans and prints.
Acros is my film of choice for 120, I feel it gives both the acutance and tonal range, although for 35mm I prefer 'conventional' films for some subjects such as portraits and subjects that require a softer approach.
But if you mainly shoot Landscapes or detailed subjects Acros is the way to go.

All Images and text ©Mark Antony Smith 2007

Adox CHS 25 ART



This film has been around since the 1950's and is the same as the EFKE emulsion that was called KB14.
I had used the KB14 version of this film in the 1980's and found it to be a little contrasty for my taste (which was Agfa AP25) and as most of my shooting at the time was done on 400 speed films, I didn't really persevere in finding a good exposure/development time combination.

Now in the 21st century I find myself trying the film again, this time armed with 3 rolls and some time to 'nail' a setting.
The film is pretty much as I remembered it, contrasty, slow and pretty fine grained, I eventually settled on a development time of 18mins in Rodinal at 1:100 which gives the long range of tones I like for scanning.

Also it must be noted that this is a thin emulsion that needs to be handled carefully, especially in 120 size. With a one min pre-soak (which will look blue when tipped out).


Adox CHS 25 at 18min in Rodinal 1:100, Leica M4-P. Canon 35mm 1.8'S'

The image above was taken early in the day in quite bright sunlight and clearly shows how well this film can handle contrast if processed carefully using a lower contrast developer or higher dilution.


Adox CHS 25 at 8min in Rodinal 1:50, Leica M4-P. Canon 35mm 1.8'S'

below is a 100% crop of the door in the above image which was taken in very bright conditions at mid-day.




As you can see, the detail is good and the grain is fine especially for an 'old tech' type film and certainly OK up to 12x18 (A3+) most of the grain/noise is probably introduced during scanning.

So overall i like this film, with the exception of the excessive contrast caveat which can clearly be seen in the two images posted (the second image was processed 1:50 at recommended times and is higher in contrast).
Who'd have thought the old film was so good, whether films like Acros or T-Max 100 give similar results at higher speeds is debatable but if you like the old tech films and the way they handle this film is worth a try.
All Images and text ©Mark Antony Smith 2007

Fomapan 100 Classic

Foma is a Czech firm that have been making film since the 1920's Foma (link) based in Bohemia make a range of films and papers, the films are the Classic 100, Creative 200, Action 400 and a Reversal film R100 for mono slides or cine photography. The company also make a reasonably wide range of formats including sheet sizes up to 18x24cm.

Fomapan, Leica M4-P. Canon 35mm 1.8'S'

Foma 100 Classic has a long tonal range, not unlike Agfa APX 100 but with a slightly more modern look, for me it has elements of both a classic (tonal range and grain structure) and modern (accutance) emulsion. Kind of like a Marriage between Agfa APX and Fuji Across.

The test image above was taken in very contrasty lighting the spot meter readings were 1/250 at F16 on the area near the VW roundall (which is off white) right down to the interior of the dealership which was 1/125 at F2 the exposure selected was 1/250 at 5.6 in order to preserve the textured white around the badge.

Above is an 100% enlargement of the area to the side shows the grain characteristics of the film, which although shows more grain than say T-Max 100 or Fuji Acros is still quite pleasent to the eye.

In my opinion Fomapan 100 is a very good film, will probably be my replacement for the defunct Agfapan when stock dwindles. Probably not the best choice for landscape work where its grain structure might be a little obtrusive (in 35mm form) but certainly very good for street and people photography.

Most of all I like Fomapan Classic for its lovely tonal range:

Fomapan, Leica M4-P. Canon 35mm 1.8'S'

In fact this film was the only film in the 'test' that I'd not previously used, and after about a week or so of evalutaion of the negatives I'm placing an order for 20 more rolls!

Next Adox CHS 25 'ART'

All Images and text ©Mark Antony Smith 2007

Gigabit Film

Gigabit film is a slow microfilm type emulsion packaged with its own developer, so you need to be prepared to process it yourself- it is also only available in 35mm format.
This film is actually Agfa Copex a document copy film which would normally not yield pictorial results, hence why Gigabit package it with a low contrast developer.

There have been claims made that this film can resolve 600 l/mm which although theoretically possible, in reality under normal usage will equate to less than 200 in perfect conditions, and about 100 for 'normal' photography.

Gigabit include a nice little datasheet, development calculator and blurb about the above, although it makes me smile when I read "Theoretical resolution with perfect optics at wavelength 590nm" Please leave a comment anyone should you know where I can find those 'perfect optics' any lens mount will do!

How does the film fare under average shooting conditions? Well it's a slightly difficult film to use, that is it doesn't have a lot of exposure or development latitude. Shadow detail seems to be the first thing to suffer, but if you get the exposure reasonably accurate nice contrasty negatives will be the result.

The picture above shows exactly what sort of results the film is capable of; punchy, sharp images, a good film for monochrome landscape work, but not so much for soft portrait or 'retro' type images.
As I now scan and print my negatives digitally I find that very high contrast emulsions can be more difficult to print.



And below a 100% crop that really shows how fine grained this film is.

Gigabit is a good replacement for Kodak Technical Pan and gives very sharp results albeit slightly contrasty for my taste, but if you want to see what your lenses are capable of and your technique is good (I think conventional enlarger with diffuser head would be better than scanning)

If you want a 35mm film that is sharp, do you own processing and can find a supplier this film is worth a try.

Next: Fomapan 100 'Classic'

All Images and text ©Mark Antony Smith 2007

Kodak Plus-x-Pan



This film has been around for quite a few years, with a recent revision when Kodak moved its production to a new factory, here is a picture I took in 1985 on the original Plus -x

Kodak Plus-x, Canon F1n 50mm F1.2L

Plus -x always gave me a long tonal range, high acutance and fine-medium grain and what's more was very tolerant of different developer combinations.

So I shot off a roll, and processed it in Rodinal for 13 mins at 1:50, taking the times from The Digitaltruth massive dev chart.



One thing I can categorically state is that when they 'updated' this emulsion they really changed it!
The massive dev chart times are based upon the previous emulsion, the result being overdevelopment of the film resulting in very heavy negatives with high contrast.
If you are scanning then it's very hard to get decent results, printing on conventional B&W paper you'll need grade 1-2 to give OK results. I tried very hard to get back the white fence in the background.

So in with another test roll, I rated this at the same ISO but this time after much evaluation decided on a Dev time of 15 mins at 1:100 dilution in Rodinal.

Much better results, especially for scanning. Note white dog!



Now with the new time the tonal range is smoother, gone is the excessive contrast and the grain seems finer too!
So all in all a very good film, reasonably fine grained with a good tonal range, on balance I think the previous version of this film had better acutance and was a better emulsion overall.
Watch out for high contrast subjects, this film would be a good choice for studio portraits, suggested dev times are way off.

Next: Gigabitfilm

All Images and text ©Mark Antony Smith 2007

You've Never Had it So Good!

Its a digital world, everywhere you look digital this, digital that;– seems the whole world has gone digital crazy.
So, where in the grand scheme of things does photographic film stand?

There has never been a better time to buy a film camera, some can be found for peanuts, cast aside by their former owners in the rush to 'go digital'
But 'film is dead'! I hear the cry from the unwashed masses; well, not quite.
There are nearly as many film types/manufacturers as there were in films heyday, and furthermore there have been several recent introductions of new/revived emulsions.

One often overlooked advantage of film is that you can buy modern film, put it in a 1954 Leica M3 and get results that would have been impossible when that camera left the factory in other words, film cameras rather than becoming obsolete with respect to image quality are as good as the film of the day.
Furthermore put a modern lens on an old camera, with modern films will give equal results to the most modern cameras; you can't say that about a 10 year old DSLR.

This post was inspired by the cleaning out of my film fridge, I was staggered at the different types of monochrome film alone.
So which films for which subjects? Is Brand X 100 ISO as good as Brand Y? What about the difference between modern (T-grain) and traditional (cubic grain) type emulsions?
Over the coming months I'll endeavour to spotlight several different films, not in a formal USAF resolution chart type of way, but rather in a general 'feel' and comparative manner.
Films that I'll be trying out will include Gigabit, Ilford Pan F, Kodak Tri-x-pan, T-Max 3200 as well as those pictured above.
Should be fun!

All Images and text ©Mark Antony Smith 2007

A 35mm Canon F1.8 for my Leica

Since I first started photography in the late 1970's my lens of choice has been the 50mm. It just seemed suited to my world view, and when attached to an SLR camera its 46º angle of view seemed just about perfect for my varied subject matter, not to mention the fact that it was small and relatively cheap.
Enter my Leica range-finder. Of course the first lens on my shopping list was a small light weight 50mm and I decided upon the Leitz Elmar F2.8 collapsible.
Although I have been very happy with my choice in the main, I have found that RF cameras frame-lines show how restricted the world view is with a 'standard' lens. Often I would find myself getting in close on a subject only to find the 50 frame cutting into the subject, a quick flick of the frame lever always seemed to suggest that 35mm would have been a better choice for most situations.
After some deliberation and a lot of testing different lenses such as the Voigtländer 35 Skopar F2.5 and Leitz 35 F2 Summicron, I finally decided on the Canon 35mm F1.8
Initial tests showed the canon to be a very capable performer, examples will follow in a future blog.


As you can see from the picture above the Canons size is diminutive compared to todays SLR lenses.

The lens is based upon the Zeiss Planar (double gauss) design and has 7 elements in 4 groups and is quite comparable with the Pre-aspherical Leitz designs of the period quality wise. This link includes a type of mini-review and shows how good these 1950's lenses are.
This lens was designed by Mukai Jirō in April 1956 and marketed in 1957 at a price of ¥32,000 (about $500 in todays money) and was replaced in 1962 by the 35mm F2 which was lighter, and had marginally better performance wide open, but had the same 40mm filter size.
These Canon lenses have a 39mm screw thread mount AKA Leitz thread mount (LTM) so can be fitted to Leica M cameras with the use of a cheap adapter, or any Leica dating back to the 1930's.
I will be taking this lens on an assignment this week-end where a 'retro' look is called for and hopefully I/it will deliver the goods.

All Images and text ©Mark Antony Smith 2007

The Price of Perfection

'Quality'
What does it mean?
To the average person it's the clearest, sharpest noise/grain free image they can produce. Internet forums are filled with people all trying for that 'ultimate quality' image.
Last Christmas I was given a copy of Henri Cartier-Bressons' 'Scrapbook'. I have been a admirer of his work (along with Brandt, Brassaï and Kertesz) for many years, but what struck me about the facsimiles of the photos in this book is how many slightly soft, grainy or less than technically perfect images (although great compositionally) it contained.
Almost the exact opposite of the images, we see bombarded at us every day on advertising hoardings, magazines and web-sites across the globe.
There seems (to me at least) to be an intolerance of anything that isn't technically perfect, a need to produce smooth toned, sharp, noise free and ultimately sterile images, where the image quality is valued over the image content.
Just look at the internet if you need proof, plenty of images of dogs, cats, ducks, cityscapes etc. all to show the 'blistering sharpness' of the latest multi-megapixel wonder that 'blows away' all previous incarnations of the digital camera.
The pictures in this post were taken on out of date fast film, on an old camera/lens combination that most would think of as being obsolete.
Yet somehow for me they embody why I continue to take images, and why in the world of perfect images, I search for imperfect images like the ones in this post.

All images and text © Mark Antony Smith 2007