Tag: film

Polaroid to discontinue 80-series peel-apart instant films

Nicolai Grossman Leave a comment

Fucking hell, Polaroid are killing yet another range of films! This time it’s the 80 series (84, 87, 88, and 89) 3.25 x 3.38-inch peel-apart pack film—the stuff you shoot in Holgaroids, supershooters, and squareshooters. Each product page bears the following message:

Please be advised that Polaroid will be discontinuing 8[x] film within the last 3 months of 2006 due to the phasing out of components used in the production of this film.

I guess it’s time to figure out how to hack a full-frame back as a Holgaroid replacement… hopefully the 3.25 x 4.25-inch 600 series pack film isn’t going anywhere for a while. Although, with Time-Zero and type 85 pos/neg discontinued, who the hell knows?

Fuji to discontinue bulk 35mm film

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Remember the saying "film is cheap"? Those days are gone—or at least going. Fuji has announced the end of production for Neopan black and white films in 100-foot (30.5 meter) bulk roll format, scheduled for March 2007. The films will continue to be available in pre-loaded cassettes, and of course other formats like 120 and sheet.

…

Will future photography students bother to explore film when the cost of a roll of 35mm black and white film may approach $10?

Continue reading at The Online Photographer

OMFG! J and C Photo developing new film range!

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As many of our customers know we have spent the last few months looking at how to best provide as many film choices as possible. We have looked at many ways to bring new films to the market. This includes plans going forward right now to operate our own coating facility and producing high quality films in various formulations.

Over the next 18-24 months we are planning on introducing the following films to the market. All films we produce will be available in 35mm roll and sheet film formats.

Continue reading at J and C Photo

Who said film was dead?

Via the always excellent Online Photographer

Strip photography with a Hasselblad V-series

Nicolai Grossman 1 Comment

beige ford explorer by a nose strip photo by Dan Loflin

Wicked-talented photographer Dan Loflin has written up a tutorial on strip photography with a Hasselblad V-series camera and A-series film magazine (he used an A12 back on a 503cw). Check it out:

It’s pretty simple to rig a hasselblad into an amatuer strip camera, as I’ve done, without altering the mechanics of the camera in any way. However, the results won’t be as perfect as Scott’s (photoace) without a motor drive. You’ll probably get the horizontal banding and inconsistently shaped subjects that you see in my photos. I personally like those qualities, but some might not. I’m working on a bracket not too dissimilar from [Andrew] Davidhazy‘s to take more control over these qualities on my next go ’round.

1 – Creating the 1mm slit: On the back of the camera body, surrounding the rear curtain, is a beveled ridge that mates perfectly with the magazine to seal out the light. Inside that bevel there is enough space to tape two small, thin pieces of black cardboard to leave a 1mm slit. You’ll want to mount the card board so the slit runs horizontally, as the film in a hasselblad runs vertically. I used some really nice, super black, soft-tack permacel paper tape to secure them…

Continue reading instructions and discussion in the Strip Photography group at Flickr

While you’re at it, have a look at Loflin’s photography. He’s a one-man photograpic freakshow who’ll seemingly try any process at least once—and rock it. Even his masking material is pimpin’; Permacel is the Cadillac of gaff photo tape.

Two-part light leaking tutorial

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Untitled Diana photograph with light leak by Sean Rhode

Photographer moominsean put together a great two-part tutorial/explanation of what light leaks are and how to avoid them or get them on purpose. (See the bright bits coming down from the top on his [utterly brilliant] photo above? That’s them!)

Part one deals with leaks caused by the camera—very common with toy and home-built cameras—while part two deals with the winding of medium format film, which may be of particular interest to Zero Image pinhole shooters.

You can also create lightleaks on film after you have shot the roll (or, theoretically, before, but I haven’t tried this). When you see really strong, overpowering lightleaks, chances are it’s not the camera, but the handling of the film…

Check them out at his new blog, moominstuff: part 1 – part 2

ISO 24,000 film is not to be

Nicolai Grossman 1 Comment

In May, I re-posted Oran Grad’s post from The Online Photographer about a high-speed, ISO 24,000 black and white reversal (slide) film that Kodak’s research department came up with and was quite excited about its implications for pinhole and zone plate photography. Unfortunately, it appears that there wasn’t enough interest and they will not be offering the film commercially.

I received this from them via email:

The purpose of Dr. Gilman’s presentation, "A High-Speed Direct Positive Photothermographic System", was to share information on an innovative technology and to showcase its potential. Eastman Kodak Company invents and evaluates many technologies annually for possible commercial applications. However, Kodak does not have any plans to make this technology available in a commercial product.

I guess it’s time to start pushing the hell out of ISO 3200 film. I’ve successfully pushed Kodak T-MAX 3200 (TMZ) to 12800 using T-MAX developer and will see if I can coax another stop out of it or Delta 3200 to achieve the equivalent speed and report back with the results. It’ll be a negative instead of a positive and will have boulder-sized grain, but I’m still really excited about the prospect of handheld, freeze-frame, normal shutter speed pinhole photography.

Adjustable height medium format scanner film holder

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BetterScanning.com, maker of the well-received "MF Film Holderä" medium format film holder for flatbed scanners, has just released an adjustable height version.

Why adjustable height? The focus of most flatbeds (the Epson Rs, anyway) is supposed to be set at 1mm above the glass for scanning transparencies, but in reality, the true focal point can be off by as much as 250% or more, which means that depending on your scanner, you can get blurry scans with Epson’s crappy stock film holders no matter what you do. "Variable Height Versions allow you to customize the film suspension height to best match your scanner’s particular optics for better focus. It is like adding a focus adjustment function to your scanner."

I had the pleasure of beta testing the dual channel model for Epson 4870 and 4990s, and the difference was substantial. First, it actually holds the film flat, unlike Epson’s holders; second, by following the simple calibration instructions, I discovered that the focus point of my scanner is at 1.8mm, not 1mm, and that my 4990 is capable of better scans with a properly adjusted Better Scanning holder than I was getting with the Epson holder.

I’m travelling right now and will post a detailed review when I get home, but the bottom line is that this is a well designed, well built, fairly priced holder that does what it says, and is sold by a company that stands behind its products. I’m buying the unit I was sent for testing—there’s no way I’m going back to Epson’s junk holder now—and I enthusiastically recommend it.

Check it out at BetterScanning.com

Canon to halt development of film cameras

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TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Canon Inc. said on Thursday that it would halt development of new film cameras to focus resources on digital models, the latest sign of the rapidly fading role of film in photography.

A spokesman at Canon, the world’s largest maker of digital cameras, said it made the decision to freeze development of both compact and single lens reflex (SLR) film models because the markets for both are shrinking.

Canon said it would continue to produce and sell existing models and make a final judgment on the business in the future while monitoring market demand.

Continue reading at Reuters

This is becoming a familiar story. It sucks, but I can’t say I’m surprised. At least they’re keeping the current models around, which IMO is a very good thing. If you’ve already got money in Canon EOS glass for digital, US $300 for an Elan 7N body is one hell of a value if you want to shoot film.

Via Plaid Jello