Anybody tried Freestyle's new AristaPan 100?

[cmacd123]

Filmotec was a small outfit who saw a niche for making B&W Movie film film stocks. they were using an external firm to do the coating. and had a fairly comple line N74, UN54, DN31, Dp31, PF2 and 3, as well as Sound recording films. All Black and white and all aimed for Motion Pictures. BUT their were 30.5 metre rolls of 35mm film for sale. Archives were a big customer. they did not activly try to market any film for Still Camera use, although it was very attractively priced, and the rep in North America was quite happy to sell film for any use.

Mr. Seal, is a movie Producer, and he wanted some colour film. he brought a few outfits together and did a reorg to get the NP400, and NP500 made. I have been told by an unnamed source that some of the Staff left. The German Camera magazine article that I mentioned before claims that the firm has 2 Full time staff doing R&D, and rents time a few weeks a year on the former AGFA coating Machine. - and that they are looking to hire finishing staff but find that many potential workers are not keen of spending the workday in the Dark. when they replaced N74 with N75, the movie edge printing when to the Pre-Key_code format, (no longer any bar codes on the edge of the film) which to me implies that they have had to use OLDER perforating and edge signing machines.

they seem to have contracted with more than one supplier to convert and package film for still use. that operation is more complicated than it looks. It seems that converted film that they were expecting in the fall is just now arriving, and along the way they have arranged to sell some as Private label AristaPan to Freestyle, who has a VERY LONG history of selling Private label film, having started in 1946 selling war surplus film at a discount price)

I doubt if we will get any better explanations. Just cross our fingers and or toes that the result will be another place that will be able to provide us with Useable film. I know I went through over 800ft of the N74 over a several year period.

 

[cmacd123]

I belive that NP100 is basicaly UN54 coated on what may be a a different machine but with an Anti_halo under coat that remains after processing. this is much the same as N75 compaired to N74, although N75 seems to be ISO 320 rather than the 400 of N74

 

[cmacd123]

(continuing to be a film packaging Nerd)

Film from "Original Wolfen" is like a box of Candy, you never know what you will get.

I got my order from Freestyle today, and I had ordered a couple of rolls of each on the UN54 and Np100.

the UN54 from Freestyle came in a Plastic can and a Flic Film style cassette, but with KS perforations. while the UN54 from B&H came in a box with a plastic can and a Meatl DX coded Cassette. Also with KS perforations, so it is not just respooled ORWO UN54 Movie film.

The NP100 from Frestyle was slos in a plastic can and a Flic Film style Casette, with KS perforations. The NP100 from B&H was in a box and a plastic can, which contained a Flic FIlm style cassette. Also with KS perfs. The leader was cut with the end of the film cutting through a perforation, Where Flic has equipment that does not normally do that....

and then the AristaPan. It comes in a cardboard box, and a plastic can. the film is in a painted DX coded Casette. and has KS perfs The expiry date (12 2026) is put on the box as a sticker, which is the first time I have seen that method.

I also got some Arista EDU Ultra 400 from Freestyle and again it came in a plastic snap together cassettes labeled "Made in Canada"
One thing I did not notice before is the Spools on the EDU ultra have smooth bores. this applies to both the film from B&H and Freestyle. all the other film apparently packed by Flic the spools look "splined" inside the protruding end.

bad weather is due here, and so it may be quite a wile before I get to shoot and process some of this. I will be interested to see what if any edge print all of these variants have.

I guess my only advice at this time is that it may be a flic Pic (flic pik?) may have become a tool found in a well equiped Darkroom.

 

[Don_ih]

flic Pic (flic pik?) may have become a tool found in a well equiped Darkroom.

Or a nut cracker. Either works

 

[cmacd123]

Or a nut cracker. Either works

I would rather open the device intact. if for no other reson that sharpshards have no place mear my fingers in the dark. Once you figure the gadget out, it does allow easy access to the spool inside the casette. and with the number of types of film going to that style of pakaging, we may all have to get good at it.

 

[Don_ih]

I would rather open the device intact.

I was kidding. But I do think the pic is a good idea, even for people who don't want to reuse the cassettes. It was also good product design to offer a way of opening them. Otherwise, they'd all be single-use.

 

[cmacd123]

Back to AristaPan 100. I have been loading film tanks for the next developing session that I have planned for the start of next month., and today I got to my test roll of Aristapan 100. Never have I encountered a metal Cassette with the End cap staked so tightly.

I finally had to use a tool to pry the felt apart. to get in at the film.

other weird thing was that the film was attached by Tape to a short length of plastic, which itself was held onto the spool by holes being held by pins on the spool.

I will have to find a leader retriever the next time I try to develop a roll of this.... Opening film to put it in the tank seems to be having more variety all the time.

 

[cmacd123]

I was kidding. But I do think the pic is a good idea, even for people who don't want to reuse the cassettes. It was also good product design to offer a way of opening them. Otherwise, they'd all be single-use.

BTW, I did get hold of a Quic Pic. tried it first on an old cassette which had been used beofre, and promptly broke one of the tabs on the Cassette as I was using way to much force.

with some practice, it is faster to open the cassette with the Quic Pic. and it has the disinct advantage that the lable only has to be removed form the place where the Cassette splits. the flic Pic requires the entrance to the cassette to often have the label removed so that the cassette can fit in the correct place so the flic pic can open the tabs. the quic pic just needs to have the pic twisted "gently" unit the first tab "clicks" and then twist in the other direction until the second tab "clicks".

the quic Pic is also 3D printed looking, but gives the impression of being of much more rugged construction than the flic Pic. who would have thought that there would be a learning curve on opening cassettes after all these years.

 

[bluechromis]

Anyone know if 120 will happen?

It is interesting that Lomography Potsdam 100 is reputed to be UN 54 and has been available in 120. So if there is a way for UN 54 to be released in 120, perhaps it can be also for NP 100.

 

[cmacd123]

so my rolls of AristaPan 100 were dry after developing today. as almost expected no edge printing of any sort. the clear unperforated film was taped on the end of the roll, and the last 30 mm was fogged as if it was loaded by a bulk loading operation. (I have the same complaint with film packed by Flic film but at least they tape the film to the actuall Spool.)

the cassette looks to me very similar to this one https://reflxlab.com/en-ca/products/50pcs-metal-film-cassettes-with-dx-code-or-not-free-shipping
when I enquired with reflx, I was tolk that there metal cassettes were sealed and could not be opened, which is consistent with the ones the AristaPan came in.

and I suspect that the loading would be done on a setup looking
like:

 

[eli griggs]

so my rolls of AristaPan 100 were dry after developing today. as almost expected no edge printing of any sort. the clear unperforated film was taped on the end of the roll, and the last 30 mm was fogged as if it was loaded by a bulk loading operation. (I have the same complaint with film packed by Flic film but at least they tape the film to the actuall Spool.)

the cassette looks to me very similar to this one https://reflxlab.com/en-ca/products/50pcs-metal-film-cassettes-with-dx-code-or-not-free-shipping
when I enquired with reflx, I was tolk that there metal cassettes were sealed and could not be opened, which is consistent with the ones the AristaPan came in.

and I suspect that the loading would be done on a setup looking
like:

A possibly interesting photography side note is, physics experts note that the same static flashs you can see in bed sheets are actually flashes of x-rays and the same is true of some Scott's type tapes. I think I saw a video long ago of a photo negative made by a really fast unreeling of adhesive tape.

Since this little machine has a rapid wind function, it'd be interesting to see if it's fast enough to see if it can also release x-rays rolling film enough to record on photo papers or sheet film, while sitting atop the sensitized medium.

How about just using a Scott's tape and an uncased spool?

No?

 

[loccdor]

Same camera same lens same development. AristaPan 100 @ 100 on right. Wolfen UN54 on left.

The UN54 appears to be fogged and overdeveloped. The fogging is pretty even so I'm assuming it's coming from the age of the original film even though it's sold as non-expired. The AristaPan looks just right to me. Flic Film Black/White & Green 1+49 11 minutes 20C.

 

[Paul Howell]

I am without a scanner at the moment, so I cant post the few prints I made from the 2 rolls I shot. Not bad, but not to my liking. Might be my current developers, I shot one roll at 200 and developed in Diafine, seemed low contrast, the other in Acufine at 100, better than the Diafine but not to my tastes. Tone might have improved if I used D76 or HC110. Now that Ultra 100 is back along with Kentmeyer which may be the same film I don't think I will order more.

 

[Film-Niko]

FilmoTec / ORWO's marketing is terrible.

Not much surprising for a company in insolvency, which has lost most of their staff (and never had marketing experts anyway).
Even in their best times there were only about 20-25 people working there.

At first, they produced the films themselves - substrate, coating, emulsion...

Nope. They only produced the emulsion by themselves. They never ever had an own coating line. They always used partners for coating (and for finishing to 135 format). That is all official by the former FilmoTec CEO. Was published in an interview.

Some time ago, they exported the film to an external company for winding into cartridges.

They have always done that. They never had any own film confectioning for 135 and 120 format. They only had the machines for movie film finishing, because that has been their main business.

But they had a lot of problems and delays, so they invested in their own machine to make 35mm cartridges.

No, they never had own machines for 135. They used a partner in China (also official info given by them).

 

[lamerko]

Not much surprising for a company in insolvency, which has lost most of their staff (and never had marketing experts anyway).
Even in their best times there were only about 20-25 people working there.



Nope. They only produced the emulsion by themselves. They never ever had an own coating line. They always used partners for coating (and for finishing to 135 format). That is all official by the former FilmoTec CEO. Was published in an interview.



They have always done that. They never had any own film confectioning for 135 and 120 format. They only had the machines for movie film finishing, because that has been their main business.



No, they never had own machines for 135. They used a partner in China (also official info given by them).

The topic is a bit outdated - if I have to comment on something now, it's in a negative trend.
For the finishing activities, I was referring to the following post (in German) on Filmotec:

Ein Schwerpunkt der Erweiterung liegt bei der Schaffung eigener Kapazitäten für das Patronieren unserer Filme noch in diesem Jahr, bisher ein genereller Engpass auf dem Analogfilmmarkt. Damit werden wir sowohl unsere Produkte schneller in den Handel bringen können, als auch anderen Marktteilnehmern helfen. Es mag ungewöhnlich sein, doch wir vertreten die Ansicht, dass es im Interesse der Gemeinschaft der Analogfilm-Enthusiasten und der Hersteller gleichermaßen liegt, wenn der Wettbewerb funktioniert und viele Interessen bedient werden.

Deswegen bauen wir mit einem Maschinenbauer ein – für jeden am Markt offenes – Kompetenzzentrum auf, das die für die Filmproduktion und -verarbeitung notwendigen Anlagen sowohl „wiederbelebt“ als auch – wo nötig – neu entwickelt.

It will probably never happen, but when I wrote these things, I believed that things were better. As far as I know, 120 films have never been released - it's a small market, but they would probably have profited if they released 61mm for bulk loading.

 

[Film-Niko]

The topic is a bit outdated - if I have to comment on something now, it's in a negative trend.
For the finishing activities, I was referring to the following post (in German) on Filmotec:

That was just marketing. With no substance.

It will probably never happen, but when I wrote these things, I believed that things were better. As far as I know, 120 films have never been released -

Others had bought unfinished film from them and then finished it to roll-film format (e.g. Shanghai, if I remember right).