Best Black and White Film With Extended Red Sensitivity (But Not Obvious IR Effect)

Old-N-Feeble · Jul 11, 2014

I'm not looking for an IR effect. I just want a film that gives me an option of lightening foliage without going to the extreme. I want high acutance and fine grain. I'm aware of Ilford SFX 200. What else is out there?

DWThomas · Jul 11, 2014

In theory a green filter should lighten green foliage. But alas, I have not actually tried it to see how pronounced the effects are (or are not!)

Old-N-Feeble · Jul 11, 2014

DWThomas said:
In theory a green filter should lighten green foliage. But alas, I have not actually tried it to see how pronounced the effects are (or are not!)

I've tried deep green filters with occasional very modest effect. The problem is the green filters out the low spectrum IR which even typical panchromatic film can see but our eyes can't. I'd really like to find a finer grained film with spectral sensitivity similar to SFX.

chriscrawfordphoto · Jul 11, 2014

Kodak Tech Pan, when it was still made, had extended red sensitivity without looking like an IR film. Aside from Ilford SFX, which is almost an IR film, I can't think of any film made today that has extra red sensitivity.

Old-N-Feeble · Jul 11, 2014

Yeah... Tech Pan is gone. I've been searching and SFX is all I've found. It has more IR sensitivity than I want but it'll do when I really need to lighten foliage.

ruby.monkey · Jul 11, 2014

Rollei Retro 80s and 400s both have extended red sensitivity.

Axle · Jul 11, 2014

Check out Rollei Retro 80s.

http://www.freestylephoto.biz/810801-Rollei-Retro-80S-ISO-120-Size-Single-Roll-Unboxed
http://www.freestylephoto.biz/8108112-Rollei-Retro-80s-ISO-35mm-x-36-exp.-2-pack

removed account4 · Jul 11, 2014

efke25 used to be "panorthochromatic" with extended red
( or so i was told ) i used it a little and it was fun ...
if you can find some, it might be worth looking into ...

NedL · Jul 11, 2014

(there was a url link here which no longer exists) showed that foma 400 film has extended sensitivity even into IR.

I think, but someone should confirm, that it is the same as Arista.edu 400 which is quite inexpensive at Freestyle.

Old-N-Feeble · Jul 11, 2014

Thanks, folks. You posted some very interesting options. The sensitivity may be a bit high on a couple from 650-750nm but I can counteract with a green filter if needed.

Old-N-Feeble · Jul 11, 2014

I've always preferred slow or medium speed fine grained films with high acutance. I almost never used 320+ ISO films because of the grain but I did when I really wanted a shot and it was the only way to get it. In the old days my choices were 25, 100 and 400 ISO (ASA) Agfapan shot below rated speed and underdeveloped in Rodinal usually at 1:50 or 1:100 and then selenium toned to extend and straighten the gamma curve. I really liked the results.

Now that I'm trying to get back into conventional all analog photography again I'm researching current film options and developing techniques.

My original question is just the first of several. That Rollei 80S is looking very tempting so far. This will be a special purpose film only used when I want lighter foliage which just can't be effectively done with filters. Really though, I'm not looking for that white glowing look. I want a more natural look.

Old-N-Feeble · Jul 11, 2014

Ooh... and that Efke KB 100 and PL 100 M look pretty good too.

Ricardo Miranda · Jul 11, 2014

Old-N-Feeble said:
Ooh... and that Efke KB 100 and PL 100 M look pretty good too.

Sorry, all Efke film is no longer made.
Fomapan 200 has the same spectral sensitivity as the ISO 400 version.

Slixtiesix · Jul 12, 2014

Ilford Delta 400 has a spectral sensitivity that goes to around 670nm, which is higher than most other Ilford films except SFX. Don´t know if this will suffice, but just wanted to mention.

bernard_L · Jul 12, 2014

Going back to the primary purpose: to lighten foliage. For me, a yellow-green filter works nicely with, e.g. FP4. No need to try to squeeze some IR response out of a film that extends just a little farther.

Athiril · Jul 12, 2014

Delta 400

Old-N-Feeble · Jul 12, 2014

I'm going to get a cup of coffee to try and sharpen my blurry eyes this morning. Ill research all suggestions.

dwross · Jul 12, 2014

bernard_L said:
Going back to the primary purpose: to lighten foliage. For me, a yellow-green filter works nicely with, e.g. FP4. No need to try to squeeze some IR response out of a film that extends just a little farther.

+1. A #13. The effect varies a bit depending on the exact color of the foliage. Filters work best on colors that are nearest. Deciduous leaves are lightened more (i.e. they are darker on the negative) than evergreen trees, especially bluish varieties, but a #13 should work just fine for you.

ME Super · Jul 12, 2014

Rollei retro 80s with a red filter might do what you want. See this image http://www.martinzimelka.com/Film_Reviews/Retro80s_Rodinal_EI40_9min/Retro80s_Rodinal_EI40_9min.html which appeared on http://www.martinzimelka.com/pages/Rollei_Retro80s.html. The first row was shot with no filter, the second row with a red #25 filter, and the last with a 715nm deep red filter.

Old-N-Feeble · Jul 12, 2014

I haven't found any spectral sensitivity charts for Rollei RPX films and their description doesn't mention anything about extended red sensitivity but many of the images I've seen taken with these films "hint" that they are indeed sensitive to near IR. Does anyone know... any charts?

Old-N-Feeble · Jul 12, 2014

ME Super said:
Rollei retro 80s with a red filter might do what you want. See this image http://www.martinzimelka.com/Film_Reviews/Retro80s_Rodinal_EI40_9min/Retro80s_Rodinal_EI40_9min.html which appeared on http://www.martinzimelka.com/pages/Rollei_Retro80s.html. The first row was shot with no filter, the second row with a red #25 filter, and the last with a 715nm deep red filter.

Nice test series. I would be interested to see a comparison using a medium orange, deep yellow and light red filters as well as the Wratten #25 red.

Old-N-Feeble · Jul 12, 2014

RE green filters: I've had minimal luck using medium green, deep green and yellow-green filters. They usually have very little effect... at least for me. Sometimes a very subtle change is all I want but more often I want it fairly noticeable. Again though, I want to avoid an obvious "IR look".

destroya · Jul 12, 2014

Rollei retro 80s

Old-N-Feeble · Jul 12, 2014

Yeah, for finer grain everything points to Retro 80s shot low EI (25-50) and processed in a late version of Caffenol or Pyro or old XTOL. Now... what about medium speed?

pentaxuser · Jul 12, 2014

Old-N-Feeble said:
Now... what about medium speed?

Rollei 400s?

pentaxuser

Best Black and White Film With Extended Red Sensitivity (But Not Obvious IR Effect)

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