Buying from Svema

[Alexander K]

Can you show the negatives? Aerial recon films are coated on, basically, optic fibre. If they are subjected to very bright light, it may sometimes fog the entire roll. Was the fog uniform, similar to aging fog?




svema_official on Instagram

Thank you LeoniD!

 

[KitosLAB]

I purchased some 40 rolls of 35mm from Svema, in 25/64/100/400 ASA. Paid by Paypal to an individual in Kiev, and I got the package really fast, in about 6 days. No import tax or anything else to be paid when package was released from the customs, which was kind of surprising (anything coming from outside the EU is taxed accordingly). All in all, the transaction and message exchange went ok, without nasty surprises.

Film proved to be all right, although lately I have encountered severe fogging on some rolls recently shot. I am yet to shoot the 25 and 64 versions, waiting for some sunny days to come.

I had a veil problem on Svema100. I don't know the reason, although it's also possible that the cassette is not tightly closed. On Svema400 there were no problems.

 

[Alexander K]

I had a veil problem on Svema100. I don't know the reason, although it's also possible that the cassette is not tightly closed. On Svema400 there were no problems.

Was it a one-off?

 

[KitosLAB]

Was it a one-off?

Plain Soviet plastic reusable cassette. I don't know what's the problem with the haze of the veil. Svema100 I bought 4 films and they differed in the color of the emulsion. Developed only one. Another filmed but not yet developed/ Svema400 no problem

 

[Minox]

Can you show the negatives? Aerial recon films are coated on, basically, optic fibre. If they are subjected to very bright light, it may sometimes fog the entire roll. Was the fog uniform, similar to aging fog?




svema_official on Instagram

Leonid, the films were of course discarded, what would be the point in keeping them?

The first 5 or 6 frames had lighter areas clearly coming from the sprockets, on the upper side only. The rest of the film was darker in some areas, in some a bit lighter, but entirely fogged.

Aging fog? Yes, it did looked like that. The dark grey and light grey were alternating, but not clearly defined areas. More of a long dark grey 4 or 5 frames, then became a tad lighter slowly, then again dark. Not a single frame to be seen, not even when a length of the film was scanned to see if anything was impressed upon it.

Seeing the films in question were 3 x 100 (Foto 100) and 1 x 64 (FN64), I would have thought the 400 was much more susceptible to be ruined by light. What is the aerial film, 400 ? That is the very thin one, in the Svema lot I've bought.

Thank you for your kind reply, appreciated !

 

[LeoniD]

what would be the point in keeping them?

Diagnosing the issue and requesting replacement if it's manufacturer's fault, of course.
Aging fog wouldn't be irregular, it is usually uniform with (kinda) exceptions like edge fog, but it is more ir less uniform too
What you're describing is caused either by loose lid or light piping, but since you say that the first frames are fogged just from the top(assuming that in your camera the canister's lid is at the bottom), I think the loose lid is the more likely option. Inspect other cassettes for anything suspicious

What is the aerial film, 400

And old 200 with green antihalation layer. I'm not so sure about others, since they are thicker

 

[MCB18]

This seems to be more expensive than buying from Foma:

FOMAPAN roll

producer of black & white photo materials, films, papers, processing chemicals

fomaobchod.cz

What am I missing here?

It is still cheaper than foma, by about €1.5 per roll of 120. I was quoted $3.60/m, about €3.30. A 120 roll us 85 cm, so possibly even cheaper. The real advantage is that you can roll your own film. I will be making 220 films from this stock.

Also, in regards to fogging, aerial films are well known for their tendency to light pipe. FPP sells this film in standard lab cassettes they load themselves, and if you don’t handle the film right, it fogs. Even just bulk loading it in a bright room can cause some fogging. @Minox i believe your problem may be described perfectly in this article, take a look:

Light Piping - What Is It? How To Prevent! - The Film Photography Project

The Film Photography Project informs, engages and inspires film enthusiasts of all levels. While promoting the viability of vintage cameras and film.

filmphotographyproject.com

 

[Romanko]

It is still cheaper than foma, by about €1.5 per roll of 120.

Not bad. Is that including postage to the US and bank transfer fees? What was the amount you ordered? I assume you get backing paper/spools for free or very cheaply (most labs would throw them away).

I doubt this will work for me though as shipping to Australia plus $25 bank fees would make it uneconomic. I can get a roll of Foma for AUD 9.50 locally. And Foma is a much nicer film to work with compared to an unknown and possibly expired aerographic film (Aviphot, Tasma or whatever is the secret source of Svema film).

 

[henryyjjames]

or whatever is the secret source of Svema film

I'm pretty sure Svema/Astrum is manufacturing their film in-house.

 

[LeoniD]

I'm pretty sure Svema/Astrum is manufacturing their film in-house.

They can, with enough money, but afaik right now they buy master rolls(maybe custom-coated) and go from there.

 

[henryyjjames]

They can, with enough money, but afaik right now they buy master rolls(maybe custom-coated) and go from there.

They definitely manufacture black & white aerial films, and they mentioned to me that they are looking into manufacturing colour films as well. I'm hoping they are able to.

 

[MCB18]

They definitely manufacture black & white aerial films, and they mentioned to me that they are looking into manufacturing colour films as well. I'm hoping they are able to.

That would be epic. Honestly, even if it is just buying a master roll of Kodak Aerocolor, if they sold it for reasonable prices, they could probably get more people interested. Although, to be honest, I think that if they updated their website and had a more standard order process, that would also help massively.

 

[MCB18]

Film just arrived! All films are packed nicely, rolls in boxes and then black bags, sheets in 2 heat sealed bags. They packed my order as requested, with specific quantities of film in each box/bag, rather than all one film type of the sane size, so I’m happy to see that. Overall, my experience was great, and I will definitely be ordering from them again!

Image of all the film:

 

[htmlguru4242]

I placed an order, which was sent from Svema on 08 May. It arrived in the US on the 17th.

USPS subsequently mislaid my package somewhere in North Carolina. Lord knows if it'll ever resurface. *faceplam*. Why does the US Postal Service suck so badly? Ugh!

That said, props to Ukrposhta for getting it out on their end so quickly. Given the fact that there's a war on, I'd say they're doing a damned good job.

 

[henryyjjames]

I just received this message from the Svema Instagram account that myself and some others have placed orders through. IDK what you all will think but personally I find this message a bit unsettling... They also started liking all of my posts... Prior to this message, all our communications were professional. What do yous think?

 

[LeoniD]

I just received this message from the Svema Instagram account that myself and some others have placed orders through. IDK what you all will think but personally I find this message a bit unsettling... They also started liking all of my posts... Prior to this message, all our communications were professional. What do yous think?
View attachment 340161

Oh ffs, not again. I don't have any other explanation other than that this guy sometimes gets wasted and starts to post on this page. Usually it's just more or less harmless posts that get deleted in the morning, that mostly boiled down to how hard it was to preserve what's left of Svema(with a lot of grammatical errors). And he isn't even an Astrum's employee, just a son of one of the co-founders/managers.
I'll write to Dmitry about this, if you want, he was really helpful with an issue I had when trying to buy magnetic tape through this guy's dad ("tibosha" email)

 

[henryyjjames]

Oh ffs, not again. I don't have any other explanation other than that this guy sometimes gets wasted and starts to post on this page. Usually it's just more or less harmless posts that get deleted in the morning, that mostly boiled down to how hard it was to preserve what's left of Svema(with a lot of grammatical errors). And he isn't even an Astrum's employee, just a son of one of the co-founders/managers.
I'll write to Dmitry about this, if you want, he was really helpful with an issue I had when trying to buy magnetic tape through this guy's dad ("tibosha" email)

Ahh ok. That makes some sense I guess.

 

[MCB18]

Honestly, doesn’t seem like the worst thing in the world, there are much, much worse things that could be posted when drunk (or completely sober lol).

 

[LeoniD]

Honestly, doesn’t seem like the worst thing in the world, there are much, much worse things that could be posted when drunk (or completely sober lol).

Yeah, but still, it's an official account. He also sometimes banned people for questions, for example, or answered to comments completely incoherently, etc.. For me it's painful to see because I'd really love to see freshly manufactured Svema film again one day, and on one hand this account probably helps with sales and to make more people aware that Svema is not yet completely dead, but on the other hand this incompetence is hurting what's left of Svema's name, and internally it may even be doing more harm than good.