CatLABS X FILM 320 Pro now available in 35mm and 120

Roger Cole · Oct 4, 2022

Paul Howell said:
Your are likely correct, I should said the majority of folks who have posted here seem to shoot at a lower ISO, outside of PhotoTrio most likely shoot at box speed. And again true, old TriX shot at 1600 and developed in Diafine while a little soft had very good shadow details. The newer version of TriX with a thinner emulsion cannnot absorb as part A developer as the new thicker emulsion version.

When I finish my new darkroom build out I plan to experiment with modern Tri-X doing two passes through Diafine, with a thorough water rinse after the first part B, of course, and keeping the "second pass Diafine" solutions separate (though there's almost certainly no need to do that for part B, which is just alkaline accelerator, I think.) We shall see. But it may be more than that, with more dye sensitization as well. I do miss the old stuff, both for that and for its look at 400.

Huss · Oct 4, 2022

This pic has a combination of lively shadows with dead to the soul shadows all in one.

Not sure which is which though.

Roger Cole · Oct 4, 2022

faberryman said:
The fact that Mary Ellen Mark liked to shoot Tri-X at EI 250 does not mean that Tri-X was not an ISO 400 film. Kodak claimed it was an ISO 400 film because they tested the film according to the ISO rubric for determining film speed and determined that it was ISO 400.

CatLABS claims that its new film has an "EI ISO" film speed of 320. I do not know 1) what "EI ISO" is supposed to mean, 2) whether CatLABS determined that its new film has a film speed of 320 according to the ISO rubric, or 3) if the film does have an ISO film speed of 320, why they nevertheless recommend that it be shot at EI 200. Maybe they just think their new film looks better overexposed.

"EI ISO" probably means that their testing shows 320 in the usual ways, but lacks the full rigor required to actually call it ISO, while they recommend shooting it at 200 for best results. That does make sense - downrating film a little is really common with most black and white films benefiting from being given at least a little more exposure than the ISO index would call for. It's just not that common in marketing for the company to say so, so I found it a bit odd. No problem, just unusual.

Huss · Oct 4, 2022

MattKing said:
Aren't zombies at least half alive?

The right side. That’s why they walk funny. You got a living leg trying to coordinate with a dead leg.

Roger Cole · Oct 4, 2022

ags2mikon said:
Kodak has been the best sales person for Harman products. Panatomic X gone, use Pan F. Plus X gone use FP-4. Improve Tri X, use HP-5. Drop Tmax 3200, use Delta 3200.

All true. Add to that, price sheet film in the stratosphere - change to Ilford. I have some cold stored TMY2 4x5 but when it's gone it's going to be HP5+ for me. I kind of get along better with more older tech films anyway.

Huss · Oct 4, 2022

Roger Cole said:
"EI ISO" probably means that their testing shows 320 in the usual ways, but lacks the full rigor required to actually call it ISO, while they recommend shooting it at 200 for best results. That does make sense - downrating film a little is really common with most black and white films benefiting from being given at least a little more exposure than the ISO index would call for. It's just not that common in marketing for the company to say so, so I found it a bit odd. No problem, just unusual.

i’m just gonna shoot it at 200, like their site says.
Similar to Kodak Portra 400. Everyone and their mom acknowledges it is an iso 400 film, but has to shoot it at 200.

Marcelo Paniagua · Oct 4, 2022

I suppose Catlabs should be happy about the film publicity it got from this thread; I mean, it is already 12 pages!!

faberryman · Oct 4, 2022

Roger Cole said:
"EI ISO" probably means that their testing shows 320 in the usual ways, but lacks the full rigor required to actually call it ISO, while they recommend shooting it at 200 for best results. That does make sense - downrating film a little is really common with most black and white films benefiting from being given at least a little more exposure than the ISO index would call for. It's just not that common in marketing for the company to say so, so I found it a bit odd. No problem, just unusual.

Thank you for attempting to explain the inexplicable. Your explanation makes no sense, but I'll award you an A for effort.

Don_ih · Oct 4, 2022

What is this thread about?
Isn't it:
CatLabs offering a film rated iso320.
Buy it or don't.
???

Paul Howell · Oct 4, 2022

pentaxuser said:
Paul, when you open your cassettes, assuming it is 35mm, can I ask that you tell us if they have the electrical tape like aparat reported and what the code underneath the tape says. If it's 120 roll film does it say what the speed is on the backing paper?

Thanks

pentaxuser

My 5 rolls have a non DX coded white label, there is bar code and the CatLabs logo, list the ISO as 320. Once I shoot the roll I will peel the label back to see what is underneath.

faberryman · Oct 4, 2022

Huss said:
i’m just gonna shoot it at 200, like their site says.

Probably a good choice if you don’t look at the box. Fortunately, there is no data sheet to sow confusion,

Similar to Kodak Portra 400. Everyone and their mom acknowledges it is an iso 400 film, but has to shoot it at 200.

I’d say most Portra 400 is shot at box speed, except for people who hang around sites like Photrio, which may or may not include a lot of moms.

pentaxuser · Oct 4, 2022

Paul Howell said:
My 5 rolls have a non DX coded white label, there is bar code and the CatLabs logo, list the ISO as 320. Once I shoot the roll I will peel the label back to see what is underneath.

Thanks On aparat's cassettes it was black electrical tape so maybe it's just a matter of using whatever material is at hand to obliterate the code of whatever is underneath. I await your findings

pentaxuser

Digital Wendy · Oct 4, 2022

faberryman said:
Can you provide a link. I didn't see this on their website, or Facebook or Instagram pages.

It's at the bottom of this page https://www.catlabs.info/about-us under 'Gender-Pay-Gap Discount:'.

faberryman · Oct 4, 2022

Digital Wendy said:
It's at the bottom of this page https://www.catlabs.info/about-us under 'Gender-Pay-Gap Discount:'.

Thanks. Odd place to put it, but I am glad they offer women the discount.

Sal Santamaura · Oct 4, 2022

Sal Santamaura said:
Funniest post in this thread. If not of the year on PHOTRIO. Whether intentional or not.

Marcelo Paniagua said:
I suppose Catlabs should be happy about the film publicity it got from this thread; I mean, it is already 12 pages!!

OK, you win. That one's funnier.

Moose22 · Oct 4, 2022

faberryman said:
Thanks. Odd place to put it, but I am glad they offer women the discount.

I'm not.

Think it's about time to mute this thread.

Alex Benjamin · Oct 4, 2022

Huss said:
They are not lively shadows! They are zombie shadows!

Of course they are. Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men ?

faberryman · Oct 4, 2022

Moose22 said:
I'm not.

Wow. That’s pretty grumpy.

Moose22 said:
Think it's about time to mute this thread.

I still am waiting for everyone’s sample images and film speed tests, so let's give it a few days.

Huss · Oct 4, 2022

Sal Santamaura said:
OK, you win. That one's funnier.

Yeah but 12 pages on photrio means it may have hit an audience of three.

Huss · Oct 4, 2022

faberryman said:
I’d say most Portra 400 is shot at box speed, except for people who hang around sites like Photrio, which may or may not include a lot of moms.

Not according to insta/youtube/tiktok/FB/myspace…

MattKing · Oct 4, 2022

Huss said:
Not according to insta/youtube/tiktok/FB/myspace…

I wonder how the volumes compare with Portra in particular.
Most of the small number of working photographers who still use film, the remaining commercial labs, and most likely an EI of 400.
As compared to the majority of those on insta/youtube/tiktok/FB/myspace…

faberryman · Oct 4, 2022

Huss said:
Not according to insta/youtube/tiktok/FB/myspace…

Duh. You may be right. I forgot all about MySpace.

mshchem · Oct 4, 2022

Alex Benjamin said:
Of course they are. Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men ?

The Weed of Crime Bears Bitter Fruit. Crime Does Not Pay!!!

mshchem · Oct 4, 2022

faberryman said:
Wow. That’s pretty grumpy.

I still am waiting for everyone’s sample images and film speed tests, so let's give it a few days.

This has been one of the best threads in a while. Humorous and informative.

mshchem · Oct 4, 2022

DIY Film DX Code Labels

DIY Film DX Code Labels: Do you have a stuborn film camera that takes the ISO information from the DX code on the canister? Do you want to push/pull your film, but your camera doesn't let you override the ISO value? Did you buy cheap film with no DX encoding in the canister…

www.instructables.com

CatLABS X FILM 320 Pro now available in 35mm and 120

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