Earl Grey Blues

[Toffle]

I made the mistake of picking up some (over-priced) Lomography Earl Grey 120 film at that hipster store in a Detroit mall. I can't remember when the last time was that I found 120 film at a mall, so I opened my wallet with the thought that I was bleeding a little for the overall film community.

It's Lomo film, so I loaded it into my Holga and used up my three rolls. Now, I happen to have one of those Holgas that do not leak light. In addition, I have added a heavy black flap to cover the film counter hole - I only lift it when I am advancing my film. There should be no possibility of light contamination, but I processed the first two rolls yesterday and I can clearly see every printed marking on the backing paper exposed on the film. I am assuming this happened in the camera and not in their production line, but I have no frame of reference for how else it could happen. This never happens with Ilford or Kodak films, so I had recently begun to think of my extra protection over the film counter to be over-kill for a non-existent problem. What bugs me is that this is a film that is specifically marketed for the Holga crowd, and if it is indeed a failure of the backing paper, then it is very poor business indeed.

I have no question, and there really isn't much that bears discussion here, (unless anyone else wants to chime in) but I just wanted to vent about my wasted time, money and effort.

Cheers,
Tom

 

[EASmithV]

I have had similar issues with Arista EDU 400. Sometimes I get burnt in numbers, or strange artifacts. It's so cheap, though, it's the best for general film burning or testing cameras.

 

[FredW]

I have used Ilford, Kodak, and Fuji film in Holga's without covering the red window and have never had an issue.

 

[vpwphoto]

The backing paper is not opaque enough. Bummer... I'd say something to Lomo about it. I don't think that "flaw" is acceptable.

 

[Athiril]

I have used Ilford, Kodak, and Fuji film in Holga's without covering the red window and have never had an issue.

I've had it when pushing Shanghai GP3 past 800, so wondering what OP's developing time is?

 

[ME Super]

If you've had the same problem with Arista EDU as you do with the Earl Grey, maybe the films are the same manufacturer. I've heard the Arista EDU is Foma film.

All this talk of Earl Grey is making me thirsty. I like my Earl Grey in a cup, hot, with sugar, not in a camera :munch:

 

[Toffle]

I've had it when pushing Shanghai GP3 past 800, so wondering what OP's developing time is?

I exposed the film at box speed (100) and processed it in HC-110 for 6:30 as per the Massive Dev Chart App. I won't be buying this again, so I'm not all that upset over the issue. I do feel a little ripped off, though because I bought this over-priced crap just to support the idea of analog products in an increasingly digital age.

Live and learn.

Cheers,
Tom

 

[Vaughn]

I have had it happen with out-dated Tech Pan in a Diana camera. Only time it has happened.

Too bad Alex was not actually 16 at the time...it would have been perfect!

 

[Nicholas Lindan]

It's not light coming through the backing paper but the ink on the backing paper affecting the emulsion of the wrap of film above.

This has recently been discussed: (there was a url link here which no longer exists)

Kodak needs your support and they make the world's best film, bar none - why not buy their film?

Lomography only sells crap film because they buy it for nothing and can sell it at outrageous prices to fools who don't know better. Pretty soon the numbers on the negative will be 'hipster cool'.

 

[Toffle]

It's not light coming through the backing paper but the ink on the backing paper affecting the emulsion of the wrap of film above.

This has recently been discussed: (there was a url link here which no longer exists)

Kodak needs your support and they make the world's best film, bar none - why not buy their film?

Lomography only sells crap film because they buy it for nothing and can sell it at outrageous prices to fools who don't know better. Pretty soon the numbers on the negative will be 'hipster cool'.

This makes sense now that I think of it. The markings are over the entire film and not just where the viewing port is.

As for supporting Kodak, Nicholas, I have been doing the picture-a-day challenge since January 1, 2010... the majority on Kodak films. Forgive a guy for making an impulse buy to experiment with a new film. Preach to someone else, please.

 

[SMBooth]

Have a read of the current article on Shanghai GP3 film, it may by able to to be washed off.

 

[Nicholas Lindan]

As for supporting Kodak ... Preach to someone else, please.

Sorry, the comment wasn't meant as preaching and wasn't aimed at you but as a general observation on the state of things.

 

[Toffle]

Have a read of the current article on Shanghai GP3 film, it may by able to to be washed off.

Thanks, I will check that out.

Cheers,
Tom

 

[Toffle]

Sorry, the comment wasn't meant as preaching and wasn't aimed at you but as a general observation on the state of things.

Thank you, Nicholas. I may have been a trifle defensive, but if you knew me, you'd know how ardent I am as a supporter of film in general and Kodak in particular.

 

[grobbit]

Another reason to dislike Lomo. Sorry to hear of your troubles. I doubt it is Foma film as I've shot loads of Fomapan 100 in 120 and never had this issue. As people are reporting this issue with Shanghai GP3, I suspect they are the supplier of this 'Earl Gray'.

How do you find the Holga? I'm tempted to buy one of the WPC versions to shoot 6x12, I'll remove the plastic lens and fit a Ross Wide Angle Xpress f4 5inch in shutter. The cheap plastickness of them puts me off, how bad are the light leak issues?

 

[Toffle]

Another reason to dislike Lomo. Sorry to hear of your troubles. I doubt it is Foma film as I've shot loads of Fomapan 100 in 120 and never had this issue. As people are reporting this issue with Shanghai GP3, I suspect they are the supplier of this 'Earl Gray'.

How do you find the Holga? I'm tempted to buy one of the WPC versions to shoot 6x12, I'll remove the plastic lens and fit a Ross Wide Angle Xpress f4 5inch in shutter. The cheap plastickness of them puts me off, how bad are the light leak issues?

I quite like my Holga. It is not my favourite camera by any stretch, but it is a good occasional tool with characteristics I have come to know and understand.

My Holga is remarkably leak-free for the most part, though I do notice a touch of vignetting in the corners. I don't mind the plastic lens, though I wouldn't mind a proper aperture setting and perhaps a variable shutter. My camera is slightly modified - as stated in my original post, I added a black flap over the film counter window, and I keep the back secure with a heavy elastic. One of the first things I did with my Holga is screw a 46-55 filter adapter into the plastic of the lens housing and added a rubber lens hood. I'm not a fan of scratches, so I buffed the film mask rails to eliminate a couple of annoying burrs which would occasionally mar the film.

I have considered a couple of other modifications, but don't want to mess with things too much. There is the "close-focus" mod in which you replace the plastic focus stop with one a few degrees farther around the barrel, and the "true aperture" mod, but I really don't want to get too far into the innards of the camera... it works fine for me the way it is.

Cheers,
Tom

 

[SMBooth]

How do you find the Holga? I'm tempted to buy one of the WPC versions to shoot 6x12, I'll remove the plastic lens and fit a Ross Wide Angle Xpress f4 5inch in shutter. The cheap plastickness of them puts me off, how bad are the light leak issues?

Thats what I did but different lens. Mine is a 65f8

 

[grobbit]

Thanks for the info Tom, I have a very nice Ikonta-M 524/16 6x6 that shoots very well, but there have been a few times when I've looked at a Holga and thought 'hmm, that might be interesting to try'. That conversion looks great, 8/65 SA isn't too hard to find for a good price, and is twice as wide as my Xpress. Do you have any threads or posts detailing the conversion you can link to? How about some image samples?

 

[StoneNYC]

I just wish you saved one roll, shot it with a good lens to compare grain and sharpness to Kodak or other high end films, I'm curious about their quality in that respect.


~Stone

Mamiya: 7 II, RZ67 Pro II / Canon: 1V, AE-1, 5DmkII / Kodak: No 1 Pocket Autographic, No 1A Pocket Autographic | Sent w/ iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[SMBooth]

If you click on the photo it will take you to my Flickr site hunt in there all the B&W 6x12 shoots are with that camera. The conversion was quite easy just remove the 90mm that comes on the Holga and sand back the cone until the surface is flat, that is pretty close to the hypo focus point for the Len but you will want to fine tune it to your needs. FYI the only ligh leaks I got are from my mods not "Holga" leaks.

 

[grobbit]

Cheers, I'll go take a look.

 

[Toffle]

That is a great format, both vertically and horizontally.