Eastman 10 bulk film - what is it?

[L Gebhardt]

I bought a bulk loader and it arrived with film in it. I loaded up 10 shots and fired them off bracketing 1 stop around 100 and 200. After processing I have some very thin negatives that say "Eastman 10" and "Safety Film" at the bottom. They also say "C03470" in reversed letters at the top. The base fog of this is very high (.70) so I am assuming it is very old. I am not sure I want to use it, but I am curious as to what it may be. Any ideas?

 

[srs5694]

I'm far from positive of this, but I've a hunch that this is ECN-2 color negative film intended for the motion picture industry. Take a look at the sprocket holes. Are they more rounded on top and bottom than normal 35mm still film sprocket holes? That's common for this sort of film, or at least it was back in the 1980s, when I shot some of it. I vaguely recall some of the negatives being marked "Eastman 10," but I'd have to examine a lot of negatives to verify that.

If I'm right and you want to use this as color negative film, there are still a few specialty places that'll process it. You'd probably be better off just ditching it and buying fresh C-41 film, though.

 

[Whiteymorange]

Answering a question with another question is bad form, but I'm confused about Eastman bulk films as well. I just went to my fridge to look at the "new" bulk roll of Eastman Tri X film, expiration date: 1963, that I got in a load of material from a 50's and 60's era shutterbug cleaning out his house. The box says No 10, but I think it refers only to the roll size. The film itself is listed as emulsion 5233, Eastman Tri X panchromatic negative film. There is no speed rating on the box. The kodax film numbers here don't give me much information on either your film or mine.

Much of the Eastman film references one finds through Google have to do with movie film, and Eastman Tri X brings up many hits for 16mm b&w reversal film in that size. Any information out there for the original film speed of this 35mm negative film? The reversal film is rated at ASA 200 and Kodak tri x is 320 or 400... depending.

I'm lost. Don't mean to hijack your thread, but a little info on Eastman, as opposed to Kodak films might clear things up for both of us.

 

[Mike-D]

Kodak 35mm motion picture film for camera use usually has 5000 series emulsion numbers. It could be a print film -- for making theatre prints. http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/support/h1/identificationP.shtml shows some of the other codes that could be on the film. If there are funny symbols then you can tell the manufacture date using the chart on that website.

Mike d

 

[Earl Dunbar]

According to http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/about/chrono2.shtml, 5233 was Tri-X negative cine film introduced in 1954.

There, wasn't that easy? ;-)

Earl

 

[Gerald Koch]

Film information is no longer easy to find on Kodak's website. However, somewhere on the site there is a time line listing the introduction dates for both still and motion picture films.

16 mm stock is numbered 72xx and 35 mm is 52xx.

At present there are two B&W motion picture negative films Eastman Plus-X 5231 and Eastman Tri-X 5222. Both are suitable for still camera use. One must keep in mind that the CI and therefore the rated ISO of motion picture negative films is low since they are intended to be printed printed onto a fairly contrasty positive stock. I rate 5231 at 125 and 5222 at 400 (just like their namesakes).