Eastman 5399vn what is this?

Mmorco · Apr 8, 2021

Hello everyone

I am about to buy 100ft of this film. Looks like it is a negative colour film. Probably from the 90s. Not sure the original/intended processing but today it is probably not available anymore. So why buy 100ft of this?

Here my why's:
1) it is quite cheap. I mean 20 £ shipped for 100ft is about 80p per roll 18 frames per roll.
2) it has apparently a clear base so not bad for b&w dev
3) it can be fun to find out what to do with it.

Here some ideas

Xprocess in e6 or c41 or ECN.
Process with b&w chemical
Have some fun with caffenol

Anyone have some experience with the stuff?thanks in advance

Marco

koraks · Apr 9, 2021

Google gives some hints. This page suggests that it may be a maskless color negative stock: http://www.film-and-darkroom-user.org.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=13346

Some further digging suggests it is intended for VFN-1 processing which similar to E6 (although that would be odd as it's apparently a negative stock).

Mmorco · Apr 9, 2021

Thanks for your reply koraks. I had a look at that and it is promising, should be fun initially to develop in BW as soon as i will my hands on the stuff. I did a bit more research on this.

This is what i think/understood/found until now:

_ From here: www.taphilo.com/Photo/kodakfilmnumxref.shtml : this is a 35mm Color print film, circa~ 1990 to 2004 (in fact i found a message from Kodak about discontinuing it in end 2004.
So in the best case scenario it is already 17 years old.
_ (from here : www.kodak.com/content/products-brochures/Film/Processing-... )
it should be EASTMAN EKTACHROME Color Reversal Motion Picture Films , with EASTMAN EKTACHROME Film 160D 7239 and EASTMAN EKTACHROME Film 125T 7240 were the reversal films and the EASTMAN EKTACHROME Print Film 7399 and 5399 used to make copies (direct contact copying ). for this reason it is slow and fine grain.
processing : VN means Video News (Process VNF-1 and RVNP) discontinued in 2005 probably.
_ (from here: pdfstream.manualsonline.com/6/66ae0728-3f94-46dd-b715-147...)
"The processed camera original on EASTMAN EKTACHROME Film (Daylight) is meant for direct projection; however, you can make color duplicates on EASTMAN EKTACHROME Print Film 7399".
It’s for making duplicates of color newsreel film, using an optical printer. You’d contact print the positive film onto this stuff, and then develop it with a reversal process (like for color slides) to get another positive. But if you develop in in c-41 you’ll get a negative (without the orange mask). If you develop it in b&w developer you’ll get a b&w negative.

Anyway i should receive the stuff early next week, my plan is to shot few rolls (ISO 12 ISO 25 ISO 50?) and try first to dev in BW and maybe later in color (i already contacted few labs and since there is no remjet they are keen to have a go at the same costs of C41 or E6)

Any other comments or idea how to shot and dev in BW will be much appreciated.

KR

Marco

João Paulo F Q · Oct 28, 2021

Hi Marco,

Nice information you gethered there, I am also willing to buy this film stock. Did you gete any results in terms of the film speed? Hope you endd up with nice photos!

Cheers
João Paulo

Mmorco said:
Thanks for your reply koraks. I had a look at that and it is promising, should be fun initially to develop in BW as soon as i will my hands on the stuff. I did a bit more research on this.

This is what i think/understood/found until now:

_ From here: www.taphilo.com/Photo/kodakfilmnumxref.shtml : this is a 35mm Color print film, circa~ 1990 to 2004 (in fact i found a message from Kodak about discontinuing it in end 2004.
So in the best case scenario it is already 17 years old.
_ (from here : www.kodak.com/content/products-brochures/Film/Processing-... )
it should be EASTMAN EKTACHROME Color Reversal Motion Picture Films , with EASTMAN EKTACHROME Film 160D 7239 and EASTMAN EKTACHROME Film 125T 7240 were the reversal films and the EASTMAN EKTACHROME Print Film 7399 and 5399 used to make copies (direct contact copying ). for this reason it is slow and fine grain.
processing : VN means Video News (Process VNF-1 and RVNP) discontinued in 2005 probably.
_ (from here: pdfstream.manualsonline.com/6/66ae0728-3f94-46dd-b715-147...)
"The processed camera original on EASTMAN EKTACHROME Film (Daylight) is meant for direct projection; however, you can make color duplicates on EASTMAN EKTACHROME Print Film 7399".
It’s for making duplicates of color newsreel film, using an optical printer. You’d contact print the positive film onto this stuff, and then develop it with a reversal process (like for color slides) to get another positive. But if you develop in in c-41 you’ll get a negative (without the orange mask). If you develop it in b&w developer you’ll get a b&w negative.

Anyway i should receive the stuff early next week, my plan is to shot few rolls (ISO 12 ISO 25 ISO 50?) and try first to dev in BW and maybe later in color (i already contacted few labs and since there is no remjet they are keen to have a go at the same costs of C41 or E6)

Any other comments or idea how to shot and dev in BW will be much appreciated.

KR

Marco

jimgalli · Oct 29, 2021

VNF film was for Video News Footage. It was designed to be used by news crews shooting film before everything went to actual video tape. The main thing was it was chrome film that could be processed in very hot developer in very short time. It could go in the processor and come out dry in 15 or 20 minutes. For news rooms that could put you up front in the news feed frenzy. It's useless for black and white. Very little actual silver content. But it responds well to ordinary E6 processing and times.

Philippe-Georges · Oct 29, 2021

jimgalli said:
VNF film was for Video News Footage. It was designed to be used by news crews shooting film before everything went to actual video tape. The main thing was it was chrome film that could be processed in very hot developer in very short time. It could go in the processor and come out dry in 15 or 20 minutes. For news rooms that could put you up front in the news feed frenzy. It's useless for black and white. Very little actual silver content. But it responds well to ordinary E6 processing and times.

That is it, Eastman VNF existed balanced for daylight and for tungsten.
When out with my Eclair ACL 16mm, in the late '70s/early '80s, I had always to bring at least two 120m film chassis for single sprocket film.
In Brussels there ware over a dozen labs for processing this footage, most of them concentrated in and around the Rue Royale, so we went door to door to find where our film could be developed immediately.
Those were the day's...

João Paulo F Q · Oct 29, 2021

jimgalli said:
VNF film was for Video News Footage. It was designed to be used by news crews shooting film before everything went to actual video tape. The main thing was it was chrome film that could be processed in very hot developer in very short time. It could go in the processor and come out dry in 15 or 20 minutes. For news rooms that could put you up front in the news feed frenzy. It's useless for black and white. Very little actual silver content. But it responds well to ordinary E6 processing and times.

Thanks for the information in the end it is a good film for experimentation.

Eastman 5399vn what is this?

Mmorco

koraks

Moderator

Mmorco

João Paulo F Q

jimgalli

Philippe-Georges

João Paulo F Q

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency