Emulsions number list

[LikeAPolaroid]

I have started, just for fun, the compilation of the DX emulsion numbers that can be found on 35mm cartridges. The DX emulsion mumber is not the DX speed code, but it's a 6-digit number that identify the emulsion and it is found under the DX speed code (the conductive squares) both in a barcode form and a numeric form.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DX_number

I have created a google doc which is public on the internet at this address:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ak25iVXE6qSJdFFObDBySlFqYjdUVVphUWVfbjlGT2c&usp=sharing

Feel free to contribute.

I am not doing this for profit or anything else. I just want to collect as many emulsion numbers as I can - I believe this will be useful to understand OEM/rebranded films where they are actually coming from.

I have, to this purpose, added an Analysis tab - here you will find the films grouped by emulsion codes. Very interesting.
There are a couple of things that I immediately noticed:

- Fomapan and Ferrania films have the same emulsion code. This is clearly something wrong (the numbers are correct though).
- Fuji Velvia 50 and 100 have the same emulsion code, and so have Fuji Neopan 400 and Acros.

There are other confirmations like Arista 400 being TriX 400, etc.

 

[AgX]

Foma offer a C-41 film (or at least give their name for it) which is obviously a rebranded film. So that might have got a Ferrania DX-number.
But in general I expect original and rebranded version to have different DX-numbers. But in times as these most probably no-one cares about standards anyway when making up the design of a cassette.

 

[LikeAPolaroid]

The number overlap b/w Foma and Ferrania occurs with their Fomapan b/w films...but Foma might have (wrongly) reused the cassette for their b/w films too.

The emulsion number should be the same for original and OEM/rebranded films as that's an IEEE assigned number and there are a number of patents around automatic processing based on the emulsion (one is Kodak's). That's what the DX number is for (which is a human readable translation of the barcode that can be found on the cassette which is read by the automatic processors).

 

[AgX]

I assume that those labs that do a dedicated development of b&w films do not bother with that coding, and those industrial labs which might do, just apply one or two standard processes.

By the way, I can't remember that coding being discussed anywhere before. Thank you for bringing up that topic.

 

[heterolysis]

-Arista EDU is Foma (already known)

-My Velvia 50 was 005184 which differs from the listed Velvia 50/100 conundrum

 

[LikeAPolaroid]

-Arista EDU is Foma (already known)

-My Velvia 50 was 005184 which differs from the listed Velvia 50/100 conundrum

Yes, good to see a confirmation of Arista being TriX and Arista EDU being Fomapan
And thanks for the Velvia 50 new code. I have one in the freezer that may be checking too to see if that one differs.

And another confirmation is that AgfaPhoto CT Precisa is actually Provia 100F.

 

[railwayman3]

Has something happened to the Google doc ? It was fine the other day, but now seems to be totally blank on both the Data and the Analysis pages?

 

[Ricardo Miranda]

I'm just looking at it and it seems fine to me.

@LikeaPolaroid: is this the same list as in here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/ishootfilm/discuss/72157634429783414/?

 

[railwayman3]

I'm just looking at it and it seems fine to me.

@LikeaPolaroid: is this the same list as in here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/ishootfilm/discuss/72157634429783414/?

It's working again for me now! Must have been some temporary glitch.

 

[LikeAPolaroid]

It's working again for me now! Must have been some temporary glitch.

No glitch, it was just that someone had the creative idea to delete everything.
I restored it now. Hope it won't happen again.

 

[cmacd123]

The number overlap b/w Foma and Ferrania occurs with their Fomapan b/w films...but Foma might have (wrongly) reused the cassette for their b/w films too.

Any of the Foma made films I have used recently have come in a cassette that looks identical to those used by ferrania. In fact of you peel off the label it (erroniously) says "process C-41" and CP-36 and made in the EU. (I have only been using the 36 exposure rolls of Foma 400/Ultra 400.)

I have been going on the assumption that when Ferrania closed their film production they sold all their stock of cartridges to foma, OR their supplier started selling them to Foma to use up existing stocks. The first batch of film that I received with these also came in Ferrania cans rather then the slightly larger and shinier FOMA cans. The latest batch was back in the foma cans but still in the C-41 cassettes.

Anyone working on this should note that the last digit is standardized to show the number of exposures with 4 meaning 36 and I believe 3 meaning 24. The first digit is makers choice so a private brand might have a different first digit but the middle digits the same.

I have also noted that some film, Fuji in particular uses a string of zeros for the middle numbers for some of their products. I recall the Legacy Pro film being this way.