Film from Italy -- Ferrania starting production 2014

[Roger Cole]

discovered when? eg.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._Eugene_Smith
can you look at his photos?

Did you do basic chemistry in school?
It is yes or no.

In the UK GM products are considered Frankenstein foods and are rejected there are court orders banning access to local crop fields.

We are happy to pay a premium for organic certificated products and ethically produced products.

So the UK can be even more reactionary and anti-science in some cases than the US. We win the ignorance race in some areas, you do in others. Yawn.

I have no issue with ethically produced products (in fact I regularly pay substantially more for cage free eggs, for example) or organic for that matter, in some items, but just because something is GM doesn't make it bad or harmful. Neil DeGrasse Tyson recently went on a great little spiel about this.

 

[Photo Engineer]

Kodak re-engineered Ektar to use the most environmentally safe chemistry, I have been told. The emulsion making equipment got all new computers in the 90s for process control. They did not leave much to chance on this.

The coating machines were more like Arduino or the like as I remember, without big processing cores.

As for me, I have several VMs on my Win 7 machine including Fedora, ME and 2000 among many others including (gasp) OS/2. This allows me to use some of my old software handily, but Win still crashes from time to time with exception errors. In any event, I am reaching back to the 80s to get data and formulas for my new book.

PE

 

[Truzi]

For Film Ferrania to upgrade computer control will depend a lot on how the machine was made. The older it is, the more likely everything was completely unique to the machine, while something made more recently might be easier to retrofit with more modern computer control. While everything was certainly "custom," the components themselves may not be. Also, there are situations where virtualization may have too much latency (though I don't know if a coating machine is one of them).

Also, there still are a lot of industrial machines using older style processors because the chips themselves are quite robust in an industrial setting, and they are quite capable for certain purposes. The z80 is a good example.

I have little need for windows, but I do have a VM on my Debian box for those occasions.
The more stable machine (Fedora in PE's case) should be the host machine, and virtualize your windows machines

 

[StoneNYC]

You are still sitting inside the box. Step out on the town. Why not just virtualize the entire HP35 calculator? Buttons and all?

I have a fully functional virtualized ancient Texas Instruments SR10 digital calculator. I did the virtualization myself. Using the simulated version is no different (at least functionally) than using the real one. It even looks and sounds identical. And I mean identical. Even all of the early flaws are faithfully preserved as well. It's pretty cool.

The biggest problem in solving big problems is fear and loathing while sitting frozen inside that box. If one always assumes problems are complex and insurmountable, they will be. If, however, one can let go and think big, anything becomes possible.

Go Ferrania...

Ken

You would have done well on the kobayashi maru test

 

[Ken Nadvornick]

'Good' thinking but will you also virtulise

your mobile phone?
your DSLR?
your autos ECU?
Ferannis coater?

eg if you virtualize the calculator on the mobile phone (note my phone has one already) and the phone chip fails the phone is in the trash can with its virtual calculator.

Note when Ilfords 220 finisher failed they did not repair it...

Don't forget you also need a virtual elephant?

"I hear you say 'Why?' Always 'Why?' You see things; and you say 'Why?' But I dream things that never were; and I say 'Why not?'"

— The Serpent in Back to Methuselah, George Bernard Shaw, 1921

 

[Ken Nadvornick]

Seems to me that your paragraph beginning with "The biggest problem ..." fits even better if you had ended your post with "Go Kodak Alaris".

If Kodak Alaris were attempting to resurrect their E-6 line of film products, I would have.

So I ask again. Do you know something the rest of us don't? Last time you ignored the question. Which to conspiratorialists is, of course, an answer in and of itself...



Ken

 

[Ken Nadvornick]

You would have done well on the kobayashi maru test

I would have surreptitiously changed the parameters of the test before taking it...



Ken

 

[StoneNYC]

If Kodak Alaris were attempting to resurrect their E-6 line of film products, I would have.

So I ask again. Do you know something the rest of us don't? Last time you ignored the question. Which to conspiratorialists is, of course, an answer in and of itself...



Ken

Kodak just reduced a lot of their movie film stock too including Eastman Double-X!!!!

That's Eastman Kodak of course but it's all still eerie...

 

[MattKing]

If Kodak Alaris were attempting to resurrect their E-6 line of film products, I would have.

So I ask again. Do you know something the rest of us don't? Last time you ignored the question. Which to conspiratorialists is, of course, an answer in and of itself...



Ken

I have a bad habit in that when I don't have anything useful to answer a question with, I sometimes don't say that I don't have an answer, but instead just don't answer.

So my apologies.

I don't really know anything that is completely on subject, but I do know that there are a significant number of people who:
1) used to work for Eastman Kodak or one of its international subsidiaries;
2) now work for Kodak Alaris; and
3) understand and believe in the value of film and colour photographic paper.

I highlight the reference to colour photographic paper because I believe that it is the critical component in ensuring Kodak Alaris' survival and hoped for future prosperity.

I also know that, unlike the case for Eastman Kodak (in the last few decades), the shareholders in Kodak Alaris also understand and believe in the value of film and colour photographic paper.

I don't know whether there is any chance for Kodak Alaris to resume E6 production. I do know, however, that they have access to significant distribution resources, which could probably help Ferrania.

And if they can see there way to building a modern coating plant, capable of making C41 and black and white film profitably, than the chance of them making E6 materials again would surely be at least a bit better.

Either that or a projection material matched to C41 negatives and suitable for slide projection .

 

[MattKing]

Kodak just reduced a lot of their movie film stock too including Eastman Double-X!!!!

That's Eastman Kodak of course but it's all still eerie...

Maybe.

But it hasn't happened as of yet, and it may be limited to a reduction in sizes available.

 

[Ricardo Miranda]

Regarding computer controls at Ferrania, I think most of you are making a lot of assumptions.

If I were you I'll go and watch some Italian movie. You could start with Toto... or P. P. Passolini.
Ciao!

 

[Xmas]

Regarding computer controls at Ferrania, I think most of you are making a lot of assumptions.

If I were you I'll go and watch some Italian movie. You could start with Toto... or P. P. Passolini.
Ciao!

How did I know you were a movie buff?

 

[Xmas]

Maybe.

But it hasn't happened as of yet, and it may be limited to a reduction in sizes available.

BW400CN was cancelled by KA recently?

Don't worry we can use XP2 instead.

But the last time EK changed cine they published a formal letter providing 3 months notice of a price increase, Oct 13 for Jan 14...

So maybe web rumour?

If you are shooting cine you have a complete story board down to $ for coffee and muffins for extras in mobile canteen.

Here 5222 is on next day courier delivery.

 

[Nzoomed]

GO Film Ferrania!

 

[Nzoomed]

From reading what is quoted from their website:
"
[h=2]FILM Ferrania is in the process of restarting production for analog film in both still and cinema formats."[/h]I can only assume this means that they have already started the coater, in the process of testing it or about to start it up.

Pretty good news, we may see some film on the shelves by December!

 

[Gerald C Koch]

I await with cheese on my tongue - with ba(i)ted breath.

 

[Nzoomed]

I hope they can reverse engineer Ektachrome, mind you scotch chrome doesnt seem that bad from photos ive seen.

Anyone had experience shooting it?
I am keen to know how its colour and grain compares.

 

[Xmas]

I hope they can reverse engineer Ektachrome, mind you scotch chrome doesnt seem that bad from photos ive seen.

Anyone had experience shooting it?
I am keen to know how its colour and grain compares.

Scotch was run off the mill in 2005 when I last tried it if it had been the only E6 Id not have had a problem. The Fuji was easier to get then.

Next year you probably wont have a problem using it.

They wont be attempting to reverse engineer Ektrachrome or a Fuji emulsion, just to survive.

 

[MattKing]

As long as it isn't like 3M Chrome - ugh (IMHO)

 

[fotch]

I use to work for 3M and purchase the film at great employee prices. Unfortunately is was horriable, major green cast. Even free would of been to much. Many years later, I worked at GAF (not film division) and could buy their film at really low prices, and found it to be really nice. I thought, at the time, as good or better than Kodak. Sad to see the exited photography.

 

[cmacd123]

If you read the FF web site, they do distinguish the 3M chrome, from the later Scotch Chrome. A Fair amount of development was proably done when 3M spun off their Media Division as IMATION, with the new management working to produce highly competitive products.

As far as emulating Ektachrome of Fujichrome, (or Agfachrome) They have no incentive to try and copy someone else's products when they have their own to work from.

OH and a far as GAF goes, I don't think they ever got to making an Ektachrome like film. They had their own process at 85F based and extended from the old AGFA process. Even in Colour Negative they stayed back, I was working in a store when GAF size 110 Film came out and it was C-22, when all the other brands were C-41. The GAF/Ansco brand faded out shortly thereafter.

 

[Nzoomed]

Scotch was run off the mill in 2005 when I last tried it if it had been the only E6 Id not have had a problem. The Fuji was easier to get then.

Next year you probably wont have a problem using it.

They wont be attempting to reverse engineer Ektrachrome or a Fuji emulsion, just to survive.

Thats good to hear.

From the sample photos ive seen, i cant see anything bad with it, i just hope that its going to be a very close replacement to e100g.

Anyway, they say they are re-engineering the film, so i can only assume that this means it will be better than the original scotch chrome film!

 

[Ricardo Miranda]

(...)
Pretty good news, we may see some film on the shelves by December!

If you read the entire website, you'll know that you won't see their film on the shop shelves ever.

 

[Xmas]

~snip~

Anyway, they say they are re-engineering the film, so i can only assume that this means it will be better than the original scotch chrome film!

Not necessarily they picked the most resently developed film as it would have the fewest problems to remanufacture, reengineering is remanufacture.

If they see light at the end of the tunnel ie make a profit they might decide to expand the range.

 

[pbromaghin]

If you read the entire website, you'll know that you won't see their film on the shop shelves ever.

And how do you reach this conclusion?