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Foggy, or just dark?

Cerebum

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Aug 2, 2022
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260
Location
Uk
Format
35mm
I bought some unidentifiable film in a loader. Tbh it is pretty nasty. You get two or three nice frames then three or four that look like they are covered in ash, then back to nice. I suspect it has been stored with a heat source playing on one side. There are no edge markings so I just experimented until I got a good Dev. I have been treating it as fogged, developing it in HC110 with a splash of Fog-Off BZT, but I am not sure now if it is fogged or if it just has a dark base. I am shooting it at iso25 so that the exposure shows through the darkness. Any ideas a)if it is fogged or dark, and b) what film it could be? It possibly has it's origins in movie film and sells in bulk rolls. It develops quickly and gives nice contrast...Rollei retro 80s? Anyway I have attached an image of the negative and also the processed image
 
Could be a short end of Kodak 5234 dupe negative stock; the base color matches. But then again, just about ever manufacturer who made Motion Picture dupe negative stock put it on a blue tinted base to minimize halation

5234 is panchromatic. That might be a clue...
 
I am shooting it at iso25. I shot the first roll at 200 and the exposures were thin when compared to the film leader, similar at 100, so I presume it is a slow film to start off with, maybe a 50iso, or a 100 that is massively desensitizes. 100 seems most likely to me as 50iso films in bulk rolls (Adox & Pan F) would have edge markings. I think it will remain a mystery. Tbh, if it produces images like that on a fairly regular basis it can keep it's secrets
 
There was a PanF (not Milford/Harman) motion picture film product that hit the still film market some 20-30 years ago. It still pops up from time to time. I shot some of it, but I'd have to dig up those negatives to see if they had cine perforations. I don't think so, though. It was sold as a 50-speed film. It had pretty strong halation and fairly coarse grain for its speed. It was sold with packaging that made it easy to mistake for lford PanF+ due to product name, fonts and color schemes used. This was no doubt intentional.
 
PlusX motion picture film had those perfs but the base is grey. It could definitely be Ilford, though. I have some 45-year-old PanF that has almost invisible edge numbers (it's just bulk still film).

You could try heavily overdeveloping a short strip to see if any edge markings become visible.

The film may also improve once you get past the outer layers on the spool.
 
It is a distinct possibility. There's also Ilford Pan 100 that isn't available in the UK. I haven't checked the times for that though. Do Ilford make any cine based film?
This is interesting. I am going to look into it further. The forums suggest that particular film is iso 3-6, contrasty and extremely low grain, so that would fit with the results I get


I tried over developing a strip straight off the roll, but no joy. As for it improving, I think you're right. The first few rolls were ok but nothing like the attached reflection shot. I got 80ft of this stuff for £20. I thought it would be good for camera testing rather than using fresh film. By the looks of it I got a bargain. This film btw was shot on a 1957 Samoca 35LE. It cost me £7 and works a treat. Many a good tune etc.
 

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Cerebum said:
It is a distinct possibility. There's also Ilford Pan 100 that isn't available in the UK. I haven't checked the times for that though. Do Ilford make any cine based film?
Click to expand...
I've never heard of it. To be clear - the film I discussed was not Ilford film. It just was sold to look like it. It was a German product.
 
Cerebum said:
1957 Samoca 35LE
Click to expand...

I have a couple of Samoca rangefinders. One of them is excellent - but the shutter needs servicing.



On a bulk roll, the inner layers get protected from air and humidity by the outer layers, so it makes a real difference. I bought a bulk loader full of Tmax 100 that someone must've put in a fridge or freezer. It was slow and horrible for the first couple of rolls but got faster and better deeper in the roll. It was practically normal by the time I got to the end.

And Ilford did make motion picture film in the past. FP4 (Type 517), for example.
 
koraks said:
I've never heard of it. To be clear - the film I discussed was not Ilford film. It just was sold to look like it. It was a German product.
Click to expand...

Aaah, lol, my misunderstanding
 

Yeah, that's sharp
Everything works on my Samoca, it's tremendous, and the shutter is lovely. The Rangefinder patch is invisible though. One dot from a blue Sharpie helped with that though

I got some 1999 freezer stored T-Max 400, that's a bit grainy but I shoot it at 200 & it's nice. As for this (I call it fubarpan), I have hopes that it will improve. It certainly seems to be
 
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