Ilford SFX 2000

Hello,

Any advice on exposure and development for Ilford SFX 200, an extended red sensitivity film.

I have the special 89b (very deep red) filter and would appreciate advice about exposing with this filter. Wisdom indicates an exposure increase of four stops. But how does one compensate for exposure for IR with a camera with conventional through the lens exposure system in different lighting conditions?

Sandy King

I probably can't be of much help, Sandy, but with SFX and an R72, I generally expose at ISO 6, which works fine for me. By my counting that is 5 stops. (but it's late at night and I should be in bed, not doing arithmatic ) I find it just about impossible to compose with the filter in place, so I spend a lot of time fumbling with the filter between shots.

If I'm shooting 35mm on my Nikon, I expose TTL without the filter with good results. If I'm shooting my Rollei or GS1, I'll use a hand held meter. BTW, the grain on the SFX is really apparent on 35mm, I find MF to be much more pleasing.

As for different lighting conditions, I pretty much shoot IR in full-out, retina-burning sunlight, so I don't do a lot of compensation in that regard. I find with IR films, you often get negatives that look quite thin, but will still give nice prints nonetheless. (especially the old Maco 830 Aura... I expose that at ISO 1.5-3 and they are still very thin)

I don't know if this is of any help, but it will give folks something to tear apart and flame if they like. Bed time for Toffle.

Per Ilford

EXPOSURE

A certain amount of experimentation is needed when first using this film. As a guide, bracket exposures by ±2 stops from the TTL reading with the filter in place or the meter reading with the filter factor applied.

Note The TTL metering on some cameras can under expose by up to 1½ - stops with deep red or orange filters in place.

Click to expand...

I've used an incident meter with reasonable accuracy.

Mr. King,

Any info you find on the Hoya R72 will also apply nearly identically to the Wratten #89B (or Cokin 007). They all reach 50% transmission at 720 nm. The exposure compensation I usually use with the R72 is five stops. This is a good guideline for a standard sunny and clear day when shooting a handful of hours either side of midday. However, it really depends almost entirely on the lighting in which you are shooting. You need to add a lot more exposure when the levels of IR are lower (such as on an overcast day).

As for your question, "[H]ow does one compensate for exposure for IR with a camera with conventional through the lens exposure system in different lighting conditions," I just do not know. I have never metered through an R72, or even tried, for that matter. I usually figure out exposure with a hand held meter, and then add at least five stops more light. I don't see any reason you couldn't do the same thing if relying on an in-camera meter. You could meter when you compose, with the filter off.

As with panchromatic b/w film, if in doubt, overexpose. Five stops is the minimum I would add, based on my shooting with Efke and SFX. Often I will grossly overexpose and stand develop or use some other method to reduce contrast. It is also a way to add some halation effects to the image.

Having a drop-in gel filter as opposed to a screw-in filter makes the whole IR dance much quicker and easier to do, IMHO.

I have only had limited use of SFX200 but I also used it at five stops more exposure than the normally metered reading. Or to put it another way, set the meter to ISO 6.

I also shot the first frame of each roll without a filter at ISO 200 as a control image to check development with.


Steve.

Dear Sandy,

I only use SFX200 outdoors on sunny days. The box suggestion of EI200 works great with my old RTS.

Neal Wydra

Sandy, Wolfgang Mothes wrote an interesting article on that film, called "Märchenhaft monumental": I only have it in pdf. Let me know if you can't trace it, I could sed you a copy.
http://www.wolfgangmothes.de/Burgen.pdf

I used three rolls of SFX with the Hoya72 developed in D76 normal I found the simplest method was to use my rangefinder camera and hand held meter adjusted to read an ASA of 10 or 12 and go from there.

Just wondering if anyone has used a digital camera converted to IR as an exposure meter for film?

Sandy King