Is 220 film never coming back?

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MattKing

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This doesn't seem to be stopping Shanghai, but we've already speculated they're operating on a different business model from Kodak, Fuji, Ilford, etc.

Are you sure they aren't manually re-cutting 120 backing paper? Doable, but the markings are wrong, and not practical for anyone like Kodak and Harman.
 

abruzzi

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Thanks @abruzzi !

Shaving film in the dark might be too advanced for me at this point...

Some questions:

- where do you find that 5inch hp5 and fp4?
- is there a pattern I can print for the film leader? Print on what material? Black cardboard?
- I suppose I don't need a trailer (Rolleiflex 6008 magazine, the camera rewinds everything at end roll)
-how do you measure film when spooling? How long is the film in a 220 reel? Can I go beyond 24 exposures?

I also saw a user saying the simple fact of using extra film as a leader would protect the inner film from light - is it a thing?

I don't know if film would work as a leader--maybe. I've never done this--I like the shorter rolls--but if I did I'd just save some 120 paper from previous rolls, cut them to length, and use a sharpie to pen in the arrow (as Donald said the specs are out there somewhere.) For slitting film, I believe a member here build film slitters. He has an ebay listing here:


He might be able to build one.

EDIT: Forgot to mention, the Ilford ULF sale comes up once a year. You can see last year's item list here:


Oh, you will want trailer paper unless you want to pull the roll out of the magazine in a darkroom.
 
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Craig

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I don't know if film would work as a leader--maybe.

No, it's thicker than paper so you wouldn't be able to get the full length of film on the spool. Film also isn't opaque enough to prevent fogging.
 
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hankchinaski

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Go ahead, you know that you always wanted it.

Well yes, I’ve always wanted that Swedish beauty, but being a lazy Hank, I wanted a camera with a meter. So lo and behold, I start seeing these H2 on eBay for 1.5k euro and I think to myself “delicious”! And the Zeiss lenses, so sharp!
I was all happy and dandy, until the moment I start looking for film backs. I found exactly one, in New Zealand or something like that, for…1.5k euro.
That was the end of the love story.

So now I’m stuck with my overweight German girlfriend, the 6008, breaking the scale at more than 5 kilos with a Distagon and a prism finder.

Thinking that I could have had a sleek Japanese, the sexy Mamiya C330…
 
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Sirius Glass

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Well yes, I’ve always wanted that Swedish beauty, but being a lazy Hank, I wanted a camera with a meter. So lo and behold, I start seeing these H3 on eBay for 1.5k euro and I think to myself “delicious”! And the Zeiss lenses, so sharp!
I was all happy and dandy, until the moment I start looking for film backs. I found exactly one, in New Zealand or something like that, for…1.5k euro.
That was the end of the love story.

So now I’m stuck with my overweight German girlfriend, the 6008, breaking the scale at more than 5 kilos with a Distagon and a prism finder.

Thinking that I could have had a sleek Japanese, the sexy Mamiya C330…

I had inherited a Mamiya C330 with the 65mm, 80mm and 250mm lenses, prism, and every accessory in the known world. I could never become one with it. I had older lenses that had the aperture settings on one side and shutter speeds on the other. I was flipping it from side to side. It was too fiddly for me. The Hasselblad is much more compact and less fiddly. Plus once the shutter speed and aperture are set, one can rotate both the shutter speed and aperture together to the different combinations of the same exposure.
 

Donald Qualls

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Are you sure they aren't manually re-cutting 120 backing paper? Doable, but the markings are wrong, and not practical for anyone like Kodak and Harman.

From what @Huss reported, this was exactly what they did for their first run of 220, but I've got an exposed and unprocessed roll next to my laptop right now, and it's clearly printed with 220 on the tail paper -- and it's not an overprint, it's inline with the edge stripes and appears to be the same ink. I recall it being marked as 220 at the head, too (not going to open a sealed roll to check, though -- I will have the head and tail papers in a couple weeks when I get that roll processed).
 

Huss

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I've had bad 120 rolls in the past from Shanghai and Catlabs (aka Shanghai). Both actually had NO tape on the leader. One of them really jacked up an A12 back to the point that by the time I noticed something was wrong, it was so accordioned up I couldn't get the back open. Ended up having to force it apart, luckily I didn't break it. Won't use either of those in my Hasselblad again. And I cpmplained to Catlabs about it with no response - so buyers beware if you are all excited about the "new" Catlabs 320 film.

All that said, I have shot the new Shanghai Gp3 220 in one of my S2A's and it performed great. It was even taped! I'll keep using it, just not in something with such tight tolerances as the Hasselblad.

View attachment 325982 View attachment 325983 View attachment 325985 View attachment 325986

Jeremy

Excellent results, love the first pic!
 

mshchem

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Maybe, and I'm serious, one of the manufacturers, would/could offer a limited, handmade run at some ridiculous high price. Would people pay $40 / roll for 1000 rolls. It still wouldn't be worth Ilford's or Kodak's time.

Maybe Catlabs would take this on?


I suspect it's going to be a roll your own thing. I was never a big fan of 220, too long.
 

eli griggs

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From the point of view as a Hasselblad user, with several 220 backs, which can be loaded with basic rolls of blacked out darkroom loaded backs, with basic lead and tail of scraped film remains.

All that is needed is a decent dark changing bag, with light proof plastic or metal containers, with caps, so a paperless roll can be unloaded from a 220 back, inside the changing bag, labeled with masking tape, and, if you are compadent at loading previously prepared rolls of film, do so in the field.

Likewise, 70mm film cassettes with used leaders can be used in the field, cassette to cassette as normal, with the polymer leader substitution for paper and, as always, a shorter lenght of film, ie, 24 frames, can be loaded.
 

Craig

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220 is never coming back, at least from either Kodak or Ilford. It's been gone close to 20 years now, note what Simon at Ilford said back in 2006 in this thread:

In further follow ups Simon said that the 220 was coated on a different base than 120, and even before being discontinued the sales of 220 were minuscule compared to 120. Even if their 220 machine was in working order, it wouldn't be an economically viable product to produce.
 

MattKing

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I don't think Simon ever said that the 220 was on a different base. There may have been different anti-halation employed.
 

Donald Qualls

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There may have been different anti-halation employed.

Probably necessary. The black surface of backing paper makes an excellent antihalation, but isn't present on 220. In fact, if the thickness is within range, it might work better to cut the 220 pancakes from the same master rolls that become 35 mm.
 

Craig

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I don't think Simon ever said that the 220 was on a different base. There may have been different anti-halation employed.

He did in this post. Apparently there is an anti wear/scratching layer on the backside to prevent scratches from the pressure plate. 120 doesn't need that because it's protected by the backing paper.
 

eli griggs

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Cutting bulk 64 and 70mm films should no need additional backing as they are primarily used in machines that do no require backing papers.
 

MattKing

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He did in this post. Apparently there is an anti wear/scratching layer on the backside to prevent scratches from the pressure plate. 120 doesn't need that because it's protected by the backing paper.

I think we are using "base" differently. I take "base" to be in reference to the type and thickness of the substrate itself. I think Simon was, as you are, factoring in the different additions to the substrate, made necessary because of backing paper, or the lack of it.
The anti wear coating layer was probably used with 135 film as well.
Possibly also another example of the differences in nomenclature on either side of the pond.
FWIW, as far as I can tell, all the Kodak 120 and 220 films (when both sizes were available) were coated on the same substrate - 3.6 mil acetate for the still films, and 3.9 mil acetate for the transparency films.
 

Craig

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From other things Simon said I took it to meant the substrate, and that the 220 substrate also had an additional coating for abrasion resistance. I could well be wrong though.

Never the less, it's clear that 220 is a significantly different product than 120, and that makes its reintroduction cost prohibitive. Simon said that back in the pre-digital days that 220 sales were less than 5% of 120 sales, and I would imagine that market is even smaller now if 220 was to appear.
 

dynachrome

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I don't think the Linfof 220 will accept 120 film.

I bought some 220 b&w (fresh date) film on eBay last year but haven't used it yet.
 

Donald Qualls

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I bought some 220 b&w (fresh date) film on eBay last year

That'll be the GP3 we've talked about. Hopefully what you got a year ago was after they started full production, rather than the "prototype" product that was apparently hand rolled with recut 120 backing.
 

Kodachromeguy

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I don't think the Linfof 220 will accept 120 film.

I bought some 220 b&w (fresh date) film on eBay last year but haven't used it yet.

The Linhof 220 was very clever. You could move the pressure plate to 120 or 220 positions to let you use either type of film. My Fuji GW690II has the same capability.
 

BrianShaw

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Maybe, and I'm serious, one of the manufacturers, would/could offer a limited, handmade run at some ridiculous high price. Would people pay $40 / roll for 1000 rolls. It still wouldn't be worth Ilford's or Kodak's time.

Maybe Catlabs would take this on?

What a great idea. Could be the right kind of visionary to see such a project through! Perhaps a Photrio petition with endorsements from Photrio mods/management might provide the incentive.
 

sfphoto

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From the point of view as a Hasselblad user, with several 220 backs, which can be loaded with basic rolls of blacked out darkroom loaded backs, with basic lead and tail of scraped film remains.

Our studio liked having the original 12 backs as one could use either 120 or 220.
Hassy even made a 220 plug for the viewing window
 

sfphoto

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The OP said: "pain in the eye it is to change roll every 12 photos"

Even more so if using a Linhof 617 (only 4 shots on 120).
 

mshchem

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What a great idea. Could be the right kind of visionary to see such a project through! Perhaps a Photrio petition with endorsements from Photrio mods/management might provide the incentive.

What would really be cool, DAYLIGHT RELOADS FOR 35mm CASSETTES! Back in the day you could buy paper wrapped 35mm reloads, film on a center spool without the outer metal cassette. You opened up your cassette, removed the empty spool, slipped in the reload, with it's paper tongue hanging out, after buttoning up the cassette you pulled the paper tongue and out popped the film leader.

We could sell it as a lower carbon footprint version, use 100% post-consumer recycled plastic and paper.

EcoChrome!
 
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