Is there such a thing as opaque film?

[jsmoove]

@AgX Oh I see, well the smartphones these days have little high quality lenses on them, this application that can be installed on your phone allows you to take raw data of film (on a light table) and then convert it to a high resolution digital positive. The video for it is here: http://filmlabapp.com/
So I am curious if there was a way to do it without a light table.

 

[AgX]

1.) a light table is cheap, even can be made oneself cheaply. It would be absurdly uneconimcal to buy long rolls of print film (a major terrm under which display films can be subsumized) for whatever reasons.

2.) print films are not good as taking films for several reasons

3.) I do not see a much reason in turning a film based image into a high resolution digital positive

4) If I wanted to do so, I would never consider a phone to do so.

 

[jsmoove]

@AgX Do they not come in anything but absurdly long rolls? Thats why I was hoping for a 35mm option if it existed.
Well phone or no phone, if you are taking a picture of a negative without a light table, would an opaque film work well enough in order to capture the image?

 

[AgX]

All kind of print films today come in rolls intended for photofinishers.

 

[markbarendt]

@AgX I've never heard of display films....can you link an article to them? I cant seem to find anything. @markbarendt Are there certain papers that are a higher resolution over others? So im wondering if I load a piece of photo paper into a 35mm camera (as a sortof paper negative) how much would the quality differ from a film negative?

So the biggest limit is probably your lenses not your film.

Lower ISO films are typically better at resolving detail, so Tmax 100 better than Tmax 400. The difference is the emulsion not the backing.

Papers are in ISO 2 area so if the rule of thumb above holds...

Still the bigger limit is the lens, no matter what emulsion you use is that the lens can only give you so much, past the lens’s resolution limit the question is moot.

The other thing to remember is that final display size is a huge part of the question.

There is no possibility that a 35mm shot on any film or paper will match the detail when matched to a contact print at 8x10.

 

[jsmoove]

I ony really need to know if it would be theoretically possible to capture an image thats on a opaque film using a camera (or phone camera). Instead of using a light table to illuminate a regular negative.
I can try and find out if there are any sheets of the opaque stuff and just cut them up and make my own negative. Its for a personal project.

 

[bdial]

It's certainly theoretically possible, it's not really different than making an exposure onto paper. Several folks in the forum do this routinely (though usually with larger cameras than 35mm). The real stumbling block is that no general purpose emulsions are available on an opaque, white substrate. The closest thing would be cinema-graphic emulsions with their rem-jet backing, but it is not white.
You could just put the negs against a white sheet of paper, which will get you close, but reflected light is probably not enough to illuminate the highlight areas of a negative sufficiently.
As a DIY project, coating some 35mm leader might get you what you want.

 

[jsmoove]

@bdial Yeah, was wondering if there would be a difference between making an exposure on photo paper or making an exposure on a white subtrate film which doesnt seem to exist anyways...so. Mostly curious about whether I could use http://filmlabapp.com/ and just skip the light table.

 

[removed account4]

hi jsmoove

you can take a piece of photo paper and stick it in your 35mm camera
and process it like .. paper. you will get your image on paper as a negative
and it is a piece of cake. you can also buy "washi film" from someone
coating washi ( japanese (mulberry?) paper ) with liquid emulsion
and feed THAT into your camera .. or a 120 camera and in there...
rc paper is not easy to wind so you will want to be careful with leaver or non
thumb and forefinger turny things like old box cameras had, to wind ...
i have a big old post card camera that takes 122 film and makes 3 1/2 x 5 3/4 ( or something like that )
images and i routinely roll spools of paper, its ez ... you can also buy a 4x5 or 3x4 or 2x3 or bigger format
camera and some film holders and put your paper in the holders and expose them instead of film ..
its white and develops really well. i shoot more paper negatives than film nowadays, its easy and lots of fun.
iso range is from below 1 ( silver chloride film ) to more than iso 40 ... using an yellow filter can reduce
your contrast ( that some paper has ) or photograph on days where the contrast isn't too bad or use a low contrast
developer like caffenol to develop your paper ... no need to search for some potentially expensive display film ..
paper is plentiful or you can coat your own on milk glass ( white glass ) or anything else ... old paper is sometimes good too
a little fog and less contrast are perfect ...
good luck !
john
ps be careful, shooting paper negatives is addictive, and super cheap, you will end up getting a 11x14 ( or bigger ) camera eventually ...

 

[Arklatexian]

Like emulsion on a white surface instead of clear? Just curious.

If you changed the question to "past" tense, I might can answer it. Dupont and, I think, Kodat made products that were paper emulsions coated on a more or less opaque plastic material. People made lamp shades from this material. Does anyone make such a product today. I don't know but I doubt it......Regards!

 

[lonelyboy]

@lonelyboy Interesting! I didnt know this existed, and you can expose an image on it?

This is the product link from Kodak:

https://www.kodak.com/us/en/motion/Products/Lab_And_Post_Production/Supply_Items/Leaders/default.htm

You can see a lot of product images in google search.

 

[AgX]

If you changed the question to "past" tense, I might can answer it. Dupont and, I think, Kodat made products that were paper emulsions coated on a more or less opaque plastic material. People made lamp shades from this material. Does anyone make such a product today. I don't know but I doubt it......Regards!

"Past" in the meaning of only few years ago:
Ilford Imaging made such with direct positive emulsion. Even still on offer.

 

[jsmoove]

Thanks everyone. Interesting that there was never really an option for a white backing on regular film...I'll try out regular photopaper in my 35mm, slow ISO though. Alternatively I could coat a leader with liquid emulsion, or maybe just paint the back of a negative with something white...its all to make sure the light reflects off the negative and doesnt pass through, as im trying to take a picture of a negative without a light table.