JandC Pro 100 / Classic 100 Eco

[abeku]

Dear friends,

Has anyone tried out the JandC Pro 100 120-film? I'm eager to hear about your impressions of this film. I'm also curious about the origin of the film. The other Classic films are Forte, but this one is not according to Fotoimpex. Tasma, perhaps?

- A

 

[titrisol]

It is a very interesting film, if you runa search you'll find at least 2 other threads.
- Clear base
- Wide latitude

JC said it was custom made for them in China

 

[Gerald Koch]

Shot a roll in a box camera that had no exposure adjustments. Used divided D-23 as the developer. The negatives had an old-time feel and reminded me of Kodak Verichrome Pan.

 

[abeku]

Thanks for the replies!
I've done some searches and the emulsion unevenness seems to be a worry. However, for the price of ten and for a primary use in a "toycam", I can live with some discrepancies. I'll give it a go!
cheers,
abeku

 

[Donald Qualls]

I've used quite a bit of it (18 rolls, but only 15 processed so far). Two important processing tips -- watch your temperature, keep it to 68F/20C, and avoid acid stop bath (use water instead). Given those precautions, you should avoid pinholes in the emulsion and other symptoms related to soft emulsion -- and then you'll get very nice, smooth tones and fine grain, much better than you'd reasonably expect for the price.

I'm very happy with it, even for use in my better cameras, when I'm not shooting ISO 400.

 

[Mongo]

I want to echo what Donald's already said. My experience (40+ rolls) is that it's an excellent film if handled carefully during development. Keep the temperature as Donald indicated, stop with water instead of a stop bath...I've not had any problems with the emulsion as these are my usual procedures. This is one film with which I use a hardening fixer.

Be aware that there's no real tape at the end of the 120 roll to hold the roll together when you unload it. J&C now provide a reusable black plastic container with each roll (making the film that much more of a good deal). Be sure not to let the film unroll when you're unloading it, and put it back in the container immediately. (This is to avoid light-striking the film, especially on the edges.)

Given the price and a little careful handling, it's great stuff and I highly recommend it.

 

[derevaun]

I bought some, thinking it'd be great for a crappy Diana; boy was I wrong. It's great for just about any situation except very hight stakes work It does have some other drawbacks, which are somewhere in the earlier threads but worth summarizing: it curls tenaciously, and the numbers are very, very hard to read through a film advance window.

I got good results from Diafine on a roll I shot in a Diana, and from a couple rolls I slit to 16mm and shot in a Pentax Auto 110 keyed for 400--maybe a little thin but easy to scan. I also got likeable (by only a mother?) results with D-76 and a Diana:

 

[abeku]

Thanks for the info! By reading your comments I have a feeling what to expect and I probably won't be disappointed once I have it in my hand. I suppose the curling is as bad as the Lucky films (that are great anyway!). Has anyone tried stand development for the Classic 100? ... and Derevaun: For how long do you process the film in D-76?

 

[Mongo]

Curling is not quite as bad as the Lucky or Forte films, and the J&C Pro 100 responds beautifully to diluted Rodinal (I use 1:300) stand development. I haven't tried stand-development with Pyrocat-HD yet, but plan to.

 

[Donald Qualls]

I agree -- the Pro 100 curls as if rerolling on the spool, and flattens after some time in the sleeve with some weight on it. Lucky (SHD 400, at least, the only Lucky I've tried) tries to curl into a tube, making it much harder to get into the sleeve/page, and doesn't flatten as readily.

I've developed Pro 100 in HC-110 Dilution G, nineteen minutes with agitation for the first full minute, then five inversions every 3rd minute (same as TMY, in fact), and been very pleased. Haven't yet had a chance to try it in Caffenol/Caffenol C or Diafine, nor with other dilutions or agitation schemes in HC-110, but given that it reportedly stains well in pyro, it should work well in Caffenol and its derivatives as well.

Deveraun, what EI did you find for Pro 100 in Diafine? I'd guess 160 to 200, but it'd be great to have confirmation (it's not the cost of this film, it's the time it takes to shoot, process, and scan or print).

 

[titrisol]

Caffenol works fine with JC Pro 100 as I reported earlier, and caffenol C reduces the stain significatively, but gives plenty of shadow detail at EI100.
I used standard Caffenol for 30 minutes.

 

[derevaun]

I'm not a good judge of EI, but from looking at the negatives from the Auto 110 I'd say they're too thin to call it 400. The shot below is probably the best exposure from the cartridges I developed in Diafine. It shows another caveat about Pro 100: it scratches easily when crammed into cheap 110 cartridges Efke and others scratch easily too, so that's also not a deal breaker.

abeku, I devved the D-76 roll for 9.5 minutes. I start timing when the developer is all the tank and stop when all the (water) stop bath is in.

 

[Donald Qualls]

Assuming you used an averaging meter set at EI 400 (or Sunny conditions in a camera that expects that with ISO 400 film), it looks as if you got at least EI 200 there with Diafine, possibly as high as 320. I'll have to shoot a roll with some heavy bracketing and see what I get in Diafine (when I can afford some more film -- all my film money has gone on darkroom setup lately, with the result I'll be printing this weekend!). FWIW, Pro 100 seems closer to a real EI 100 than some ISO 100 films are reported to be, which bodes well for its ability to gain speed in Diafine.

 

[Lachlan Young]

Assuming you used an averaging meter set at EI 400 (or Sunny conditions in a camera that expects that with ISO 400 film), it looks as if you got at least EI 200 there with Diafine, possibly as high as 320. I'll have to shoot a roll with some heavy bracketing and see what I get in Diafine (when I can afford some more film -- all my film money has gone on darkroom setup lately, with the result I'll be printing this weekend!). FWIW, Pro 100 seems closer to a real EI 100 than some ISO 100 films are reported to be, which bodes well for its ability to gain speed in Diafine.

This appears to be hardly surprising as it appears that JandC pro 100 has a much thicker emulsion to soak up much more of bath A of the Diafine - hence meaning it achieves a much higher effective film speed. From what I have read it was this that allowed the Tri-X of 40+ years ago to achieve an EI of 2400 with standard processing but only enables current Tri-X to achieve an EI of 1250-1600.

Lachlan