I really dont know any other Kodak film they'd want to bring back other than this film here. Nothing in their lineup suggests any other film is on their radar. They can tell us to use TMAX 100 till they're blue in the face, but Plus X looks quite different then TMAX 100 by a lot. Grain is one thing. Contrast is another. That old school look is another. How it shoots in the sun is another. The way it handles tones compared to other films. That glow it has in some shots. I can go on. Anyway I feel like Im repeating myself with posts like this, as others tell me Kodak has no interest in reviving anything Im interested in. Im just glad I have quite a bit of this film in 35mm and 120. It keeps fairly well. I also have a few rolls of it in Arista Premium 100. Haven't shot any of that yet. Im not expecting anything different with it though.
Much of what you're describing is due to the shape of the H-D curve for Plus-X. An upswept curve improves gradation of highlights, at the cost of darker and less contrasty shadows.
Developers affect the shape of that curve, so you might try different developers and see whether you can get the effect you like.
Mark
Indeed! Or fools never differ, one of the two!Great minds think alike.
Verichrome (not Pan) was quite different, as were the earlier versions of Verichrome Pan. But at the end, Verichrome Pan was Kodak's budget film - cheaper to make, and well suited to box cameras.
As far as I know, it was never offered in 135, and I'm not sure about 120.
My understanding of Verichrome Pan (I have some of this in my freezer too), is the earlier stuff before it was basically Plus X, was a dual layer coated emulsion with differing film speeds. The reason was to use in old cameras with no light meter, and basically guessing exposure. It helped with over and under exposures with the dual layer. I dont know if this applied to the last version of it though.
And yes Matt, it was in 120.
Courtesy of a contact I have in the film industry:
Essentially, all black and white films since the very early days of film manufacture are “two-emulsion”, or more
Mark. Since FP4 is the closest thing to Plus X, how would you proceed to get that look out of FP4?
Would DK-50 work too? I understand it tends to produce that sort of curve.Xtol 1+3. I did tests many years ago with this dilution, constant agitation in tubes. Toe was lengthened, with slight upsweep in the curve. These are characteristics similar to Tri-X. Maybe you should just use that
Great minds think alike.
Verichrome (not Pan) was quite different, as were the earlier versions of Verichrome Pan. But at the end, Verichrome Pan was Kodak's budget film - cheaper to make, and well suited to box cameras.
As far as I know, it was never offered in 135, and I'm not sure about 120.
Over time, Kodak sold Verichrome Pan in 120, 127, 116, 126, 616, 110, 620, and 828 formats. As far as I know, Kodak never packaged it in 35mm cassettes. Note that these are format designations, not width in mm (some characters on the internet call 120 film 120mm - as if they did not try using a ruler). The 126 was the Instamatic cartridge, and the 110 was the smaller cartridge for 110 cameras. As of 1996, they even sold it in long roll for Cirkut panorama cameras.Thanks for the info on 120 - I don't recall ever using it in that format, but certainly used it in 127, 620 and 616.
Would DK-50 work too? I understand it tends to produce that sort of curve.
Over time, Kodak sold Verichrome Pan in 120, 127, 116, 126, 616, 110, 620, and 828 formats. As far as I know, Kodak never packaged it in 35mm cassettes. Note that these are format designations, not width in mm (some characters on the internet call 120 film 120mm - as if they did not try using a ruler). The 126 was the Instamatic cartridge, and the 110 was the smaller cartridge for 110 cameras. As of 1996, they even sold it in long roll for Cirkut panorama cameras.
I did not use Verichrome Pan when it was current. But a friend sent me a roll, and I had great results:
https://worldofdecay.blogspot.com/2021/03/another-expired-film-treasure-kodak.html
As for reviving Plus-X or Verichrome Pan, I think there is minimal or zero chance. The big three already offer 4 films in the 100 class, plus some offerings from smaller companies. And the 400 speed class is also well covered. There may be a niche in the slow, traditional grain category. Ilford has its Pan-F. But possibly another film like the old Panatomic-X or Afgapan 25 would be profitable.
I haven't found Pan F to be the easiest film to work with, although i've had some spectacular results.
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?