kodak tri-x pan film

Hi All,

Was given 8 boxes of Kodak Tri-X film, 5 1/4" X 20', cat. #166-5165, exp. date of 6/1982. This film has been kept in refrig. all this time. I currently use 4x5 sheet film.
What was this film used for? How can I tell emulsion side? How do you develop this film? What is the history of this film? Do you cut to size? And, if you want to have a contact print on an 11x14 paper and cut to 14" in length, how do you store it properly? Are there enlargers for this?

Probably more questions later,

Trudee

If it is rolled up, the emulsion would generally be on the inside, the base on the outside of the roll. A clip from the end of a roll would tell you. Tri-x emulsion side is considerably lighter in color than the base side. If you are going to cut it to use it in a view camera, you would process it in trays using common b/w film chemistry. There have been enlargers that would take a 14" long negative (11x14 size enlargers) but they are quite rare, and really not needed. You would normally make contact prints from negatives this large. There are quite a number of photographers that purchase surplus aerial photography roll film and cut it down (in darkness) to fit their large format cameras. It is on thin base, so is not as easy to use in large sizes as purpose-made large format film.

Sounds like a fun film for pinhole landscapes!

I'd feel for a notch, then chop a few inches off the end of a sheet to take a look at it in the light and then mark the box as emulsion up or down. Then chop another piece and develop to check for fog -- but probably okay.

I'd either make a pinhole for contact printing on 16x20 or chop down to 4x5. If I was going pinhole at 5.25x20, I'd process in paper tray, see-sawing back and forth (if small tray) for standard times & standard developers.

I'd store the negs in the original box.

Hope that helps.

P.S. Oh, crap, I misread. I thought 20 inches, but see it's 20 feet. Must be rolls. No notches then, and silly to store negs in original box. Sorry.

This sounds to me like it could be film for a Cirkut panoramic camera, although Verichrome Pan was (IIRC) the only film available for those cameras at that time.

oh yea, what's the ISO?

Could have been an aerial film roll, they came in various sizes.

Ian

Most likely for the K-24 / K- 20 aerial cameras. It might drop right in a K-20. Later standard aerial film is 5 inches wide.
And IIRC it may be the same width as the {really old} film for one of the graflex roll holders - that made postcards size negs - #53 perhaps? There's one here in the pile.

If so then there is no "ASA" but an aerial speed, meant for "overdevelopment" with regard to pictorial use- but that's not to discourage you as Jim Galli has, among others, used areial film at the same EI as the pictorial brother e.g.; Plus X Aerial at 125 just like Plus X Pan etc. YMMV, but not by very much. I tried some aerial and hedged my bet by using, after studying the development-contrast index curves, half the aerial number and it worked well in a #4 Panoram that had been shimmed to take 122 film. As yours is old albeit kept cold, I'd try 200 speed and if that indicates, up from there.
Vigorous yet pictorial development is probably appropriate, maybe HC-110 dilution B or even D-76 straight or 1:1 at the Kdak start times - you appear to be on a roll of good luck

Would you consider selling one roll? If I can afford it?

regards
Ed

I found it in my 1981-1982 Kodak product reference guide. It's listed as Kodak Tri-X Pan Film - "Very fast film for aerial cameras. Primararily for low-leve obliques. Also available in 35 mm and 70 mm. Film Speed ASA 400." Price per Roll $24.85

The size is a standard aerial film size. Aerial films come in long rolls like you describe. Kodak does not currently list a Tri-X aerial film, but that doesn't mean it didn't produce one in the past. (Look for Aerial, Aerographic, or Aerecon someplace on the label. If you find it, then it's aerial film for sure; otherwise, it still very likely is.) Aerial films are generally designed for somewhat higher contrast than ordinary films, and they often have enhanced red sensitivity. Other than that, they work pretty much the same as what you're used to. They can be used for regular photography. Kodak aerial materials usually have speeds about the same as their similarly named still and motion picture films, although the speed rating system for aerial photography is a bit different from that used for ordinary photography. For a start, try exposing and processing sheets as you would fo ordinary Tri-X. Then make adjustments as you would for any new film.

ok, once I finish developing, are there sleeves for storing the negs?

trudee yama said:

Hi All,

Was given 8 boxes of Kodak Tri-X film, 5 1/4" X 20', cat. #166-5165, exp. date of 6/1982. This film has been kept in refrig. all this time. I currently use 4x5 sheet film.
What was this film used for? How can I tell emulsion side? How do you develop this film? What is the history of this film? Do you cut to size? And, if you want to have a contact print on an 11x14 paper and cut to 14" in length, how do you store it properly? Are there enlargers for this?

Probably more questions later,

Trudee

Click to expand...

Are you selling this film? If so, How much per roll. I have a K-20 Areal camera that uses this film. Mike

Probably has a lot of base fog. I have some hp5 from around early 1980s and the base is up to around .7 log d since I last checked.

Probably has about four more years' worth of base fog now than it did when the question was asked!

-NT