Let me introduce you to Svema

[AnselMortensen]

Hmmmm...I'm intrigued by the 61.5mm film being sold by the meter...
Hand-rolled 220, anybody?

 

[Helios 1984]

Hmmmm...I'm intrigued by the 61.5mm film being sold by the meter...
Hand-rolled 220, anybody?

The Foto-200 46mm should interest Baby Yashica users.

 

[Paul Howell]

I guess Photowearhouse (Ultrafine) and Freestyle knows about this and for some reason has not made a bulk buy.

 

[removedacct1]

Is there a link to purchase, particularly for Astrum Foto 100 4x5?

You have to email the Astrum rep and set up an order - no online shopping cart option. There's an email for Dmitriy at the bottom of the price list I posted above.

 

[AnselMortensen]

Thanks for the information, Paul.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Thanks Paul!

 

[KitosLAB]

Thanks everyone for the replies! Some questions I will ask Svema. I think that no one will say about the origin of the emulsion, but this is definitely not an expired old film. Yes, they released Astrum because there were problems with the copyright of the brand, but now it is Svema that is being produced. Of course they don't work every day. In March last year, the Sumy region was under occupation, and even now Shostka is often under fire. Most likely produced in small batches. Thanks again to everyone!

 

[removedacct1]

The two Astrum films I’ve used most are the Foto 200 and MZ3.
here’s an example of Foto 200
Foto 200

and a couple photos made with MZ3, an orthochromatic film with a speed of 3ASA! Results often look as if made on 4x5

MZ3 example
another MZ3 photo

Last year I explored Foto 100 with an R72 filter because I learned that it had extended red sensitivity. Check it out.

 

[Henning Serger]

I admit that I am still not clear: Is there a Svema film factory in the Ukraine actually producing this film daily in a similar fashion to say Kodak Ilford or Foma?

pentaxuser

No, there is not any Svema film factory which is able to make emulsions and coat film by themselves.
Astrum/Svema is confectioning film from other sources on a very small scale / very low volume.
To quote my explanation to that topic from a photrio thread from 2019:

"Astrum owns (or has the right) now to use the Svema brand name. But the former Svema plant / facility was completely demolished. Nothing left. I've seen pictures of the demolished plant. None of the emulsion making and coating machinery was saved, it's all long gone. The Svema factory was one of the first film factories being closed.
Current films under the Svema label are already existing films coated by other manufacturers, e.g. Tasma."

Best regards,
Henning

 

[StrangestStranger]

You can purchase Svema film here: https://filmphotographystore.com/collections/all/svema-film

 

[removedacct1]

You can purchase Svema film here: https://filmphotographystore.com/collections/all/svema-film

Why pay $8-$10 a roll when you can buy direct from Astrum for less than half that?!

 

[KitosLAB]

Current films under the Svema label are already existing films coated by other manufacturers, e.g. Tasma."

Best regards,
Henning

Oh no, not Tasma!))) It's impossible! Tasma is a Russian film. Ukraine now maintains absolutely no ties with Russia. Either birds or rockets can fly across the border. I'll try to find out from the guys about the emulsion, but it's definitely not Tasma

 

[Henning Serger]

Oh no, not Tasma!))) It's impossible! Tasma is a Russian film. Ukraine now maintains absolutely no ties with Russia. Either birds or rockets can fly across the border. I'll try to find out from the guys about the emulsion, but it's definitely not Tasma

I know that Tasma is a Russian company.
Well, as I have written, I quoted my explanation I had given about that topic in 2019. And at that time definitely some of the Astrum/Svema films were from Tasma.
Maybe Astrum still has some film material stock from that time, bought at this time before the full scale invasion of the Russian aggressors. I don't know. They are certainly in a very difficult situation now.
I wish them all the best in these horrible times, as I do for all brave Ukrainian people and my friends there.

Best regards,
Henning

 

[KitosLAB]

Literally, the representative of Svem answered me the following: I can tell you that Svema film at the moment is of good quality, it is ordered all over the world and has nothing to do with third world countries, we do not sell oil, we do not supply weapons, our mission is to enable creative people to do their work.
Let me break it down a bit. For us Ukrainians, Russia is a "Third World" country, so cooperation with it in any form is impossible for us. I don’t know exactly the origin of the Svema emulsion, but it’s definitely not Tasma and has nothing to do with Russia at all

 

[Helios 1984]

Literally, the representative of Svem answered me the following: I can tell you that Svema film at the moment is of good quality, it is ordered all over the world and has nothing to do with third world countries, we do not sell oil, we do not supply weapons, our mission is to enable creative people to do their work.
Let me break it down a bit. For us Ukrainians, Russia is a "Third World" country, so cooperation with it in any form is impossible for us. I don’t know exactly the origin of the Svema emulsion, but it’s definitely not Tasma and has nothing to do with Russia at all

It's good, available, low-priced, and not from Moscovia. In my book, that's all the information that really matters.

 

[pentaxuser]

So if there is no film factory now then this has to be another film maker's film. Do we agree on this? The next important question is: Is it a film from a source that no longer makes film and thus will eventually come to an end?

KitosLAB states it is not expired film so who currently makes it?

Does this statement by KitosLAB and I quote"Of course they don't work every day. In March last year, the Sumy region was under occupation, and even now Shostka is often under fire. Most likely produced in small batches. Thanks again to everyone!

This tends to suggest that something is being made or done with this film in the Ukraine but what?

Can I just also say that I am only trying to get to the bottom of who makes or has made this film and by that means work out what it's long term future

pentaxuser

 

[MCB18]

Got this email in regards to cut film sizes:

Your letter was forwarded to me, in which you ask me to sell you 70mm, 61.5mm and 46mm film. Perforated and non-perforated. We can offer you such films only without perforation in rollers, the minimum order for each of these films must be 200 meters. Film price 70 mm not perforated per 1 meter 3.7 USD.
Film price 61.5 mm not refarmed for 1 meter 3.6 USD.
Film price 46 mm not perforated per 1 meter 3.63YUSD. We will provide you with the necessary technical documentation in English.

This is great news! However, I don’t think I will be buying it by myself. This is definitely a group buy type thing, and I don’t think there are enough folks here to make it worthwhile. With this much film, you would need to have folks buy 30-50m rolls, as I could not roll that much film by myself. With classes going on, I can get 1-2 rolls a day done.

And this is no small investment. Just getting the film itself, not including paper, spools, etc, is probably going to be close to $1200 with shipping and international transport tariffs.

Nice idea, but probably not a worthwhile endeavor for the individual photographer.

 

[RodinalSpezial]

Well, as I have written, I quoted my explanation I had given about that topic in 2019. And at that time definitely some of the Astrum/Svema films were from Tasma.
Maybe Astrum still has some film material stock from that time, bought at this time before the full scale invasion of the Russian aggressors. I don't know. They are certainly in a very difficult situation now.

It might explain why the have a Svema NK-2 on their price list. The last time I was in St. Petersburg about 2-3 years ago there was a lot of respooled Tasma NK-2 sold in photo stores as cheap alternative to Kodak, Ilford, Fuji. It's very well possible that people at Svema bought a large stock of film from Tasma before the current war against Ukraine was started by Russia.

 

[Ivo Stunga]

I suppose theoretically it could be an issue, but I have been using a lot of ADOX the last few years (Silvermax and CHS 100 II), and it is all on clear film, and has not been a problem for me.

I'm currently researching this from a projection angle as we have two transparent carriers today:
- Clear Triacetate and
- Clear Polyester or PET ("Mylar", "Estar")

Triacetate is your usually gray-tinted carrier that likes to expand and bulge under the influence of heat, making this stock lesser for projection and I guess that clear version of this Triacetate should behave just the same - could verify later when I'm home. But PET base just doesn't do that, even when left projected for minutes. It is archival and dimensionally stable unlike Triacetate, handles the temperature fluctuations like a champ.
PET however is known for its Light Piping phenomenon think how optical fiber transports light - something similar is going on with this base material. To avoid this, manufacturers recommend handling the film in subdued light - just do that and you'll be golden, there's nothing to worry about

Silvermax (RIP) and Scala 160 (RIP?) appear to be coated on Clear Triacetate, so the Light Piping doesn't apply to this stock and manufacturer doesn't warn user about handling these in subdued light.
The rest of Adox BW stock - CHS 100 II included - is coated onto PET base. Light Piping does apply, just load and unload in subdued light and it'll be perfect.
As a slide shooter I'm regularly handling emulsions on PET base and love to load my film in a way that gives me that first "burnt frame" where portion of the exposed leader is featured in the very first shot. I can do that with Triacetate films no defects and problems and PET base too - it just makes those #00 and #0 frames extra funky due to said Light Piping, but shot #1 or #1A is usually completely fine. If I can open that plastic can and load that film in shade or under the shirt and have no problems with it, so can you. It's just a thing to remember.

It apears they sell one film in 700 rolls, per meter, and they do have some 4x5 sheet films.

View attachment 327169

Which of these are with extended red sensitivity? I'd like some for Infrared photography and this is the reason Astrum/Svema got on my radar in the first place.
Upon learning that this might be coated onto clear base, I just bought 3x Foto 100, 5x Foto 200 and 5x Foto 400 and got FN 64 as a present from the e-bay seller. Will put these through Ilford Reversal Processing and test with 715nm IR filter.

 

[KitosLAB]

It might explain why the have a Svema NK-2 on their price list. The last time I was in St. Petersburg about 2-3 years ago there was a lot of respooled Tasma NK-2 sold in photo stores as cheap alternative to Kodak, Ilford, Fuji. It's very well possible that people at Svema bought a large stock of film from Tasma before the current war against Ukraine was started by Russia.

Such a version would have the right to life, but there is one problem. Under the Astrum brand, the film was sold due to copyright problems, but last summer they completely returned to the Svema brand. No matter how much Tasma stock they buy, they will never be able to buy more. Then why did they have to deal with the return of the Svema brand? I don't see the logic. I will believe in cooperation with Foma or with anyone else, but not Tasma. In addition, I now do not believe that Russia is now capable of producing anything else besides vodka and weapons.
P/S In addition, there is no NK-2 in the price list, there is NK-2Sh in the price list
PP/S Svema has always produced NK-2Sh, these are the reels produced in 1992 can now be found at Ukrainian auctions. (out of curiosity, this bobbin was sold a year ago for $30)

 

[removedacct1]

I'm currently researching this from a projection angle as we have two transparent carriers today:
- Clear Triacetate and
- Clear Polyester or PET ("Mylar", "Estar")

Triacetate is your usually gray-tinted carrier that likes to expand and bulge under the influence of heat, making this stock lesser for projection and I guess that clear version of this Triacetate should behave just the same - could verify later when I'm home. But PET base just doesn't do that, even when left projected for minutes. It is archival and dimensionally stable unlike Triacetate, handles the temperature fluctuations like a champ.
PET however is known for its Light Piping phenomenon think how optical fiber transports light - something similar is going on with this base material. To avoid this, manufacturers recommend handling the film in subdued light - just do that and you'll be golden, there's nothing to worry about

Silvermax (RIP) and Scala 160 (RIP?) appear to be coated on Clear Triacetate, so the Light Piping doesn't apply to this stock and manufacturer doesn't warn user about handling these in subdued light.
The rest of Adox BW stock - CHS 100 II included - is coated onto PET base. Light Piping does apply, just load and unload in subdued light and it'll be perfect.
As a slide shooter I'm regularly handling emulsions on PET base and love to load my film in a way that gives me that first "burnt frame" where portion of the exposed leader is featured in the very first shot. I can do that with Triacetate films no defects and problems and PET base too - it just makes those #00 and #0 frames extra funky due to said Light Piping, but shot #1 or #1A is usually completely fine. If I can open that plastic can and load that film in shade or under the shirt and have no problems with it, so can you. It's just a thing to remember.




Which of these are with extended red sensitivity? I'd like some for Infrared photography and this is the reason Astrum/Svema got on my radar in the first place.
Upon learning that this might be coated onto clear base, I just bought 3x Foto 100, 5x Foto 200 and 5x Foto 400 and got FN 64 as a present from the e-bay seller. Will put these through Ilford Reversal Processing and test with 715nm IR filter.

Only the Foto 100 as far as I know.

 

[Arcadia4]

Good article on svema here;

На заводе «Свема» в Шостке до сих пор делают пленку на экспорт в США и Европу, хотя завод развалился. Как? — репортаж theБабеля

Новую пленку советской марки «Свема» можно купить у американской компании Film Photography Project по 7—8 долларов за катушку. На своем сайте компания пишет, что вывезла старое советское оборудование...

babel.ua

Google translate is your friend!

 

[pentaxuser]

Such a version would have the right to life, but there is one problem. Under the Astrum brand, the film was sold due to copyright problems, but last summer they completely returned to the Svema brand. No matter how much Tasma stock they buy, they will never be able to buy more. Then why did they have to deal with the return of the Svema brand? I don't see the logic. I will believe in cooperation with Foma or with anyone else, but not Tasma. In addition, I now do not believe that Russia is now capable of producing anything else besides vodka and weapons.
P/S In addition, there is no NK-2 in the price list, there is NK-2Sh in the price list
PP/S Svema has always produced NK-2Sh, these are the reels produced in 1992 can now be found at Ukrainian auctions. (out of curiosity, this bobbin was sold a year ago for $30)

Interesting information, thanks. I hope you can eventually find out who makes Svema film currently and what the Ukraine factory does to it before it is sold to users

Thanks

pentaxuser

 

[KitosLAB]

I hope you can eventually find out who makes Svema film currently

I would love to go to these guys in Shostka, but now it's really safer to go from Kyiv to Foma to the Czech Republic than to them. Yes, and time is limited, electricity is provided for two hours a day, you have to wait for this moment to fulfill domestic needs. For now, I will limit myself to chatting with the Svema manager on Instagram and will buy several 35mm rolls in the near future. In today's correspondence, the manager said that their film is better than Foma)) Perhaps this is marketing, or perhaps reality, we'll check.

 

[Helios 1984]

It might explain why the have a Svema NK-2 on their price list. The last time I was in St. Petersburg about 2-3 years ago there was a lot of respooled Tasma NK-2 sold in photo stores as cheap alternative to Kodak, Ilford, Fuji. It's very well possible that people at Svema bought a large stock of film from Tasma before the current war against Ukraine was started by Russia.

Could be that Svema & Tasma had the same nomenclature for similar films or even used the same emulsion recipes given that they were both in USSR.

Would it be possible for Astrum to contract a manufacturer, say Foma, to make film using old Cbema emulsion recipes?