Lomography 800 35mm likely manufacturer?

[TheGreatGasMaskMan]

Surprised to hear about Astrum being more than few dudes gluing "Astrum" logo onto someone else's product, AFAIK nothing's left of Svema. This article says that the last batch of film was made in 2003 and Astrum is simply re-packaging Chinese product.

from what I've read, Svema's old machinery still exists and that's what astrum uses to make their films.

 

[laingsoft]

Surprised to hear about Astrum being more than few dudes gluing "Astrum" logo onto someone else's product, AFAIK nothing's left of Svema. This article says that the last batch of film was made in 2003 and Astrum is simply re-packaging Chinese product.

Astrum for 35mm color film, yes, kinda. They don't package consumer films anymore, but they are still active an coating NDT, Aerial, and color negative films, just only in bulk order and mainly b2b. That said, they'll happily ship you a bulk roll if you email the right person.

 

[TheGreatGasMaskMan]

Astrum for 35mm color film, yes, kinda. They don't package consumer films anymore, but they are still active an coating NDT, Aerial, and color negative films, just only in bulk order and mainly b2b. That said, they'll happily ship you a bulk roll if you email the right person.

FPP Store has a few rerolled films on their site
https://www.photrio.com/forum/threa...ography-repackaged-films.168336/#post-2189851
https://filmphotographystore.com/products/35mm-bw-film-svema-mz3-1-roll
https://filmphotographystore.com/products/35mm-bw-film-svema-fn-64-1-roll
https://filmphotographystore.com/products/35mm-bw-film-svema-foto-100-1-roll
https://filmphotographystore.com/products/35mm-bw-film-svema-foto-200-1-roll
https://filmphotographystore.com/products/35mm-bw-film-svema-foto-400-1-roll
https://filmphotographystore.com/products/35mm-bw-film-svema-super-positive-film-1-roll

additionally, Freestyle has 36 exposure astrum film for sale (same as some of the fpp offerings, but I'm only linking one)
https://www.freestylephoto.biz/100150-Astrum-Foto-100-ISO-100-35mm-x-36-exp.

 

[Lachlan Young]

coating NDT, Aerial, and color negative films

Not coating, converting - from what I recall the actual data sheets suggested a variety of Kodak, Agfa Mortsel and other aerial/ technical/ X-ray films, possibly from Tasma etc being used.

 

[AgX]

I only know of a handful of companies that are capable of coating a c41 emulsion. Fuji, Kodak, Ilford, Inoviscoat, Tasma and Astrum.

Astrum has no coating facilities at all.

Ilford has never manufactured a C-41 colour film.


You overlooked completely:

Agfa has colour coating facilities, but long time had not made tollcoatings.

Lucky has colour coating facilities too.

 

[laingsoft]

Astrum has no coating facilities at all.

Ilford has never manufactured a C-41 colour film.


You overlooked completely:

Agfa has colour coating facilities, but long time had not made tollcoatings.

Lucky has colour coating facilities too.

My understanding was that Lucky's coating machine has been dismantled and repurposed for doing other multilayer coatings on different substrates, at least that's what a supplier had told me.

When I spoke with someone from Astrum they did tell me that they did contract coating, but for all I know they could be contracting the coating to Tasma and slitting the webs.

If we're going to count Agfa then we might as well include Minolta as well. I believe they are still the ones making the coaters.

 

[Lachlan Young]

My understanding was that Lucky's coating machine has been dismantled and repurposed for doing other multilayer coatings on different substrates, at least that's what a supplier had told me.

When I spoke with someone from Astrum they did tell me that they did contract coating, but for all I know they could be contracting the coating to Tasma and slitting the webs.

If we're going to count Agfa then we might as well include Minolta as well. I believe they are still the ones making the coaters.

Unless they've magically resurrected the Svema plant, Astrum are getting materials either tollcoated or buying in master rolls of extant films.

As for coating machines, TSE Troller (and another company in the UK whose name escapes me currently) were/ are some of the pre-eminent subcontractors producing the coating plant etc for most of the major players (to the specific in-house designs of the film manufacturers - none of the machines were off-the-peg).

 

[Huss]

While my fresh Lomo 800 is made in the USA, my fresh Lomo 100 120 colour film says Made in China.

 

[foc]

While my fresh Lomo 800 is made in the USA, my fresh Lomo 100 120 colour film says Made in China.

Could you post a photo of a developed negative strip of each, showing the edge markings.
That might help with identification.

 

[Agulliver]

Kodacolor VR 1000 makes perfect sense. I'm prepared to go with that conclusion.

 

[foc]

Kodacolor VR 1000 makes perfect sense. I'm prepared to go with that conclusion.

But that is a difference of 1/3 of a stop

Joking aside you are probably correct and it sounds like the most straightforward answer. (often the simplest answer is the correct one).
I would still like to see the processed negatives edge markings.

 

[Ten301]

Kodacolor VR 1000 makes perfect sense. I'm prepared to go with that conclusion.

Lomo 800 is certainly not the old Kodacolor VR 1000 emulsion; there is no resemblance whatsoever. That emulsion back in the day was grainy, dull, washed-out, really not very pleasant at all. Lomo 800 is a much more modern emulsion and, at least in 35mm, looks very much like Kodak’s relatively recently discontinued Max Versatility 800. In fact, it’s virtually indistinguishable from that film.

 

[Ten301]

I believe there is another misconception that the Lomo color negative films are based on Kodak’s FIRST generation VR films from the early 80s. Those films were Kodak’s first answer to Fuji’s new HR films, which were truly a breakthrough in image quality. Fuji HR films had a high resolution clarity and almost 3D-effect. Kodak’s VR’s were more marketing than anything else, they still looked like the older emulsions, and the first generation VR wasn’t great. I used them. Huge disappointment. It wasn’t until the second generation that Kodak quickly followed with, VR-G, that Kodak got its act together and could compete with Fuji’s new tech. The Lomo films don’t look like the first gen VR, they look like the second, VR-G. While the Lomo colors aren’t as vibrant as Ektar or even Kodak Gold, they’re much more vibrant than the first gen VR films.

 

[Agulliver]

Yeah I would certainly not say it's the VR1000 which was launched in the early 80s. It's akin to the last iteration of VR which was introduced in the mid/late 90s alongside Gold. I happen to prefer these to Gold so I'm glad they (or something very similar) are still available under the Lomography banner.