This is my first post. I'm intrigued with the idea of shooting microfilm and would love to experiment. Any recommendations for a good silver, panchromatic microfilm? Ideally, something that 1) is not too difficult to find, 2) can be developed with common developers (Caffenol, D-76), and 3) has a high-contrast that could be tamed.
Well everything was fine until points 2) and 3). Microfilm really needs a special developer to tame the inherent high contrast. Even then results are not very good for use. The good news is that if you want to experiment then you have about a dozen different developers ranging from the POTA formula to something more complex like Perfection XR-1. I personally have never been able to completely lower the contrast for general purpose photography. There are no commercial developers except those made by SPUR in Germany but they are rather pricey. If The Frugal Photographer is still in business you might try their Bluefire HR and accompanying film. Other than these two you will have to mix your own of buy a kit from Photograpers Formulary if one is available. Good luck.
In addition microfilms are usually very slow. There are a few that are faster. Microfilm has little exposure latitude so you must bracket your exposures in order to get anything printable. I have had much better results with a conventional film such as Ilford Pan F Plus shot at an EI of 25.
One more thing to watch out for. Many microfilms are not perforated. So for 35mm the choice is very limited. There is also 16 mm film that you could use in a Minolta 16 camera.
Developer formulas to look at:
Burton
Collins Extended Range
Delagi #8
HPD-301
Hodes Low Gamma
H&W Control
Kodak SD-2415
POTA
T/O XDR-4
TDLC-103
There are only two manufacturers of microfilms left: Agfa and Fuji.
And Agfa no longer market their films. They are now marketed under the former Kodak(!) brand Imagelink by Eastman Park Micrographics.
you should be able to get an old reel of 30m of kodak imagelink cheap enough and its supposed to be quick - (around 100iso ?) and develop it in a low contrast version of caffenol
Back when I played a bit with Agfa Copex in a Minolta 16, I used very diluted HC-110 per the following:
A formula from John Brubaker that worked well with Agfa Copex rated at ISO 50 - though it was best to avoid high contrast subjects:
Mix a Sodium Sulfite solution of 2 oz Sodium Sulfite to 1 liter of water
Mix 2.5mm of HC-110 (concentrate, not stock solution) to 200ml of Sodium Sulfite solution
Develop for 6 min at 68 degrees F with agitation every 30 seconds.
As I recall (it's been a while) my results were OK as an "intellectual" exercise, but not something I'd really want to use for pictorial purposes.
Photrio.com contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links. To read our full affiliate disclosure statement please click Here.
