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Mystery film.

Mike Kennedy

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Feb 5, 2005
Messages
1,594
Location
Eastern Cana
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Multi Format
I purchased an Alden 74 bulk loader full of film at a local charity auction.Color or B&W 35mm,who knows?
Is there a simple test I can run to determine just what the heck I have?Something I can do to read the film information located on the border.

Thanks
 
After figuring if it is c-41 (has mask) or not, you then have the chance of it being slide film, if yiu cannot make sense of what the date codes on the side are.
See if a local lab will process a small few frames piece that you have shot; if slide it will cross process to yeld wierd ( and sometiems attractive) colours; if not, and it is b&w a bit might end up as sludge in thier filters, if the b7w emulsuion slides off the support if it is a non hardended gelatine variety.

If b&w, and still not edge marked then shoot test patches as found in old Kodak data guides or MacBeth charts at different exposure values that meter correctly at ISO 12, 25, 50, 100, 200, 400 using a grey card to determine the metered exposure. The first exposure that gives you printable differentiated tone between the two blackest targets will give you your effective EI, and then it is a matter of exposing for white at that ISO and seeing how long to develop for to nail the parameters for you. This is straight from memory, learned from a little gery book that Fred Picker put out that tought me that what the manufacturer said on the box may not work best for you. In this case you can't be mislead by the box.

If it turns out to be lower than 12 iso, then suspect you might have ortho lith, which was most commonly available in 100' lengths.
 
But if you run B&W film through their color process, and the emulsion washes off at 100F, then you are probably going to be in Hot Water so to speak.

If it is a motion picture film with Rem Jet and it goes through ANY process, your reputation will be blackened.

Fix a piece of film and if it is orange or yellow, it is some sort of color film. If it has a black back, then it is Motion Picture with Rem Jet.

PE
 
Best bet, I think, would be to just cut off a few inches and run it through a paper developer, stop, and fix in total darkness. That will reveal the rebate codes no matter what type of film you have. Like PE says, if the support side is black, then it's cine film with a remjet coating, but the rebate markings should still be visible after you wash off that stuff.