Mystery Roll of E-6 film

alienmeatsack · Jul 13, 2014

Yesterday a friend gave me a mystery roll of expired E-6 film. I thought maybe someone here would have any idea what film it is or at least what the speed is.

It's a very generic yellow box that looks a lot like Kodak's color. So I am guessing it is maybe some generic bulk Kodak film from a larger brick possible. The only printing on the box is in a little white box on one side that says,

XO890-7-31 (capital O then Zero).
135-36 E-6

Obviously the bottom line is 35mm, 36 exposures and E-6.

The top line I think could be an expiry date but the XO8 part I am not sure of, assuming that the 90-7-31 is the expiry part.

Inside the film cassette is all black with similar info printed on a white sticker as is on the box:

XO-890-7-31
PROCESS E-6
135-36

Has anyone got a clue what this film is or it's speed? Curiousity has me wanting to know. All of my searches online came up with nothing.

I hate to just randomly pick a speed and shoot it. If I can't fgure out the speed, I may cut off a few inches, shoot at a few speeds from 100-400 and develop it. That would show me the condition and reveal the coding on the film itself which might give me a better idea.

Thoughts?

alienmeatsack · Jul 13, 2014

Here are photos of the box and the roll to possibly help jog someone's memory or trigger any ideas on what it might be.

Zedwardson · Jul 13, 2014

Total guess, but due to the color design of the box, lack of info, and so on. It might be X-OMAT duplication film used a lot as a dental film, or some other industrial dupe film. Thus it would have a speed of around 6.

Prof_Pixel · Jul 13, 2014

Kodak used to release experimental XO films to limited audiences (usually employees); what today with software would be called 'beta test' film. All you can say about it is that it IS E-6 process film.

Edit:

See http://photo.net/film-and-processing-forum/00a7cM

mts · Jul 14, 2014

It's likely not worth making an investment in processing unless of course you are already processing E6 and have chemistry available. The best way to hedge ISO as well as long-expired loss of sensitivity is to simply bracket exposures. Just pick a colorful subject and select an ISO, say 100, and bracket in one-stop increments from two stops under to two over (5 exposures). If the experimental film was originally designed as high-speed, say ISO 400 or more, it will probably have lost at least one stop in sensitivity.

But it is not likely to be worth much because you don't have film stock to continue working with after completing tests. You might learn more by shooting tests of the MacBeth color chart. Because you have only the one roll, it will undoubtedly test to be the very best E6 film you have ever used; Murphy's Law of orphaned films.

RattyMouse · Jul 14, 2014

mts said:
Because you have only the one roll, it will undoubtedly test to be the very best E6 film you have ever used; Murphy's Law of orphaned films.

alienmeatsack · Jul 14, 2014

Thanks all for the information! I appreciate your helping me figure out what the film is.

My friend and I both have a roll of it. Since I hate to waste it, I want to find out as much as possible so I can shoot it.

I do have E-6 chems and do processing of film when I can in that, so I will probably dig around a bit more, maybe call Kodak to see if they'll give me the info (if they evn have the info anymore) and worst case, I'll just shoot it and develop it and see what I get.

Since it's most likely sat for who knows how long without refridgeration or freezing, it may not be good. But still worth finding out what it is and using if possible.

alienmeatsack · Jul 14, 2014

mts - That is the story of my life. Sort of like how I cross processed my E-6 for nearly 2 years, using all these amazing expired films to do xpro photos and then finally did my first E-6 and wondered why the hell I was xproing anything except truly expired "Lomo" films.

alienmeatsack · Jul 14, 2014

I just talked to a guy at Kodak a bit ago and he is going to have someone look it up. Can't guarantee they'll have the info on what kind of film it is, but it's worth a shot.

alienmeatsack · Jul 18, 2014

Well, no one from Kodak ever got back with me. So I am going to assume that they do not love me.

I guess I will clip a small portion of the leader, maybe shoot it at a few speeds and add it into my next developing of color films to see what I get. It's just one roll, so it's not like I have 10 of these to try a roll and then use that speed for all of them.

I just didn't want to waste what could be a fun film. All film deserves love.

alienmeatsack · Jul 20, 2014

Well, the mystery roll was a bust. I shot it from 50-150 and the film is pitch black. My 300 lumen flashlight barely reveals images on it but there's no way it's scannable or useable. I had the same issue with a very expired and non-frozen 100' roll of Ektachrome 64 last year. And I'd bet it's Ektachrome. It was worth a try. Glad it wasn't anything important on there, but I know better then to use old questionable film for important things.

Was fun trying though.

railwayman3 · Jul 21, 2014

I'm sure that I read that "XO" films from Kodak were "Special Orders". If it's 20-30 years old, maybe even Kodak now no longer have the records of exactly what it is. Could be anything, even for some obscure research. (I have a Kodak scientific catalog from the 1970's, and, basically, they would then coat almost anything to special order, films, glass plates, even curved glass plates for some special scientific instruments!).

septim · Jul 21, 2014

alienmeatsack said:
Well, the mystery roll was a bust. I shot it from 50-150 and the film is pitch black. My 300 lumen flashlight barely reveals images on it but there's no way it's scannable or useable. I had the same issue with a very expired and non-frozen 100' roll of Ektachrome 64 last year. And I'd bet it's Ektachrome. It was worth a try. Glad it wasn't anything important on there, but I know better then to use old questionable film for important things.

Was fun trying though.

Seeing as it was an E6 film and you processed it as such, if you massively under exposed it surely that would produce black film? I imagine that it's entirely possible that the original ASA may have been as low as 1-3 if it was a special order scientific emulsion.

AgX · Jul 21, 2014

railwayman3 said:
I'm sure that I read that "XO" films from Kodak were "Special Orders". If it's 20-30 years old, maybe even Kodak now no longer have the records of exactly what it is. Could be anything, even for some obscure research. (I have a Kodak scientific catalog from the 1970's, and, basically, they would then coat almost anything to special order, films, glass plates, even curved glass plates for some special scientific instruments!).

not Special Order, but Experimental Order

See post #4

Mystery Roll of E-6 film

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