Need a couple of quick suggestions for a roll of Rollei Superpan 200

[John Wiegerink]

I just found a roll of 120 roll of Rollei Superpan 200 in my fridge and want to use it, but need some advice. I want to load it in my Rollei 3.5F and shoot some snow picture since we're pretty well buried in west Michigan at the moment. I plan on using a red filter for darkening the sky, but that's about the only thing out of normal. I would like to know a good EI to set the film speed at and a starting point for my developer. I have two developers on hand at my home location, and they are Adox FX-39II and my homemade Pyrocat-HDC, which behaves very much like the HD version of Pyrocat. So, what's a good starting EI and a good developing time to try. I should mention that I'd prefer to use the Adox FX-39II, but it really doesn't matter.

P.S. I know I should test, but I only have this one roll and don't plan on buying more. Also, I'll be mainly wet printing these negatives.

 

[Corn_Zhou]

I'd recon 250 in tugsten and 160 in daylight. As the massive dev chart suggested, FX-39 at 1+14 for 17mins would be a good starting point.

 

[John Wiegerink]

I'd recon 250 in tugsten and 160 in daylight. As the massive dev chart suggested, FX-39 at 1+14 for 17mins would be a good starting point.

Thanks, I checked the MDC and saw that. I was thinking of doing a two-bracket EI. Maybe shooting one frame at an EI of 160 and then one at EI100 or so. I know this isn't going to be an exact science, but I want to be on the safe side. I was going to go with my gut instincts, but sometimes somebody else's gut works better than mine. I have shot two rolls of this film before, but it was all with a IR filter in front of the lens and not normal daylight photos.

 

[Alan Johnson]

It's Aviphot 200:

Here: List of repackaged Agfa Aviphot Pan 80 and 200 films and Kentmere 100 and 400 films

I just want to fulfill a wish by some forum members and a moderator: Here is the list of current repackaged (rebranded) Agfa Aviphot Pan 80 and 200 films and Kentmere 100 and 400 films: Agfa Aviphot Pan 80: Repackaged as Rollei Retro 80s and Rollei RPX 25. Agfa Aviphot Pan 200: Repackaged as...

www.photrio.com

Developer for Aviphot Pan 200

Agfa Aviphot Pan 200 is sold for aerial photography and for this purpose gives a high contrast as the land photographed has relatively low contrast. I believe it is sold in 35mm eg as Rollei Retro 400s.The resolution is up to 181 lppm. For aerial photography it is developed in Agfa G74c plus...

www.photrio.com

 

[John Wiegerink]

Alan,
Thanks, and I've been searching here for all the back threads on both Superpan 200 and AviphotPan 200. One question I do have is if I use a red filter to darken the sky more, do I still use the same filter factor as would be used for a normal panchromatic film?

 

[Alan Johnson]

Maybe someone who has done that can comment but I did get good results with Aviphot 80 with 1 extra stop for a yellow filter.

 

[chuckroast]

I just found a roll of 120 roll of Rollei Superpan 200 in my fridge and want to use it, but need some advice. I want to load it in my Rollei 3.5F and shoot some snow picture since we're pretty well buried in west Michigan at the moment. I plan on using a red filter for darkening the sky, but that's about the only thing out of normal. I would like to know a good EI to set the film speed at and a starting point for my developer. I have two developers on hand at my home location, and they are Adox FX-39II and my homemade Pyrocat-HDC, which behaves very much like the HD version of Pyrocat. So, what's a good starting EI and a good developing time to try. I should mention that I'd prefer to use the Adox FX-39II, but it really doesn't matter.

P.S. I know I should test, but I only have this one roll and don't plan on buying more. Also, I'll be mainly wet printing these negatives.

Well, the nominal speed is ASA 200, but (IIRC), a red filter needs 3 stops increased exposure. So, with the filter in place, the effective EI would 50. But that assumes you can get full film speed with whatever development discipline you use. I've never used this film, so I don't know, but most films
require a full additional stop to get well preserved shadow detail with "normal" development (regular agitation).

Depending on the subject brightness range of the scene, you would meter the snow and then increase the exposure 1-2 stops.

The great unknown here is development. If it were me, I'd semistand develop it for an hour in Pyrocat-HD 1.5:1:250 with an initial 2 minutes of continuous agitation, and 10sec agitation at 31min. This would give you full film speed (200 w/o filter, 50 w/red filter) and keep the highlights under control.
However, if you've never done standing development and don't know how to suspend the film to prevent drag, this is probably not the time to start.

As you suggest, bracketing is your friend here.

 

[John Wiegerink]

Well, the nominal speed is ASA 200, but (IIRC), a red filter needs 3 stops increased exposure. So, with the filter in place, the effective EI would 50. But that assumes you can get full film speed with whatever development discipline you use. I've never used this film, so I don't know, but most films
require a full additional stop to get well preserved shadow detail with "normal" development (regular agitation).

Depending on the subject brightness range of the scene, you would meter the snow and then increase the exposure 1-2 stops.

The great unknown here is development. If it were me, I'd semistand develop it for an hour in Pyrocat-HD 1.5:1:250 with an initial 2 minutes of continuous agitation, and 10sec agitation at 31min. This would give you full film speed (200 w/o filter, 50 w/red filter) and keep the highlights under control.
However, if you've never done standing development and don't know how to suspend the film to prevent drag, this is probably not the time to start.

As you suggest, bracketing is your friend here.

Everything I read so far suggests it's not a 200 speed film. Some think it's more in the ISO 25 to 100 range. I thought I might be able to gain a 1/2 stop using FX-39II, but wondered about the contrast. It's a dull and dreary day today, so I got some more time to think about this. I do like the thought of Pyrocat stand or semi-stand.

 

[chuckroast]

Everything I read so far suggests it's not a 200 speed film. Some think it's more in the ISO 25 to 100 range. I thought I might be able to gain a 1/2 stop using FX-39II, but wondered about the contrast. It's a dull and dreary day today, so I got some more time to think about this. I do like the thought of Pyrocat stand or semi-stand.

As I said, I've never used it. But every single film I've ever tested with a densitometer and your usual developers (not Pyro based), when developed conventionally at the usual times, yields an EI of 1/2 box speed. Obviously, this assumes fresh developer, good thermometers, accurate light meters etc.

My densitometer can't "see" through Pyro stain but by inspection, the same is more-or-less the case for Pyro developers.

So if you're going to develop conventionally, I'd rate that film at EI 100 w/o the filter, and EI 25 with the red filter taking care to place shadows and highlights properly.

But semistand will consistently yield full box speed, middle tone local contrast expansion, and highlight compensation but all that comes at a cost - you have to really pay attention to how the film is supported during development and where it sits in the tank.

I've mentioned it many times here but if you're interested and have not done semistand before, my notes can be found here:

https://gitbucket.tundraware.com/tundra/Stand-Development


The one thing I don't know, having never used it, is how its expanded spectral response will handle that red filter and what the effective speed will really be, hence the recommendation to bracket.

 

[runswithsizzers]

I've exposed only one roll, and looking at <the negatives> it is apparent my EI of 160 was not nearly enough exposure to record shadow details. I used the meter in my Pentax MX, then processed in Eco-Pro (Xtol clone) diluted at 1+1.

 

[John Wiegerink]

As I said, I've never used it. But every single film I've ever tested with a densitometer and your usual developers (not Pyro based), when developed conventionally at the usual times, yields an EI of 1/2 box speed. Obviously, this assumes fresh developer, good thermometers, accurate light meters etc.

My densitometer can't "see" through Pyro stain but by inspection, the same is more-or-less the case for Pyro developers.

So if you're going to develop conventionally, I'd rate that film at EI 100 w/o the filter, and EI 25 with the red filter taking care to place shadows and highlights properly.

But semistand will consistently yield full box speed, middle tone local contrast expansion, and highlight compensation but all that comes at a cost - you have to really pay attention to how the film is supported during development and where it sits in the tank.

I've mentioned it many times here but if you're interested and have not done semistand before, my notes can be found here:

https://gitbucket.tundraware.com/tundra/Stand-Development


The one thing I don't know, having never used it, is how its expanded spectral response will handle that red filter and what the effective speed will really be, hence the recommendation to bracket.

Yes, I read your Semi-stand notes sometime back. I have had good luck and sometimes bad luck with semi-stand, but know it does work. Yes, the red filter has me a little puzzled as to its results with this film. I'm doing some more reading.

 

[John Wiegerink]

I've exposed only one roll, and looking at <the negatives> it is apparent my EI of 160 was not nearly enough exposure to record shadow details. I used the meter in my Pentax MX, then processed in Eco-Pro (Xtol clone) diluted at 1+1.

I can almost always get box speed with my batch of XT-3(Xtol) replenished, so your results tell me to rate this at ISO 100 or below for decent shadow detail.

 

[runswithsizzers]

I can almost always get box speed with my batch of XT-3(Xtol) replenished, so your results tell me to rate this at ISO 100 or below for decent shadow detail.

I agree.