Orwo UN54: ISO 100 and over-exposure?

[blee1996]

Hi

I have shot four rolls of Orwo UN54, and the negatives all seem quite dense. The edges are clear, so it should not be fixer issue.

The first roll is factory packaged 135-36, shot in Bessa L (which has good built-in meter)
- developed in fresh Adox FX-39 II 1+9, 7 min at 68F
- In the same tank, other two films (Wolfen NP100, Ilford Pan F+) have normal density

Then I switched to fresh D96 1L kit, which supposedly is designed for it to tame high contrast
- 2nd roll from fresh 100 ft factory sealed bulk roll, shot in Olympus PenFT (good built-in meter)
- 3rd roll from fresh 100 ft factory sealed bulk roll, shot in Exakta Varex IIa (handheld meter)
- 4th roll from fresh 100 ft factory sealed bulk roll, shot in Konica IIIa (sunny 16)
- All three developed in fresh D96, 6 min at 70F, in the same 1L Paterson tank

I'm wondering if one of the following caused the dense negatives:
- UN54 is actually more sensitive than ISO 100
- UN54 is more sensitive to over-exposure, even for 1 stop over
- I'm not using the right developer

If you have experience with Orwo UN54, could you please let me know your exposure and development practice? I still have the rest of the 100 ft bulk roll to finish. Thanks!

 

[Dali]

Hello blee1996,

Since 2024, did you have the opportunity to experiment further with UN54? Do you still consider it to be more sensitive than 100 ASA and what developer would you recommend?

Thanks !

 

[blee1996]

Hello blee1996,

Since 2024, did you have the opportunity to experiment further with UN54? Do you still consider it to be more sensitive than 100 ASA and what developer would you recommend?

Thanks !

No I have not tried UN54 again after the first four rolls. Thus I still have most of the bulk roll.

Hope your experiments are more successful.

 

[Dali]

Well, I am ready to order some 100 ASA film (120 format) and I wanted to give UN54 a try instead of the Foma100 I usually shoot.

 

[Sanug]

I never saw UN54 in 120 format. UN54 comes well at ISO 100. Should be almost the same as NP100, but without anti halation layer. I have good results with Adox XT-3 (Xtol) 1+2, 14 Min.. You should not over expose.

The sample images were taken at the island La Palma. Plustek Opticfilm 7300.

Pentax LX
Pentax SMC-M 2.8/100, orange filtre

Pentax LX
Pentax SMC-M 4/20, red filtre

 

[Klaus_H]

The Lomography Potsdam was produced from UN54 master rolls. This film is available in 135 and was available in 120 format.
I expose UN54 at 80 ISO and develop it in Pyrocat-HD (1+1+100, 20°C, 10.5 minutes with Ilford agitation)

 

[Sanug]

Oh yes, I forgot the Lomo Potsdam. I did one roll. The backing paper was glued at the wrong point, and I lost 2 frames. Very poor confectioning. Never again.

UN54 and Lomo Potsdam in 135 are very fine. NP100 is even better. They will become hard to get: Filmotec and Inoviscoat are insolvent.

 

[polaromar]

The vast majority of my BW work is on ORWO UN54. Fantastic film. It has a direct lineage to pre-WW2 Agfa films by means of East German panchro films.

It's definitely a native 100 ISO film, and you can even get away with 80 EI if you want higher contrast, or if you are indoors. Responds well to filtration too.

Both of these shots were developed by my local lab in TMax developer.

 

[relistan]

I've not seen anti-halation issues as above. My shots all were normal in that regard. It is box speed in standard developers.