Rollei Blackbird film

ronlamarsh · Apr 29, 2012

Saw this on the freestyle site but they are not very forthcoming with film data. Doesx anyone know where I can get some data on this film? And has anyone tried it want to share their impressions?

Mustafa Umut Sarac · Apr 29, 2012

www.rollei.com have neither too much information. If you follow the links you reach :http://www.macodirect.de/analog-colour-creative-bird-films-c-416_710.html?osCsid=93c67dc05e83dad01d3f43c9b61a1865

There are blackbird , nightbird , redbird , crossbird films at the list.

For blackbird below information listed :
Negativ Film black & white

ISO 25/15° / ISO 100/21°

process 100/21° D76 20° stock 10 min
process 25/25° D76 20° stock 6 min
process 100/21° RHS 20° 1+7 10 min
process

25/25

RHS 20° 1+7 6 min

Important handling notes for films with a synthetic film base:
The emulsion is coated onto a transparent synthetic base providing excellent long-term and dimensional stability.
This films has to be loaded in the camera and unloaded in subdued light. Before and after exposition always store the films in the black light-tight film-container. Not following these advices can cause light infiltration through the base material to the exposed pictures. Rollfilms: Please take care in handling the 120 size films in keeping the film-roll tight with two fingers after breaking the unexposed adhesive label to avoid that the film is rolling to "spring off". The same procedure should be followed after taking the roll film out of the camera. The exposed film should be kept compellingly again in the black light-tight rollfilm-container.

From Rollei’s Creative Edition comes the Blackbird 100asa Black and White film. A new stock of great contrast, deep midtones and rich blacks. 36 exposures, process with Black and White chemicals

An picture from the film :

wildbill · Apr 29, 2012

hipsters don't care about details.

DesertNate · Apr 30, 2012

What good is ISO and other data?.. Those hipsters are just going to shoot it in a plastic piece of crap without exposure controls anyway. Then, they'll send it to some crappy online lab and get 1200X1200 scans of 6X6.

Katie · Apr 30, 2012

hehehe. You said hipster.

artonpaper · Apr 30, 2012

DesertNate said:
What good is ISO and other data?.. Those hipsters are just going to shoot it in a plastic piece of crap without exposure controls anyway. Then, they'll send it to some crappy online lab and get 1200X1200 scans of 6X6.

If they shoot it, they may help keep it alive. Besides it ain't like they can walk into a store and buy a cheap film camera, other than plastic.

Richard S. (rich815) · Apr 30, 2012

Katie said:
hehehe. You said hipster.

Ha!

Richard S. (rich815) · Apr 30, 2012

DesertNate said:
What good is ISO and other data?.. Those hipsters are just going to shoot it in a plastic piece of crap without exposure controls anyway. Then, they'll send it to some crappy online lab and get 1200X1200 scans of 6X6.

I've gotten some real nice images with my plastic P.O.C., I even sold this one below a number of times. Hail the P.O.C! Keep film alive!

Downtown SF Commute Holga Plus-X Rodinal 1-50 11min 21C 1minAg 11-2007 VS 4990 Scan-071130-0006 TSM by rich8155 (Richard Sintchak), on Flickr

Pioneer · Apr 30, 2012

rich815 said:
I've gotten some real nice images with my plastic P.O.C., I even sold this one below a number of times. Hail the P.O.C! Keep film alive!

Nice shot.

cmo · Apr 30, 2012

It's probably remaining stock or reject of old Agfa Ortho 25, a reproduction film.

Selling this for 5 bucks per roll as a whatever-bird-special-effect hipster film is a ripoff for sure. Use ANY low-speed film and push it and you get the same contrast. Put a blue or green filter on the lens and you get an "ortho" look.

"The world wants to be cheated." -- Sebastian Brant

Arctic amateur · May 27, 2012

What's a fair price, then? EFKE KB25 and KB50 and Ilford PanF+ are selling for $5.49 at BH.

BrendanCarlson · May 27, 2012

I +1 the idea of letting people be hipsters... just keep the film around - we don't need to lose 120 film too.
Btw, my plastic p.o.c isn't so crappy after all. I love some of the shots that I have taken with it!

Arctic amateur · May 30, 2012

I have shot one roll of this film, and the film rebates turned out quite dark. I had a lot of trouble spooling it, because of high friction between the film and the spool. (I don't know whether the film or the spool is to blame.) How can I tell if the film base actually is dark or if the film was fogged? It took me between five and ten minutes to get the film spooled properly and into the tank, and I discovered that after a few minutes in the film-loading closet I could see a very faint light leaking in where the ceiling meets the walls.

steven_e007 · May 31, 2012

I've just clicked on a few APUIG profiles and checked a few ages. After a quick and dirty calculation I see the average age of a typicall APUG user is 93. Film will die out when no one buys it any more. I don't think the typical APUGer is going to be the best candidate to future proof film long term...

Personally I think the more trendy, the more 'hip' (whatever it means) to youngsters, the better.

I'm perfectly fine with film being marketed as 'cool', 'with it', ''sick', 'bad', or whatever other youth fashionable labels that can be stuck on it.

Just make sure the kiddies buy the stuff. I don't care whether they know how to use it, just as long as they BUY IT.

They'll get old, cynical, pedantic and start arguing about DOF tables and agitation techniques soon enough....

Toffle · May 31, 2012

steven_e007 said:
After a quick and dirty calculation I see the average age of a typicall APUG user is 93.

Eh??? Speak up!!! Damned youngsters.

Anyway...
The NYT published this yesterday. Though they are obviously not a photography publication, their arts reporting is generally good, and they like the lomo-hipster trend. I just want films available for when these 93 year-old hands want to touch some real images.

Cheers,
Tom

RalphLambrecht · May 31, 2012

it's hard to argue with success

EKDobbs · May 31, 2012

As someone of the "lomography" age, I can definitely see the appeal. I have friends ask me all the time about my film cameras (an RB67 tends to attract attention in a classroom), and kids pine for the film they remember from childhood. I'm glad lomography makes it available (albeit at a premium), because it will keep people producing film for me to use in my "real" cameras.

BrendanCarlson · Jun 1, 2012

I am 17 and I love film!!
So there you go, a youngster speaking up.

Jenni · Jun 1, 2012

Film is awesome, I noticed the photographers that follow me on Facebook, started dusting off their film cameras once I started posting about how much I love it. So keep using it and try different film stock, why not? You might end up with a really amazing group of pictures!

BrendanCarlson · Jun 1, 2012

Yes, I agree. I am experimenting with some cross processing right now and I love it!
A lot of my friends are now shooting film cause they love what they see me doing, it's a pretty great medium.

wblynch · Jun 1, 2012

A lot of us 93 year olds are now

Titanium Hip-sters !

streondj · Oct 16, 2012

The main appeal of blackbird vs other high contrast b&w films is that it's on polyester, and thereby archival quality 1000+years.
Meaning that "young hipsters" can take photo's, and have the negatives around when they are 93, unlike with vinegar (acetate) films 40+years.
Though even acetate is an order of magnitude longer lived than flash-cards which have a half-life (life-expectancy) of only 4 years.
So any hipsters you know that may be interested in seeing their pictures in a decade or more, should get film.

Simon R Galley · Oct 17, 2012

Dear Streondj,

I am not having a go but some balance is needed here.

Tri-acetate base does not have a life 40 years, it is fully archival :

Polyester is a 'lower cost' base Tri-acetate base is significantly more expensive and the accepted base for miniature ( 35mm ) film because of it properties, including longevity.

Polyester is though a perfectly acceptable substrate for certain coating applications ( such as surveillance ) where the film needs to be potentially very thin and where film needs to driven at high speed, and with polyester you have the major problem, it can ( and does ) on occasion wreck cameras...

Simon ILFORD Photo, HARMAN technology Limited :

AgX · Oct 17, 2012

Is it the film that wrecks the camera, or a camera operator who employs excessive force (that will be tranferred by that strong material)?

Simon R Galley · Oct 17, 2012

Dear AgX,

Good point.....!

The biggest issue we know about was conventional motor drives ( especially in the press days, when we were testing 72 exposure cassettes coated on polyester ) also, if you use good practice of tensioning a 35mm after loading by withdrawing the film into the cassette in camera after loading, if you go that bit too far and build too much tension it could 'possibly' damage the wind on, especially on older cameras.

Simon ILFORD Photo / HARMAN technology Limited :

Rollei Blackbird film

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