Surveillance Film

[nworth]

While poking around the Kodak website, I found a couple of films with some very interesting and promising specifications:

Kodak HAWKEYE Surveillance Film 2485
Kodak WL Surveillance Film 2210

These films were designed mostly for traffic surveillance. They are high speed, very fine grain, very high definition films that are available in 35mm long rolls. When I hear "suveillance film" I think of something made to be kept in the camera for years and giving a minimally useful image. These seem to be different, with quite high quality images (as far as one can tell from specifications). Since these are specialized films, they are not available through ordinary channels. Does anyone know a source? Does anyone have any experience with them in regular camera use?

 

[Andy K]

Ilford make a similar film called TRAFFIC SURVEILLANCE (SP816T). You can read about it on their products page.

 

[Mick Fagan]

I have a couple of 100' rolls of Ilford Surveillance 400 P4 B&W film, type R551.

I didn't know much about it but I was told it's pretty much HP5+ emulsion on a different base. I have surmised that the base is a polyester type as I cannot tear it and have to cut it off the reels in the darkroom.

It has no frame numbers, which makes contact sheets interesting. The film was extremely cheap working out @ $0.27 per roll, so I purchased a couple of cans and have had very good results for almost next to nothing.

I would agree that it does appear to be HP5+ emulsion as I treated it as such and everything is pretty much the same, although I don't think it's quite the same, if you know what I mean.

Mick.

 

[pentaxuser]

While poking around the Kodak website, I found a couple of films with some very interesting and promising specifications:

Kodak HAWKEYE Surveillance Film 2485
Kodak WL Surveillance Film 2210

These films were designed mostly for traffic surveillance. They are high speed, very fine grain, very high definition films that are available in 35mm long rolls. When I hear "suveillance film" I think of something made to be kept in the camera for years and giving a minimally useful image. These seem to be different, with quite high quality images (as far as one can tell from specifications). Since these are specialized films, they are not available through ordinary channels. Does anyone know a source? Does anyone have any experience with them in regular camera use?

Worth doing a search under Surveillance Film. Bluefire is mentioned as one and G Crawley did an article on it in Amateur Photographer in the autumn of last year. He rated it quite highly in terms of its definition.

It is high definition and not unlike Gigabit film which is available from Retrographic. These films however do not appear to be high speed. Quite the reverse, having ISO's in the 12-25 range.

Pentaxuser

 

[Digitaltruth]

I believe that Ilford's SP816T is the same emulsion as SFX 200, but coated on a different base.

--Jon Mided

 

[claytume]

I've got some cans of 70mm Kodak WL Surveillance film, it seems to be much the same as Tri X which goes with what Mick says about the Ilford product. Why they say it's very fine grain I don't know because it's very grainy just like you'd expect Tri X to be.


Clayton