What's your most recent sheet film?

abruzzi · Apr 27, 2021

I shot 4 sheets of Fomapan 100 this weekend on a test run getting used to the Technikardan. One each with the Nikkor 75, Schneider SA 90, Fujinon 105, and Funjinon 250. I bought the TK ~9months ago, but other than a couple test shots, I haven't had time to really learn it. (Work was off the hook for a while, and all my hobbies were suspended when I was working 80 hours weeks.) Things have slowed down and I have time again so I'm trying to learn how to quickly setup/tear down the TK to possible use it in place of my Technika.

The next challenge is getting my darkroom back in shape to develop the film. But since my Xtol is bad, I'll probably use HC110 for now.

AnselMortensen · Apr 27, 2021

Donald Qualls said:
I tried to do that once -- in 2005. The second sheets from that outing are still curled up in the tubes I used then for processing, and now they're too curly to process any other way (except maybe taco method), but I've forgotten how much solution it takes to fill the tubes.

I've never used the Rollei film before...
I can see how it could get curly, it's got a super-thin base like Kodalith 6556.
I develop in a BW-King tank, & loaded a test sheet last night, will process today.
I'm curious to see if the film stays put in the rack during processing.
The tank uses just over a liter of chemicals, but I have standardized on Rodinal for consistency and economy.

Donald Qualls · Apr 27, 2021

@AnselMortensen In this case, it's got nothing to do with the film used. I loaded the second sheets into the tubes as soon as they were dry after processing the first set -- and then my life changed and I didn't get back into the darkroom for more than a dozen years. These were Forte 400 (aka .EDU 400, not to be confused with .EDU Ultra 400 which would be rebranded Fomapan) -- at least in 4x5, no tendency to curl in normal handling, but leave them wound inside a 2" pipe for more than a decade...

grat · Apr 27, 2021

If you know the diameter and the length, the volume should be easy to calculate. If they're tubes, and you're doing rotary, cut that by what, 2/3?

Go ahead and develop them-- a friend developed some tri-x that had been sitting in a holder, exposed, for 17 years. Came out pretty well.

Donald Qualls · Apr 27, 2021

grat said:
If you know the diameter and the length, the volume should be easy to calculate. If they're tubes, and you're doing rotary, cut that by what, 2/3?

Go ahead and develop them-- a friend developed some tri-x that had been sitting in a holder, exposed, for 17 years. Came out pretty well.

Yep, just haven't gotten around to it. I think they're in the neighborhood of 16 ounces per section (4" long, 2" diameter), and I've got two tanks with two sections each. They also take forever to fill, so I want a developer that's on the slow side, which isn't Xtol replenished stock. I need to mix up a batch of Parodinal or D-23. I don't do rotary with them, though; they have daylight fill caps and I run them by inversion. I never went back to them after I got my darkroom back up, because I had a little more money this time -- I bought a faster filling tank with more sheet capacity, that doesn't require me to finish the fixing in trays in order to get all the dye out of the base side, and I'm using replenishment so I don't care that I now need 1.6+ L for one or more 4x5 sheets.

TheFlyingCamera · Apr 27, 2021

I've got some Fomapan 200 5x7 (well, really Arista.EDU Ultra 200, but just a semantic difference) that I will burn in the next few days. Going to try some head-to-head tests of my soft-focus lenses, now that I have my Sinar shutter rigged up to accommodate lenses with protruding rear elements. I've got a Cooke Series II, a Hermagis Eidoscope, and a Seneca portrait (aka rebranded Wollensak Vesta).

AnselMortensen · Apr 27, 2021

AnselMortensen said:
I've never used the Rollei film before...
I can see how it could get curly, it's got a super-thin base like Kodalith 6556.
I develop in a BW-King tank, & loaded a test sheet last night, will process today.
I'm curious to see if the film stays put in the rack during processing.
The tank uses just over a liter of chemicals, but I have standardized on Rodinal for consistency and economy.

A follow-up:
The Rollei Infrared stayed in place in the BW-King tank rack. Yay!
Film test came out perfect...shot at EI 8 with an Opteka R-72 filter, sunny day, BDE 1/2 sec @ f32.
Developed 12 min @68°F, Rodinal 1:50.
Yay!
The extremely outdated HIE (developed at the same time) needs some more development...like a 2-stop push.
A worthy experiment!

cullah · Apr 27, 2021

My last 8x10 purchase was for TMY in a ten sheet box. I also have, I think, a box of the old iso 200 Bergger, in the freezer. I have one holder with 8x10 infrared waiting for that ultimate Spring day.

Pioneer · May 1, 2021

4 sheets Arista EDU Ultra 100 8x10 in my Deardorff.

4 sheets Ilford HP5+ 4x5 in my Travelwide.

AnselMortensen · May 2, 2021

I shot 4 sheets of Kodak Professional Copy Film from a box I haven't used since 1994.
Shot one sheet at EI 12, two sheets at EI 25, and one sheet at EI 50.
I plan on developing three differently-exposed sheets in Rodinal 1:50 for 10 min...and see what the results are.
Then process the 2nd EI 25 sheet accordingly.
That should get me in the ballpark for the rest of the box, providing the film is usable.

abruzzi · May 2, 2021

As always, Fomapan 100, again. Four shots yesterday testing the Goerz 16.5 and the Schneider tele-Arton 360 (purchased a year ago from forum member Ari, then off to Flutot’s for a shutter CLA then it sat until yesterday). Two today one with the Schneider SA 90/5.6 and one with the Fujinon 250/6.3. All were shot with the Technikardan and I try to acclimatize myself to it for an upcoming trip. (One thing I like about the TK over my Technika is that since the TK focuses from the rear, it’s easy to place the front standard in a position to mount a square filter holder. The bed of the Technika get in the way.)

cjbecker · May 2, 2021

6 sheets of foma 200 at 125. Pacemaker speed graphic, 135 3.8 xenar. Grafmatic.

cjbecker · May 3, 2021

6 sheets of hp5, and a 210 6.8

AnselMortensen · May 4, 2021

AnselMortensen said:
I shot 4 sheets of Kodak Professional Copy Film from a box I haven't used since 1994.
Shot one sheet at EI 12, two sheets at EI 25, and one sheet at EI 50.
I plan on developing three differently-exposed sheets in Rodinal 1:50 for 10 min...and see what the results are.
Then process the 2nd EI 25 sheet accordingly.
That should get me in the ballpark for the rest of the box, providing the film is usable.

Boom!
Nailed it.
Odd thing, but all 3 negs have remarkably similar density.
(Pay no attention to the weird color/density interaction between my phone and my fluorescent light table).
It was also a good test for my 12" Gundlach Radar @ f4.5.

Donald Qualls · May 4, 2021

I think you have a tube with mismatched color balance in that light table. Makes it really hard to compare the negatives, but I think the lower left is the best, and I'd venture that was the EI 25 (seems to be between the other two for density).

AnselMortensen · May 4, 2021

Hi, Donald,
For some reason, my cell phone camera and fluorescent bulbs don't agree...weird color fringing, never the same twice. Very "angle sensitive"...( Same as taking cell phone snaps from a computer
screen).
I'm pretty sure lower left is EI 12, the only noticeable difference is the density of the left edge near the middle.
Nice to know I have so much latitude to work with!

rst · May 5, 2021

I am on a 100 box of Ilford FP4+, before that I finished a 100 box of FP4+ and after that I am going to start another 100 box of FP4+. I think I am an FP4+ addict ... somehow.

Cheers
Rüdiger

Pioneer · May 5, 2021

rst said:
I am on a 100 box of Ilford FP4+, before that I finished a 100 box of FP4+ and after that I am going to start another 100 box of FP4+. I think I am an FP4+ addict ... somehow.

Cheers
Rüdiger

Ilford makes some really good film.

JonathanHYorks · May 6, 2021

Started shooting 5x7 recently, just got the one box in that size in Ilford FP4+. Also shoot 4x5, the last of which was expired Velvia 50 (I have a box of 50 sheets of that) . Keeping my fingers crossed that it works OK, should be getting it back soon from Nik & Trick.

epatsellis · May 10, 2021

I’ve got 5 250’ rolls of 9 7/16 Agfa aviphot 200 I need to cut down and start shooting. A little bird in Tonopah tells me it’s really good with wonderful tonality. As an added bonus, sensitive tom750nm, so near IR should be pretty doable.

Rockaway Studios · May 19, 2021

Most film here gets used as intermediate steps for lighting effects (copies of line art, scenic backgrounds etc) - I have this crazy old Balcar SP-5000 that will project a 4x5 film sheet like a big azz strobe fired slide projector...also use a Comet Opti-snoot which will project up to 3x3, and a Norman Tri-Light that projects 35mm transparency. Film in the fridge for 4x5, 120 and 35mmm, all Fujichrome

Recently ran some Fujichrome 100 sheets through for color projections, worked fine, no color shift

Recently found a box ox 8 1/2 x 11 Litho film, to go with the 50' or so of 35mm in my bulk loader. Darkroom was long since decommissioned but may stand up enough to handle lith film work - now that I found those big sheets. Think I gave $5.00 for 100 sheets unopened. I don't think it will have any color shift issues either . Working with litho film is my guilty pleasure.

pardesi · May 23, 2021

Shot two 4x5 sheets of Ektar 100 in my Arca-Swiss today and processed it in a unicolor roller processor.

grat · May 23, 2021

4 sheets Rollei Infrared 400 (4x5). Ridiculously thin. Shot both without filter, and with Hoya R72. It does indeed produce a nice wood effect, if you don't mind losing 6 stops. Without filter, there were some traces of infrared reflectivity, but it was subtle.

cjbecker · May 23, 2021

6 sheets 4x5 hp5 at 400iso, speed graphic, grafmatic 135 4.7 optar at f11, 1/100, handheld.

d23 straight 68F for 7:30.

printed absolutely beautifully on 5x7 mgv rc pearl.

Kodachromeguy · May 23, 2021

I tried some Kodak Super-XX for the first time ever. It expired in 11/1990, but was frozen forever. Here is an old store in Edwards, Mississippi, 135mm Caltar S-II lens. I exposed at EI=80, but the negative is a bit thin, so I will shift to 64 or 50.

What's your most recent sheet film?

Membership Council

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency