Roll #61 – Silberra PAN200

Silberra PAN200 (Crowdfunding Reward)

In 2018 I supported a crowdfunding campaign to help establish another film manufacturer. Based in Saint-Petersburg, Silberra produces film stock, photo paper and chemicals. There were different levels of rewards, I chose to get two Iso 200 films.

With a bit of delay they finally arrived in summer and I was quite curious how they would turn out. During development I noticed that the film base is very thin. There were also some yellow marks on the film, which were not on another roll developed at the same time. Strange… but it didn’t really show up in black/white.

If there wasn’t import tax or more importantly high shipping costs I’d gladly order more of this film, but as it stands, I’ll leave it at having tested it.

Leipzig, Germany – May 2018

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panchromatic black/white film, ISO 200, fine grain, wide tonal range, quite sharp, moderate contrast

Olympus XA2 (Olympus 35mm / f3.5 lens) + Silberra PAN200
Developed in Ilford ID-11 (1+1) at Mühlstraße 14 community lab
Scanned with Epson V550
Post-processing in Adobe Lightroom

Roll #51 – Lomography Earl Grey 100

Lomography Earl Grey 100 (120 Medium Format), without packaging

Now that the sun is showing its face more often, all the ISO 100 films can creep out of the fridge again. And now that I’m getting closer to the finish line of 52 rolls, I can feel the urge to start into a sprint.

Balancing a somewhat strict schedule – posting every sunday – with going somewhere to shoot some actually interesting photos often fails. Good work takes time (and more than one roll of film).

I haven’t really decided on what to do with the blog, once I reached the original goal. I might continue, but with a slower pace. I might concentrate more on long term projects and use it as some sort of project diary. I might mix both. I might do none. For the moment I’ll focus on the finish line and sprint.

Leipzig–Reudnitz, Germany / April 2017

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Medium format (120), black and white, roll film, 12 exposures (6×6), ISO 100.
Film has a blueish base and is believed to be repackaged Fomapan 100.

Pentacon Six TL + Carl Zeiss Jena Biometar 80mm/f2.8 + Lomography Earl Grey 100
Film bought in 2015 for ~5,35 EUR via Film Photography Project Store.
Self-Developed (A49) @ Mühlstraße e.V. Community Darkroom.
Scanned with Epson Perfection V550.

[Update] Kodak BW400CN

Kodak BW400CN (expired 02/2008)

After shooting so many different film stocks it’s difficult to fit shooting something new into the normal shooting process. After so much testing I start to gravitate towards certain films. But there’s still a huge pile of rolls I haven’t shot yet. Guess I’ll slowly go through them one by one.

I already shot Kodak BW400CN in medium format. This is an 35mm add-on. Following the “+1 stop for every decade of expiration”-rule I exposed the role as ISO 200 and developed normally. Not sure how it was stored, but the quality suffered quite a bit.

Leipzig, Germany – Oct 2016

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35mm, “color negativ” b/w film, ISO 400, 36 exposures, expired 02/2008

Nikon F80/N80 + Nikkor 50mm 1.8D + Kodak BW400CN @ ISO 200
Film sponsored by Kathleen’s Mom – thanks!
Developed with Rollei C-41 Kit by myself.
Scanned with Epson Perfection V550.

Roll #49 – Kodak ColorPlus 200

Kodak ColorPlus 200 (35mm format)

During my search for a cheap color film for everyday shooting (no special projects) I stumbled upon this film stock. The price is quite low (2,50 EUR per roll) and a quick look around on the internet showed okay-ish color rendering. I wanted to test it first, before ordering in bulk, so I added a roll to my last c-41 chemistry order.

The images were taken during the middle and end of January. I’m not quite sure about the sometimes stronger, sometimes weaker yellow tint. Guess that’s the drawback you have to accept when using cheaper material? Or its the lens? Questions… questions.

Leipzig-Reudnitz, Germany – Jan 2017

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35mm, color negativ film, ISO 200, 36 exposures.

Praktica LTL2 + Pentacon auto 1.8/50 + Kodak ColorPlus 200
Film bought for 2,50 EUR via Macodirect.
Developed with Rollei C-41 Kit by myself.
Scanned with Epson Perfection V550.

Roll #47 – Fujicolor Natura 1600

Fujifilm Fujicolor Natura 1600 (35mm)

I think I’m in love. The colors! The warmth! Being able to shoot at night! And still looks good in daylight! Only the price is a bit hefty. Good thing I have friends, who sponsor such delights. Thaaaanks Caro! xD

All images were taken around christmas. The first two in Leipzig(‘s christmas market), the rest while visiting my brother in a rural part of Germany.

On a different note: it seems that I’ll finally finish the “52 rolls of 2015” in… 2017. Only 5 more to go. I can see the finishing line in the distance!

Leipzig + Bockwitz, Germany – December 2016

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35mm, color negative, ISO 1600, 36 exposures.

Nikon F80 + Nikkor 50mm / f 1.8
Film ordered from Japan + sponsored by Caro. ❤
Developed with Rollei C-41 Kit by myself.
Scanned with Epson Perfection V550.

Roll #43 – ORWO CNS 100

ORWO CNS 100 (expired)

After taking over the family photo albums and scanning dozens of negatives, one film stock really stood out for me: old ORWO color film. I liked the somewhat muted realistic colors a lot. And so began a long hunt on eBay.

After several months I finally got my hands on 5 rolls of CNS 100. They expired in the early 2000s – not that bad. As a precaution I exposed the film as ISO 50 (instead of 100) and developed it normally. And wow, I love love love the colors. Now I have to get more rolls.

Oh and please ignore the weird texture on some / most (okay all) of the photos, I still have to work a lot on my rinsing / drying skills. #finishednotperfect

Leipzig + Bockwitz, Germany / Sept + Aug 2016

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35mm, color negative film, ISO 100 (exposed at 50), 36 exposures.

Praktica LTL 2 + Helios-44-2 f2/58mm  + ORWO CNS 100 (expired ~2001)
Film bought for ?!? (can’t remember) via eBay.
Developed with Rollei C-41 Kit by myself.
Scanned with Epson Perfection V550.

[Old Film Camera] EXA 1a

EXA 1a (Selfportrait)

During a district expedition this summer I visited Atelier Beissert. After our talk about art, photography and black tea, I discovered some old film cameras tucked away in a cabinet. Showing some (okay… a lot) of interest, Peter offered me two of them to try/buy. One was an EXA 1a equipped with a Carl Zeiss Jena f2,8/50mm lens.

Nearly 1 million EXA cameras were build between 1949 – 1990 in Dresden, Germany. They are fully mechanical, have no light meter and are build like a tank. Good for taking photos or hammering nails. Most of them (1a is one of them) use the “Exakta” mount.

Shooting experience

It took some time to shoot a full roll of film on *another* camera – I might have a collecting problem. Being able to use a waist level viewfinder gives you a whole new perspective and shooting experience. I really liked it. What I didn’t like was the max shutter time of 1/175 sec.

Now that the film is developed and scanned I have to say, damn that’s a good lens. Sadly the frame counter was physically broken off, so I had no idea how many images were left. In the end I didn’t buy the camera because of that, but I guess now I have to look for a better preserved one, or at least for a M42 mount version of that lens.

Black and white photography for the financially challenged

On a side note I think I settled on an ISO400 b/w film for “normal” day to day shooting: Rollei RPX 400. If you order 10 at a time over at Macodirect you pay 3,75 EUR per roll. I also looked into bulk loading film, but decided against it for the time being. I’d have to shoot a whole lot more, before the savings on film exceed the investment of a bulk film loader. But I’ll keep that option in mind.

Leipzig, Germany – Summer 2016

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EXA 1a + Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 2,8/50 + Rollei RPX 400

Thanks to Peter (Website / Facebook) for letting me try out the camera!

Roll #40 – CFP Double-X B&W

CFP Double-X B&W

The film is Kodak Eastman Double-X – a motion picture film, usually only available in big cinema reels. It was used for films like Schindler’s List and Casino Royale and several stores/projects re-roll/package the them for use in 35mm film cameras.

Sounded interesting, I checked some stores and found out that these are quite expensive. After some looking around I settled on a 5-pack from CameraFilmPhoto. So far I only shot one roll, but the results are quite good-looking, I think. Will save the other 4 for special projects/occasions.

5-pack of film + JCH film case

The images were taken at Cospudener See (a lake), on my way home after the sun went down (I played a bit with long exposures) and then at home to finish the roll.

Leipzig, Germany – Aug 2016

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35mm, black and white, motion picture film, ISO 200, 36 exposures.

Praktica LTL 2 + Helios-44-2 f2/58mm  + CFP Double-X B&W
Film bought for ~9 EUR via CameraFilmPhoto.
Developed by myself @ Mühlstraße e.V. Community Darkroom.
(Developed: Ilford ID-11 / 1+2 / 10min 40sec @ 20.3°C)
Scanned with Epson Perfection V550.

Week #14 – Kodak Tri-X 400

Kodak Tri-X 400 (120 medium format)

I’ll have to move the weekly update day from friday to saturday and shoot even more films as backup. This is getting too stressful otherwise. I’m drained and don’t have anything interesting to say. So lets jump right over to the images.

Halle + Leipzig, Germany – March/April 2015

Shop-Talk:

Medium format (120), black/white negative film, 12* exposures, ISO 400

Yashica Mat 124G (Yashinon 80mm f3.5) + Kodak Tri-X 400.
Film bought for ~4,50 EUR via Fotoimpex.
Self-Developed @ Mühlstraße e.V. Community Darkroom.
(D-76 1+1 @ 22°C / 8min)
Scanned with Epson Perfection V550.

*) exposures depend on the format. 6×6 -> 12 exposures.