New55 P/N

[Daniel.E]

I was looking for a thread dedicated solely to New55 P/N and couldn't find any so let's start one!

Here's a negative from a KS batch. I still cannot get a decent print, they're all too overexposed but the negatives are great! It must be me, I shot one P/N from the Generation 2 and two from a KS box and all three were blown.

https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7316/27885214481_5b39c4ab52_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Ju81L2)
New55-KSBatch-02 (https://flic.kr/p/Ju81L2) by Daniel Rois (https://www.flickr.com/photos/95296802@N03/), on Flickr

[Bob Salomon]

What is with the splotchy background? Are all the shots like this? If so, did they refund your money?

[Andrew O'Neill]

Here: http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?124876-Experience-Using-New55-Film&highlight=new55

[Andrew O'Neill]

I got two boxes. One from the first generation, the other from second generation. Both look fine. The main culprit is the packages are thicker than T55's, and that could be what is causing problems with even distribution of chemistry. I find it finicky to get the envelope into my holder (545i), withdraw the sleeve, and especially reinserting it. Also, the positive looks like crap. They should just do away with it and make it a negative system only.

[Daniel.E]

Here: http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?124876-Experience-Using-New55-Film&highlight=new55

I meant that I couldn't find a thread here with mostly examples of prints and negatives. Thank you for the link though.

[Daniel.E]

What is with the splotchy background? Are all the shots like this? If so, did they refund your money?

I don't want my money back. I want others to support their project and buy their peel apart film so that they can keep improving it.

[Bob Salomon]

I don't want my money back. I want others to support their project and buy their peel apart film so that they can keep improving it.

But why should you fund their product at retail prices for what appears to be experimental results?

[Daniel.E]

Because they're a small company with what I think very little capital (maybe none) to pour over R&D. They're the only ones that make 4x5 peel apart film right now and have big plans for the future.

[Andrew O'Neill]

I'm totally with Daniel on this one.

[brandon13]

But why should you fund their product at retail prices for what appears to be experimental results?


Type 55 was never perfect anyway. IIt's definitely not for everyone. There is no why to ask. t's not Tri-x. as long as the stuff stays on the edges the image quality is fine by me. At this point I can make 4x5 wet plates for way cheaper so I hope the prices come down as I still have 2 polaroid 45 backs. I loved that stuff when I first started shooting. I hope they can survive.

[f2bthere]

Agreed. Type 55 gave you a choice. Expose for a good negative (ISO 25) or expose for a good negative (ISO 50+). So to get a good negative you had to end up with overexposed positives.

Being able to get a developed 4x5 negative in the field was a huge boon. I, too, would love to see this product be a success.

[Whalen]

I almost bought a pack the other day as I was stocking up for a vacation. After tax and shipping it was $85 for 5 shots. $17 per shot is just too much. I like all the artifacts and funkiness of the sample shots I've seen people post - it's actually the only reason I'm interested in using the film. I agree with whomever posted before that they should just do an instant negative. I never used T55, it was pricey when I was in college(and had no budget) and then died the year I got out. But there again, I heard the positive was usually rubbish. Nevertheless, what that group of gentlemen did/are doing should be applauded.
At least give us free shipping!!! Especially to in-state residents! ;)

[D. Bryant]

+1 to what Bob said.

I always thought P/N 55 was pretty damned perfect. The stuff they are selling now is pretty much crap.

[StoneNYC]

Wow, a couple of mean spirited people on this one... Good job being positive about new film products in a digital world... Oh wait, that's right, you're being negative...

[Alan9940]

IMO some of the negative comments here are a bit harsh, however, after having shot several boxes of New55PN I offer my 2 cents:

1. When all the planets align properly and you've been meticulous in your technique (follow their processing instructions EXACTLY), you m-a-y get a really nice negative. However, in my personal experience it comes with a lot of artifacts and the positive is far from great. I don't care about the positive, but I do want a FULL useful negative; which I've never achieved to my satisfaction.

2. The packet is slightly thicker than the original T55 unit which, in both of my holders, makes it somewhat difficult to insert the New55 packet easily into the holder. I have had broken pods upon packet insertion. Not good!

3. It really can't be field processed. If the negative is hit by any substantial amount of light upon pulling apart the packet, the negative will have 'blotches' throughout. Sorry, don't know what else to call it...maybe it's some kind of fogging? Suffice it to say that clean grey areas--like clear blue sky, for example--will generally not be an even tone of grey.

4. Regarding the broken pods and such, I spent a LOT of time cleaning the internals of my holders.

Bottom line for me, it's just too expensive for minimal returns and just too much hassle in my work. Heck, for the price of this film I can shoot 8x10 Velvia 50! I wish the New55 folks great success and do enjoy seeing the work of other photographers that use this film successfully. Over time, I will buy a box here and there to see how it's coming along because it does improve over time.

[jnantz]

I almost bought a pack the other day as I was stocking up for a vacation. After tax and shipping it was $85 for 5 shots. $17 per shot is just too much. I like all the artifacts and funkiness of the sample shots I've seen people post - it's actually the only reason I'm interested in using the film. I agree with whomever posted before that they should just do an instant negative. I never used T55, it was pricey when I was in college(and had no budget) and then died the year I got out. But there again, I heard the positive was usually rubbish. Nevertheless, what that group of gentlemen did/are doing should be applauded.
At least give us free shipping!!! Especially to in-state residents! ;)


from what i read there are sometimes specials on the new55 website
so the price lowers down to about $13/exposure.
i hope they succeed in making a great product. i'd buy it if, it wasn't so expensive.
its too bad they don't sell some WITHOUT the pod, as ready loads.
while i know a lot of people nowadays love analog artifacts ( splotches, streaks &c )
there are probably more that would just love to get a beautful negative, and seeing
there are no ready loads being sold anymore, it might be a niche they can exploit to
get more $$ for more R/D to improve their instant-system.

[FredrickSummers]

from what i read there are sometimes specials on the new55 website
so the price lowers down to about $13/exposure.
i hope they succeed in making a great product. i'd buy it if, it wasn't so expensive.
its too bad they don't sell some WITHOUT the pod, as ready loads.
while i know a lot of people nowadays love analog artifacts ( splotches, streaks &c )
there are probably more that would just love to get a beautful negative, and seeing
there are no ready loads being sold anymore, it might be a niche they can exploit to
get more $$ for more R/D to improve their instant-system.

They are selling "ready loads", they call their system 1SHOT. It uses the same holder as the New55 film.
http://shop.new55.net/collections/frontpage/products/1shot?variant=1194818235
(Not affiliated)

[jnantz]

thanks! i didn't realize they did that :)
they should be advertising THEM heavily and trying to
get people to be buying them, rather than the system
that is a work in progress... $7/exposure isn't too bad
considering ...

[peter schrager]

This follows the same course as the impossible people..o bought in early and got zip to show for it; however I recently used the 600 b+w and it's great stuff..it's so much easier to bitch and moan about products disappearing. ..right??

[Donald Qualls]

I've also used the Impossible 600 B&W, in SX-70 Model 2 and Model 3 cameras, with very good results (turn the brightness dial all the way down, or almost, and it works fine in the 150 speed cameras). The pricing isn't horrible, and the current generation film is really light-safe on ejection (unlike earlier generations). I like it a lot, but my Model 3 is damaged (dropped it one time too many, then used a drop too much super glue and the brightness dial is locked up) and my Model 2 is in dire need of a cleaning, tune up, and new skin; I'll be sending it off to Impossible for that work when I can afford to.

I've got a older Polaroid holder compatible with the 545, and I've wanted to try New 55, but the price keeps putting me off -- not to mention the process required to keep the negative usable. Not very field friendly, especially at $15 a frame plus shipping.

[richardman]

Collodion images are full of "defects" too, and people love those look.

I will jump on this except that I am too poor to shoot Portra as it is. I burn through 300+ sheets a year. But I really appreciate some people with passions are working on this...

[jp]

This is an image sharing thread, not a technology/business discussion.

[Bob Mann]

Here are two of my last three tries with this film - One try the developing pod did not open, on these two there is a flower hidden there somewhere. Not sure what happened, clearly there is an operator error. Do they have some merit as an abstract :confused:

Don't think I will be buying another box anytime soon as my success rate is around 1 out of 5.


153077 153078

[jp]

Bob, you might try pulling the film through the rollers more slowly and/or contacting new55 for troubleshooting advice.

[HoodedOne]

https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1521/26140993681_a9407a9daa_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/FPZqFB)2016-045010.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/FPZqFB) by Hans Spieringhs (https://www.flickr.com/photos/hoodedone-photos/), on Flickr

"The fairest bookshop of the world, a bookshop made in heaven” [The Guardian]
A bookshop inside the 800-year-old Dominican church in Maastricht.

Camera: Wanderlust Travelwide 4x5
Lens: Super-Angulon 90/8
Film: New55 (e.i. 100)
Exposure: 1/4s @ F8

[Bob Mann]

https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1521/26140993681_a9407a9daa_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/FPZqFB)2016-045010.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/FPZqFB) by Hans Spieringhs (https://www.flickr.com/photos/hoodedone-photos/), on Flickr

"The fairest bookshop of the world, a bookshop made in heaven” [The Guardian]
A bookshop inside the 800-year-old Dominican church in Maastricht.


Really nice, gives me something to aspire to making - but there is still that area with no "gel spread" -

Camera: Wanderlust Travelwide 4x5
Lens: Super-Angulon 90/8
Film: New55 (e.i. 100)
Exposure: 1/4s @ F8

[drew.saunders]

I had some boxes from one of the first batches of Kickstarter rewards. I only recently went to the new55.net site and noticed that they list New55 as having a 6 month expiration date, and my boxes are over a year old. I guess when the film was new, there wasn't enough information as to how long it would last. I tried 3 sheets when I first got the film, wasn't too happy with it, and just set the other boxes aside for later. Long story short: very-expired New55 is problematic at best. Here's the one shot that turned out from this past weekend, where I took two shots each of 4 setups, for 1 good and 7 bad sheets:

https://c7.staticflickr.com/9/8571/27735118534_932c5e34fa_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/JfRJsS)
07-15-16-004 (https://flic.kr/p/JfRJsS) by Drew Saunders (https://www.flickr.com/photos/drew_saunders/), on Flickr

I have a 545 Pro holder, and I should take the batteries out so it stops turning on the timer, and maybe it's not as good at applying proper pressure to the pods as the other holders. I hope this product works out, but I doubt I'll buy any more, unless they can get the price down to ~$6/sheet, as was discussed at the very early stages of the project.

[Alan9940]

I have a 545 Pro holder, and I should take the batteries out so it stops turning on the timer, and maybe it's not as good at applying proper pressure to the pods as the other holders. I hope this product works out, but I doubt I'll buy any more, unless they can get the price down to ~$6/sheet, as was discussed at the very early stages of the project.

I have both the 545 Pro holder and the prior version as sold by New55, and I was rarely successful with either holder. And, when I say "successful" I never got even close to a full negative; always had "gel spread" issues and, once, a nearly blank sheet of film!

[cjdewey]

Generation 1 negative.

153081

[HoodedOne]

Thnx Bob.

This was one of the last shots that I made on New55 from the kickstarter pledge. I had also several results like Drew above. So this was not to bad.
I just noticed that macodirect.de also sells new55, so i'll probably buy some from them. Saves a lot of taxes here in the Netherlands.