Securing Fresh Supplies of 25 ASA LF Black and White Film

[Regular Rod]

Since you brought up the non LF film, 120 "Rollei RPX 25", and as a slow 120 aficionado, I must inquire if this is a different film from the equally preposterously priced Rollei Pan 25 of a few years ago. That Maco produced film was capable of very beautiful panchro tonalities, but was in no way of excellent quality. I was reduced to shooting 2 frames for each scene to have any chance of a reasonably clean negative, effectively doubling the price of shooting an already ridiculously priced film.

Well the Rollei RPX 25 film is certainly a high quality film based on what was sent to me when I bought some from MACO. viz. http://www.apug.org/forums/viewpost.php?p=1590735



I'd be delighted to suddenly find it available on sheet film substrate in 4x5, whole plate and 8x10. The 120 substrate is among the flattest I've ever used, in the negative carrier it's as easy as sheet film negatives to work with.

RR

[Mark Woods]

X ray film has a different gamma and reacts differently to the developer I use.

[ROL]

Well the Rollei RPX 25 film is certainly a high quality film based on what was sent to me when I bought some from MACO. viz. http://www.apug.org/forums/viewpost.php?p=1590735

Thanks for the response. OK, so I'm only assuming that this pix post was to make a point regarding my query. I also read your APUG link, as well as the APUG thread on Rollei RPX 25. What I'm about to say is not a direct criticism of either your art or your technique.

Firstly, this pic tells me nothing about the film's technical quality. For that, I would need to to see a few rolls of mid gray mono tonal region rendered without the emulsion defects I experienced in Pan 25 (and Maco 25). I couldn't readily tell the difference between a twig, an insect eaten leaf hole, or an emulsion defect in such a confused mosaic – even assuming it wasn't cleaned up in PS. Secondly, there is "no light" in this picture, by which I mean there is (apparently) only indirect, dull appearing flat light. I would be surprised if there were more than 5 zones present in the scene, at least as interpreted by you as an image. This pic could be from any lousy old film So, it also tells me nothing about the range of tones the film is capable of recording.

[Regular Rod]

Thanks for the response. OK, so I'm only assuming that this pix post was to make a point regarding my query. I also read your APUG link, as well as the APUG thread on Rollei RPX 25. What I'm about to say is not a direct criticism of either your art or your technique.

Firstly, this pic tells me nothing about the film's technical quality. For that, I would need to to see a few rolls of mid gray mono tonal region rendered without the emulsion defects I experienced in Pan 25 (and Maco 25). I couldn't readily tell the difference between a twig, an insect eaten leaf hole, or an emulsion defect in such a confused mosaic – even assuming it wasn't cleaned up in PS. Secondly, there is "no light" in this picture, by which I mean there is (apparently) only indirect, dull appearing flat light. I would be surprised if there were more than 5 zones present in the scene, at least as interpreted by you as an image. This pic could be from any lousy old film So, it also tells me nothing about the range of tones the film is capable of recording.

Ah well I'm sorry it didn't help you. I don't do such testing. It is a simple matter for me to just buy some rolls and go out and make some photographs with them and then see if the film gave me what I wanted. If it does what (or near what I was planning but just needing some adjustments on my part) and if it is reasonable to process and behaves like film instead of an errant clock spring then I buy some more and keep using it. That's how I find out if a film is right for me. You are right about the light, there was very little, this being in a deep, heavily wooded dale, with the Derbyshire Wye at the bottom and various features like this spring on the sides of the limestone dale.

Here's another made on the same roll but at the head of the dale and by then the sun was coming over the hills...



Is that of any more use to you?

RR

Post Script

This was against the light too and has a more full range of zones, made in a HolgAgon.

[Shootar401]

The 3 sheets I've shot of Arista Ortho Litho have been essentially grain free. Even if it's an ortho film I like the look and might be my go-to fine grain film.

[hendrik faure]

Well I've just totted up the "pledges" and we are still a long way short of 30,000 €

The total at this instance is 5,015.51 € based on the listed prices without any value added taxes. We need six times these pledges to reach the threshold...

Could a German speaking member perhaps be kind enough to contact the Company, give them a link to this thread and maybe ask if they would like to promote, via their website, an advance order facility whereby we each order what we want in the clear understanding that these orders would only be fulfilled if the Company has sufficient advance orders to commercially justify the fulfilment?

RR

I will try and ask by phone again.
A problem might be that they are not so interested in new media, see http://www.wephota.de/down/wephota/wepr.pdf
and the german large format forum is nearly dead (might be anachronistic to have national forum)
Hendrik

[Ed Bray]

I love Adox CHS 25 and cannot seem to do much wrong with it, plus it has a great reciprocity characteristics, I mourn its passing although I have managed to squirrel away a few hundred sheets of 5x7.

Last weekend I shot 4 sheets of Adox 25, 3 sheets of HP5+ and 1 sheet of Foma 400, the Adox films are fantastic, the HP5+ less so and the Foma 400 are rubbish.

They were all processed in Pyrocat HDC at 2:2:100, the HP5+ and the Foma 400 were exposed at ISO 250, the Adox at 25.

[Andrew O'Neill]

I'm curious. Since the old Efke 25 was blind to red, has anyone evaluated if perhaps it was simply cleverly repackaged Xray film?

Jim,

Efke 25 was sensitive to red but not as much as most pan films. I doubt that it was repackaged xray film.

[Regular Rod]

I will try and ask by phone again.
A problem might be that they are not so interested in new media, see http://www.wephota.de/down/wephota/wepr.pdf
and the german large format forum is nearly dead (might be anachronistic to have national forum)
Hendrik

Thank you Hendrik!

RR