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Thread: Techpan, wherefor art thou, Techpan?

  1. #1
    Format Omnivore Brian C. Miller's Avatar
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    Techpan, wherefor art thou, Techpan?

    Ooooohh, give me that Techpan feeling! Never mind muskrat love, its time for Techpan love! (do I date myself by referencing that?) I remember Gene Crumpler waxing his affection for Techpan with 35mm, but man, this is a whole 'nother acid trip! (I promise you, I have not been dropping the PMK. I have not, absolutely not.)

    As you may be able to tell, I have just finished developing some 4x5 Techpan. A friend had some in his freezer since 1984 (expiration date of 1985 on the box). I got two boxes, and one box was opened and one of the packets was missing a few sheets. I used sheets from the opened packet. I whipped out my Graflex Super Graphic, and ran through a few sheets to see what the camera can do.

    Camera can do! I am looking at bicycle spokes in a window two blocks away under a 22x loupe. F8 seems to be a sweet spot, but 5.6, 16, and 32 aren't shabby, either. I can count bricks clearly that I was losing in the grain with Agfa APX 100. Twigs on limbs over 3 blocks away are clear. The film is still good, no blotches, fog, or anything like that. Ohhh, what a feeling!

    Of course, Kodak doesn't care about Techpan like I do. Techpan is dead and abandoned, with a few boxes still available at Freestyle.

    So what do you high-resolution junkies use now? Anybody try the Maco films? Or am I just a lone freak with a Navy surplus camera who has smoked too much Crystal Archive?
    "It's the way to educate your eyes. Stare. Pry, listen, eavesdrop. Die knowing something. You are not here long." - Walker Evans

  2. #2
    おせわに なります! Andrew O'Neill's Avatar
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    Techpan, wherefor art thou, Techpan?

    My film of choice is Hp5+ but when I want more rez, I go to fp4 and for even more rez, to efke 25. None of them are like Techpan, though. I feel your pain.

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    Techpan, wherefor art thou, Techpan?

    I still have tons of TP, but if I was looking for a replacement, I'd use TMX.

    Jay

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    Techpan, wherefor art thou, Techpan?

    Forty years ago in Hollywood, I assisted an old-timer in his studio.

    Once in a while, he would get reminiscing about the old days.

    I still remember his eyes filling up when he described how Kodachrome 25 used to come in sheet film. Oh my, what a thought!

    Don't tell me things didn't used to be better, you young whipper-snapper! ;0)

  5. #5
    Donald Qualls's Avatar
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    Techpan, wherefor art thou, Techpan?

    J&C Photo has Imagelink microfilm in 4x5 format. It's similar speed to Tech Pan, and similar resolution, but lacks the extended red sensitivity (and I've also read it's not amenable to gas hypering, though I can't imagine why). I've used a bit of Imagelink HQ in 16 mm, and it's pretty decent stuff, not at all hard to develop for pictorial contrast. I've used highly dilute HC-110 with reduced agitation, a low-strength coffee developer, and I'm thinking of trying another cassette of it in my latest coffee-ascorbate low contrast developer. Expect speed between ISO 12 and 25.

    Gene has recently spoken well of Gigabitfilm, but Imagelink is a lot cheaper and they have similar resolution and (lack of) grain.
    If a contact print at arm's length is too small to see, you need a bigger camera. :D

  6. #6
    Format Omnivore Brian C. Miller's Avatar
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    Techpan, wherefor art thou, Techpan?

    Thanks, Donald!

    Its Kodak Microfilm. J and C Photography cuts it down and packages it, and it's half the price of Techpan! What's using the Spur Imagelink developer like? Is it just one bottle which is diluted, or is it a combination of chemicals?
    "It's the way to educate your eyes. Stare. Pry, listen, eavesdrop. Die knowing something. You are not here long." - Walker Evans

  7. #7
    Donald Qualls's Avatar
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    Techpan, wherefor art thou, Techpan?

    Can't tell you about the SPUR developers. I've developed Imagelink HQ and Copex Rapid in HC-110 Dilution G and a low-contrast coffee developer I call Caffenol LC; most recently I've done Copex Rapid in an augmented coffee developer I call Caffenol LC+C, with excellent results, but haven't tried this brew on Imagelink. I like the image quality of Imagelink HQ better than Copex Rapid, but for the applications where I've used it (subminiature cameras without tripod and cable release capability) the higher speed of Copex Rapid (EI 50 to 80, depending on developer) makes it more useful.

    Both films produce quite acceptable images in submini formats, capable of 25x enlargement or more if the lens resolution is up to the task -- just imagine what they can do in 4x5! Copex Rapid is sold in sheets as Gigabitfilm, but it's very, very expensive. The J&C Imagelink (repackaged Imagelink HQ in 4x5) is much cheaper and IMO suffers by comparison only in being slower.
    If a contact print at arm's length is too small to see, you need a bigger camera. :D

  8. #8

    Techpan, wherefor art thou, Techpan?

    Check out gigabitfilm. EI of 25 and much finer grain. Availble for 35mm and 4x5. The bad part is there will unlikely be any 120 size. The inventor can not get an investor to produce 120.

    Order from RetroPhotogaph in England. Be prepard to part with a lot of money. I got 50 4x5 sheets and the developer for $160.

    I have a report on my experiences with gigabitfilm if any one is interested.

    Gene "TP" Crumpler

  9. #9

    Techpan, wherefor art thou, Techpan?

    Gigabitfilm is not Copex. but a monodispersive emulsion that will not give a Dmax any higher than 2.2. All copy films will have a dmax of 4 or better.

    Once again gigabitfil is not copy film. I hope some day this rumor will die down.

    Goggle for " Gigabitfim is not a Hoax"

  10. #10
    Format Omnivore Brian C. Miller's Avatar
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    Techpan, wherefor art thou, Techpan?

    The original Carl Zeiss article: Gigabitfilm is not a Hoax!

    Pretty potent stuff there! The article is also on the Gigabitfilm website, but its easy to miss. Personally, I'll take the cheap seats with the Kodak films. I don't have modern Zeiss lenses, so I'm sure that I won't see an improvement with Gigabitfilm vs the other films.

    Right now I'm developing a batch of Tmax 100 with PMK from a trip to east Oregon mining country. I'll see how these print up. First time with it, and I decided to use PMK because I didn't have Xtol any mixed.
    "It's the way to educate your eyes. Stare. Pry, listen, eavesdrop. Die knowing something. You are not here long." - Walker Evans

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