extended red sensitivity panchromatic b/w

[Carsten Wolff]

Hi all,
I have a little project coming up, photographing an ironworks and the process of iron casting. (I remember trying to photograph an old steel-forge when I was a teenager and the furnace came out black. I think I was using something slow, like PanF, APX25, or something like that; a bad choice whatever it was). So, I want to go for something panchromatic with extended red sensitivity. Formats include 120 (6x17) and 4x5", or (preferably) 5x7". Any particular film/developer combination suggestions? I want to be able to differentiate as much detail as possible. Was thinking of Superpan 200 for the 6x17 MF stuff, but am unsure about suitable LF films around. Got heaps of FP4+ and Fomapan 200 on tap, but am happy to buy a box of whatever. My go-to developers are normally D-76/ID-11, Rodinal, HC-110 and PMK Pyro. Zone System user generally (tricky with reds though, I guess). Thanks.

[Michael Graves]

There's a fellow on YouTube that calls himself "The Naked Photographer" who has done a whole series of videos comparing different films. One of the things he points out is color sensitivity of film.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IW4B-U5vb0 is a video about Ilford FP4 vs. Tri-X. Don't worry. He's not really naked. He lies about that part. But the videos are great!

[Corran]

You can check the spectral sensitivity from the film's data sheet.

But there's also the Ilford SFX and Rollei 400 IR films that are near-IR or in other words, extended-red, so maybe that?

[Drew Bedo]

I thought that T-Max had extended red sensitivity . . . .not enough?

What about infrared film?

Another option might be to expose with color film, then scan into the digital world and de-saturate the image to VB/W.

[Mark Crabtree]

I'm not entirely sure what you mean by "the furnace came out black". Black in the prints? The inside of the furnace wouldn't make sense, so I assume you are talking about the less lit areas and I don't see how extended red would do anything but make that worse.

As far as extended red film goes, aerial is the classic. I cut old aerial PX and XX to all the sizes you mention, but don't know if this is a practical suggestion for you. HP5 aero is the only one I know of that isn't extended red.

[lassethomas]

Rollei RPX25 extends pretty far out towards infrared.

I posted some examples in this thread (https://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?159802-Rollei-RPX25-extended-red-sensitivity-example)

[Drew Wiley]

Tech Pan was extended red, now no longer made but sometimes still found in sheets. Near-infrared films are a different category, and tend to come out looking more like true infrared films. Either way, a deep red 29 filter is all you really need for sake of cutoff. If I recall correctly, the early version of TMax was slightly red extended, not the current one, which is actually a little more sensitive to green than most pan films. But I don't understand what any of this has to do with your intended application.

[padre yak]

Carsten, I have been experimenting with Rollei 400 infrared (4x5 sheets). Rollei calls it hyperpanchromatic on their data sheet. I can't say if it will do what you want, but I have been shooting with an R72 filter and developing it in Rodinal. It is a little awkward to handle; it's very thin. But if you want a broader spectrum of reds, it might get you what you want. Someone smarter than me (that's just about everyone) can probably give better information. Good luck.

[Jody_S]

Experiment. Some years ago I was shooting Konica imagesetter IR film I bought in 12in x 100ft rolls, I worked it out to about 0.3 ISO, so a typical shot in the woods was f8 and 5-10 minutes. I went out shooting one day, metered as usual with a Pentax spotmeter shooting through my IR filter (760 nm IIRC), came home and developed my shots, and discovered that one of my film holders was loaded with Ilford something-or-other. But the end result was an infrared shot, perfectly exposed.

Or I suppose you could look up all the different films' data sheets.

[Drew Wiley]

I simply used a 29Red with 120 Konica IR, metered without the filter for either ASA 12 or 25 (can't remember), then applied the filter factor, so exposures were typically around half a second, and I still got that ghostly IR look. There is still a roll of it in my freezer, utterly useless by now of course, but there for sake of nostalgia.

[Mark Sampson]

What exactly are you trying to achieve? More separation in the glowing fire? But metalworking shops tend to be dark (if dramatic) and you're going to need a fast film. And some fill light too, if my own experience is worth anything. I did an extended project in a friend's forge shop c.1984, when my best/only option was pushed 35mm Tri-X and a Vivitar 283 flash. Never thought of IR film then, and had never heard of "extended-red" sensitivity either.

[Mike_E]

Just for kicks you might try a sheet of c-41 in Rodinal to see if you can catch some of the red in addition to a B&W outcome.

[Carsten Wolff]

What exactly are you trying to achieve? More separation in the glowing fire? But metalworking shops tend to be dark (if dramatic) and you're going to need a fast film. And some fill light too, if my own experience is worth anything. I did an extended project in a friend's forge shop c.1984, when my best/only option was pushed 35mm Tri-X and a Vivitar 283 flash. Never thought of IR film then, and had never heard of "extended-red" sensitivity either.

Thank you very much, Mark and others. The reason I asked on here was, because its an 800-k / 500-mile drive (well, I'll be up there anyway) and I won't have the luxury to re-shoot, or experiment) and I wanted real world info. Last time (c .1982) I tried something similar (on 35mm film), the inside of an orange glowing furnace came out as pure black, and I've photographed almost anything but, since, - hence this "once bitten..." post. So, yes, anyway.... I'll try to make extra light for the ambient parts and think that Superpan and TX320 in slow Rodinal will get me there.