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Rider
10-Jun-2006, 20:57
FujiFilm FP-3000B seems to be the only B&W instant pack film for 4x5.

Given its 3000 speed, what is this used for? Can the speed be varied at all?

Donald Qualls
11-Jun-2006, 14:12
You may be correct, though I thought either FP-400B or FP-100B was available in that format, also.

The big thing FP-3000B is good for, IMO, is mounting the 550 on the back of a camera like a Speed Graphic and doing street, bar, etc. photography with instant results at much lower cost per image than with a 545 and Type 57 -- pretty much the same things you'd do with a Polaroid 180 and Type 667. However, it could also be useful with the same camera's 1/1000 shutter for action photography, if you have an application where a reusable negative isn't a big deal. You could do on-the-spot portraits with it, delivering a product in about a minute without the annoyance factors of carrying around a computer and printer for a digital, in a larger print size than Type 667 (the image is actually about 50% larger than the Type 667 print).

I've also seen Type 667 used in high school and college physics classes, with an off-camera repeating stobe, to record motion, and with the right lens setup it can do a fair job recording oscilloscope traces (not as good as the dedicated films Polaroid used to sell, but better than anything else now available with instant results); both of these would be good applications for FP-3000B with a suitable camera.

I'm afraid the speed can't be varied, and like other instant films, there's only about as much latitude as you'd get with slides, plus the reduced dynamic range relative to B&W negatives.

Rider
12-Jun-2006, 04:36
So it looks the only real option for general purpose B&W pack film is in the smaller medium format size.

Gordon Moat
12-Jun-2006, 12:37
So it looks the only real option for general purpose B&W pack film is in the smaller medium format size.

Yes. The type 405 style holder gives you more choices. However, it is 78mm by 106mm, so not 4x5 dimensions, though larger than 6x9 medium format. Another benefit is that it costs less.

Ciao!

Gordon Moat