Gigabitfilm any user?

[Julio Fernandez]

Armin: most interesting but you take a lot for granted: Who makes it? who sells it? what ASA rating?, what format sizes? excuse my ignorance. Thanks

[John Hicks]

I really doubt we'll ever see Gigabit film here in the US. That Gigabit can't ev en get around to translating the web site into English makes me feel that it'll be a hard-to-find niche product. Not that I'm so etnocentric, but imho the Engli sh-speaking market constitues a rather large market for the product.

Erwin Puts tested it (reports in the Leica Users Group archive somewhere) and liked it; he reported that the film is actually Agfa Copex microfilm, to be deve loped in Gigabit's special developer. I'll bet the developer is pota or very sim ilar.

This appears to be a repeat of H&W Control Ultra film (another Agfa microfilm) and H&W developer. I think it was somewhat better than the current Tech Pan and its appropriate developers but it was hard to find in the US.

[shaman]

Interesting info - thanks Arnim (by the way, the proper tranlation of the German word "Objektiv" is "lens"). The question is, whether our aesthetic vision is limited by the grain of our current emulsions. I use mostly Hasselblad, and I can detect image details in the negs (under the microscope) that remain invisible in prints, even when enlarging to 20x20 inches (i.e. about 10fold). Beyond that, I feel I am seriously limited by my enlarger and dark room techniques.

From time to time I get the urge to move to large format, but not because I need less grain, but because of the advantage of having lens movements.

While we are at it: My impression is that a "touch of grain" actually helps with sharpness. I believe it is an optical illusion, nevertheless, if you have areas in the photo which are slightly out of focus, I find these look a bit sharper if there is a hint of nice, tightly packed grain structure. But it depends on the photo of course.

[Dave Anton]

Armin, here is a website with some tests done with gigabit film (also compared to TMAX100 and Tech Pan) http://www.smu.edu/~rmonagha/mf/film.html

[Dave Anton]

...sorry, i forgot to mention, you have to scroll down and click on "Gigabit high resolution film and lenses study", its near the top.

[montespluga]

hallo Armin

yes, I do use the Technical-pan for shots of white architecture modells - mostly very difficult and critical shots. Im my opinion and after my tests, its the b est !! A 6/9Tpan has a better definition and is sharper than other 4/5-b/w-films !! You can enlarge a 4/5 neg until 100/140 cm-print without any grain. And you can pull this film too. But I'll add to that the developement shoud be done with the Technidol, and its a bit tricky, as the 120 more than the 4/5- emulsion reacts very fast to unequal developing. Theirefore I'm doing it in the JoBo-drums. And watch out of the water quality, never touch the wet film

regards, Michael

[montespluga]

I'm refering to my todays response, and I'll add that I did not test the Gigabit film (I've been reading a bit fast, und supposed that "gigabitfilm" would be a expression fot these types of films.) Anyway after reading it all, if the Giga bitfilm would been easier in the dvelopement, that could be a reason, instaed of Tpan.

[Gene Crumpler]

I've shoot 35mm Copex developed in Technidol. It is indeed sharp and high contrast and slow. As I recall the EI was 3.