new55 kickstarter has begun

[HMG]

I would hope that one of the three film manufacturers they've worked with would provide technical support at no cost and film at cost (initially). A rising tide lifts all boats.

[feppe]

From what I read it all boils down to cash. They need a big cash infusion by the end of the year or the project may not be able to continue. The current sale of product is enough to keep them afloat for now, but not to pay off their current bills. And new bills will come up next year. It also seems to effect the supply chain. They do not say so but I suspect that new components must be paid for as they are received, not on a revolving credit arrangement.

That is how I read it. Not very encouraging but still hoping it all works out.

The only ways to encourage and fix things is to buy the things, and spread the word.

I'm hoping to get my first batch before my studio shoot in three weeks.

[AuditorOne]

Yes. Buying is always good. I buy when the budget allows but the film is very expensive. So far I have developed a small stock. I had actually considered using the film for an upcoming project, but unless I get a backer I may not be able to afford to do it.

For my part, I am rather curious on how people see themselves using this film. There are not many examples available on line to see what is happening. Will the film be used as a stand alone material or will it be used to supplement other capture methods using much larger formats? If you are using it regularly has it worked out the way you thought?

[Kodachrome25]

A friend of mine who is an excellent portrait photographer contributed like I did to the Kickstarter awhile back. While waiting for her reward she went ahead and bought some of the for sale batch currently offered, 10 packets. Now...she loves to use instant film and does gorgeous work with it but is fine with small contact prints too since that is what the 4x5 "Roid" basically amounts to anyway if one discounts the negative.

Well....we decided to do a little experiment yesterday in comparing workflows, did it both in the studio and outside of the horse stables. I brought over a motor base and expert drum and we also shot some HP5. Even with poring over every little detail in getting the most out of the 55, we were pretty taken aback by just how hard it was to arrive at a clean neg / print from the 55 packets. Our first couple of packets saw blotchy prints and negs and all 5 we tried had a big chunk of emulsion that had corrupted in the top portion of both the print and negative.

Now...this is not a slam on New 55, and we are both very patient & technically proficient photographers...but man, even if the goal is an intimate 4x5 sized print we found it to be exponentially easier to arrive at that via using a good film and then contact printing it rather than go through the ***very*** expensive hoop jumping process of dealing with the instant film and print sandwich.

So given how tight these poor folks are on cash, how tough the product is to produce actual pro level work with and lord knows the price...well we wish them the best but wonder how this will all actually pan out. Neither my friend or I have a problem in paying top dollar for good consistent quality materials in order to arrive at a professional level repeatable result. But even at half the price being sold at now, this is just far too experimental to be buying into at this stage.

Hopefully they emerge victorious, I know some folks are counting on it.

[Paul Cunningham]

Hurray, my reward film has arrived! The product continues to iterate, this is from a revised batch that processes for 4 minutes instead of the original 6 minutes. I'll be shooting some soon.

[feppe]

My KS package arrived! Just in time as I have a studio shoot next weekend.

I'll try out something all the cool kids are doing: unboxing. And since I like to live on the edge, I'll do it live.

I recently signed up on Twitch Creative, so you can check it out at http://www.twitch.tv/harrytorque/ on Sunday at 10am CET / 4am EST. There's a chat option and I'll be on mic, so you can ask questions live.

If it works out I'll put it up on Youtube afterwards for those who can't join the live feed.

[Jim Cole]

Not the best of luck so far. First packet blew developer all over inside my 545 holder. After I cleaned that up, the second one came apart when I pulled the sleeve out to make the photo. Third was a repeat of the second. Three up, three down and no photo yet. I put the new55 away till another day to see what the heck I was doing wrong.

I have used this holder in the past with Polaroid film and never had an issue. I cleaned the rollers in prep for first use with the new55. Maybe I'm just having a bad day. Was breaking in the new Travelwide camera today as well.

Edit: Just thought of something. The new55 packets seemed awful puffy. I live at 7000 ft. Maybe the altitude change has something to do with it.

[adelorenzo]

New55 portraits of Johnny Depp and Sharon Stone just made an appearance in the LA Times.

https://mobile.twitter.com/jaylclend...02005834895361

[Alan9940]

Hello Jim,

I don't think altitude has anything to do with any of the issues you observed. I live in the Phoenix area and have shot several boxes of New55, including my Kickstarter box, and have yet to get what I'd call a decent negative; positives weren't even close. I've had all the same issues you report as well as others. I have been in constant contact with the New55 team providing feedback, but at this point I've decided to take a "wait-n-see" attitude. I'd really, REALLY like to see this product be successful, but I can't personally shoot it for any serious work because I can't trust it. I know others have had great success with this film...I'm just not one of 'em.

Kind regards,
Alan

[Jim Cole]

Hello Jim,

I don't think altitude has anything to do with any of the issues you observed. I live in the Phoenix area and have shot 3 boxes of New55, including my Kickstarter box, and have yet to get what I'd call a decent negative; positives weren't even close. I've had all the same issues you report as well as others. I have been in constant contact with the New55 team providing feedback, but at this point I've decided to take a "wait-n-see" attitude. I'd really, REALLY like to see this product be successful, but I can't personally shot it for any serious work because I can't trust it. I know others have had great success with this film...I'm just not one of 'em.

Kind regards,
Alan

Alan,

Thanks for your comments. Glad I'm not the only one with issues. I was feeling pretty incompetent. As soon as I loaded my first packet and saw developer all over the place, I knew there were gonna be problems. I have 7 sheets left and when I'm ready for some more frustration and messy cleanups, I'll give it a shot again.

So your packets feel rather puffy before you load them, too? I thought maybe the decreased atmospheric pressure here in Flag had caused the sealed packets to expand more than normal causing them to blow apart when inserted into the holder.