Hello everyone,
I would like information on the so-called "portrait" films, I have a lot of films from Forte and Orwo
the Forte are Portraitpan 100 and the Orwo are NP20 but with the Portrait or Porträt mention
I understand that they were films that had a layer for retouching after development and it is quite curious, they look like a piece of tracing paper !
Anyone used to use theses films by the past and what for ?
I can't find many info on the net
FORTE PAN 100
This emulsion is designed for general-purpose
photography, in which the
lighting is reasonably bright. Forte Pan
KX) is a fine-grain emulsion that is sensitized
so that its spectral sensitivity to
sunlight and tungsten light is almost the
same. This will ensure the tonal values
of a given color will record the same in
both types of lighting conditions. Forte
Pan 100 has the best contrast range,
from highlight to shadow, of the four
films in this review. We found it to be
ideal for landscapes, macrophotography,
portraits, and any subject where
we could control the scene.
The latitude of this film, under normal
processing conditions, wil l produce
detail in subjects from two stops
under to three stops over the metered
brightness, allowin g it to record a
scenic brightness range of five stops.
Using pull-processing techniques (reduced
developing time), we found we
could add another three stops to this
range, bringing the total brightnessrange
coverage to eight stops. The
film can also be pushed one stop with
extended development. GMl Photographic
offers this emulsion in both
35mm and I 20 formats. Forte Pan
100 can be processed in most black-
86 PHOTographc/June 1992
and-white developers, from 60-100°
F, if necessary.
FORTE PORTRAIT PAN 100
100 is specifically designed for the portrait
photographer. (as you noted) The main difference
between the portrait film and standard
Forte Pan 100 is the film coating. Both
the base and the emulsion sides of Portrait
Pan have a matte retouching surface,
so portraits taken with this film
can easily be retouched. The resolution
drops very slightly, compared to the
standard KK) film, due to the added retouching
surfaces.
The latitude of this film is at least
one stop greater than that of Forte Pan.
Forte Pan 100
putting it at about two stops under and
four stops over. The film can be pushed
a stop, and three stops of scenic brightness
range can be added through pullprocessing.
Forte Portrait Pan 100
comes in 120 format only, and can be
processed from 68-100°F.
I'm not able to explain it well, but I find that eastern block photography had a particular aesthetic subculture that's worth to expore. Films and lenses had particular footprints that artists exploited as they could. Much was copied from prewar german gear, they transported the older Zeiss to Ucrania, and Leica copies were made since before WWII. It is interesting to see how what visual culture evolved in that environment.
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