Hey, gang. Does anyone here know of a good film that is sensitive to reds but NOT blues? I'm looking for something to really give me those pitch black skies. Hoping if there's a film out there that is like this, I could pair it with a polarizing filter or red 25 filter and really get super crazy dark skies.
Thanks,
JP Garriga
You might try Ilford SFX film, available in 35mm and 120. Its pan film but with extended red sensitivity, so using it with a deep red filter gives you infrared like results without the hassle of handling infrared film.
It's mostly a matter of filter selection with nearly any film. Atmospheric conditions, angle to the sun also play a role in how dark the sky will render. There's also Infrared film, but again it's mostly a matter of filter selection..
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...Black_and.html
Rick Allen
Argentum Aevum
practicing Pastafarian
@djdister
Anything like that for 4x5? That's what I'm looking for specifically. May just have to go for IR film and see if I can't find a filter that'll negate some of the IR effects.
Nope, that doesn't exist.Originally Posted by John Patrick Garriga
Use a panchromatic film with a red filter instead.
To clarify why a red-only sensitive film doesn't exist: it's just not worth it marketing one (obviously). The thing with sensitization is that a silver halide is sensitive to UV some blue light only. This sensitivity can then be extended by adsorbing dyes to the halide. This way, the same halide mix can be sensitized to become green and/or red-sensitive. However, the innate sensitivity to short-wavelength blue light always remains. So to make a film that's only red-sensitive without any blue sensitivity, the only feasible solution is to filter the light hitting the silver halide. A filter can be made part of the emulsion stack of the film itself. This is what happens in color film. For B&W materials, I don't think anyone ever bothered doing the same because of the other simple fix that's available: use a filter elsewhere in the optical path, typically attached to the taking lens.
Rollei INFRARED is available in 4x5.
I don't think Rollei Infrared is the right thing for OP. It appears to be a panchromatic film with extended red/IR sensitivity. So it would still require the usual type of camera filtration to render blue skies dark (ie red filters), and will probably give quasi-wood/IR effects which OP does not want.
Basically the answer is regular film with a strong red filter like say a #29. Adding a polarizer can help. Significant film speed losses, obviously. And of course it really depends on how clear and saturated the blue sky is.
Depending on how blue the sky is/time of day etc., if there is a lot of foliage in the scene sometimes a strong green filter or a #12 yellow is preferable.
SFX is basically Ilford's own IR film, with a VERY similar spectral sensitivity to Rollei IR. Both films can be used the same way with filters, and both will give similar results. But the Rollei product is the only one available in 4x5.
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