New IR film from Freestyle / Efke

[DrPablo]

Freestyle Photo is now selling an 820 nm infrared film from Efke. Right now they only have 135 and 120 (and I have 5 rolls of the 120 on order), but they will have it in 4x5 and 8x10 in about 5 weeks. They say it is identical to the previous Maco 820 nm film.

Efke is also making one without the antihalation layer called 820c Aura, but it's not clear whether that one will be sold through Freestyle.

I like that Rollei IR film, but it cuts out at 740 nm or so, and this Efke one will be a different story. It will also be neat (and incredibly expensive) in 8x10.

[Brian C. Miller]

Has anybody used Efke/Maco/Whatever recently?

When the Maco IR film first came out, I tried some rolls in 120. The one thing that really stood out about the film was that the emulsion did not like being wet. I had to keep the total wet time under something like 20 minutes, or else the emulsion would turn "foggy" from swelling.

Has anybody had a similar experience with the film, and/or has the issue been resolved?

[Ralph Barker]

Thanks for the post, Paul. That's good news, as I liked the Maco 820c film.

Brian - I never experienced the emulsion separation problem you describe, but my usage wasn't recent, nor extensive.

[alec4444]

That is good news about the Efke IR film. Efke has been really good about keeping a lot of sheet film sizes available...I wonder if they'll expand their IR beyond 8x10.

I get the feeling (can anyone confirm this?) that Efke is doing well as a company, perhaps even gaining market share and growing. Thrilled to hear they're making new stuff.

--A

[Rob_5419]

Freestyle Photo is now selling an 820 nm infrared film from Efke. Right now they only have 135 and 120 (and I have 5 rolls of the 120 on order), but they will have it in 4x5 and 8x10 in about 5 weeks. They say it is identical to the previous Maco 820 nm film.

Efke is also making one without the antihalation layer called 820c Aura, but it's not clear whether that one will be sold through Freestyle.

I like that Rollei IR film, but it cuts out at 740 nm or so, and this Efke one will be a different story. It will also be neat (and incredibly expensive) in 8x10.

It is Maco 820nm rebranded - no new film technology in its production . The name changes and relationship between Efke-Maco-Rollei are becoming confounding, now that Maco's own IR film excludes the current offering from Efke which it used to produce, and now only produces a grainier 850nm IR film. Maybe the softness of the emulsion makes it more fitting for Efke's stable

The 820c or aura emulsion is beautiful - a little grainy for ISO100 and needs a proper IR filter (715nm+) for a true IR effect. With development, there is a risk of emulsion lift, particularly in sheets. This is posted widely on Maco IR stuff, although I don't believe it is any different from the Efke scratch scratch problems that users post.

At the end of the day, it requires a bit more care in processing - used in a deep tank processor, it is fantastic.

[Terence McDonagh]

My understanding is that the old Maco 820 was made by Efke to Maco's specs.

Maco/Rollei's current IR film is Agfa-Gaevert aerial film with no changes. Maco does not, nor did it ever, actually make anything, to my knowledge. They're just a middle-man/rebrander. Mitsubishi recently made a B&W film for them as well.

[al olson]

I'm looking forward to hearing more about this film. I have used MACO in the past ... about 4 or 5 years ago. At that time their WEB site showed a sensitivity curve for this film that had approximately the same level of sensitivity in the IR region as in the visible region and with a sharp drop-off at 820nm.

However, using a Wratten A (#25) the results were scarcely different from, say, Tri-X. It also seemed to drop off sharply around 700nm. The Wood effect was not apparent at all!

I discovered later that these sensitivity curves were erroneous and that, in fact, it is necessary to use a stronger IR filter such as an R72 that blocks most of the visible light. But this filter also requires a severe cut in the IE down to the 3-6 range because of the film's extremely low sensitivity in the IR region.

I am not sure what it will mean for the Efke IR to be like the MACO 820??? Don't Rollei and MACO IRs using the same coatings? I would hope to see an IR film that has much higher sensitivity out to 820nm.

I am still hoarding about 20 sheets of Kodak HSI and have an unused box of MACO 820 in my freezer. I hope that there are some members of this forum who will be testing the Efke film and who will offer their opinions and show us their results. It would be wonderful if the IE is improved for IR.

[Rob_5419]

I guess so. You'd think the film would be cheaper now that they cut out the middle man then? Maybe not.... ;(

[DrPablo]

At $10 per roll in 120 right now, it will be a tough pill to swallow if they're selling 25 sheet boxes of 8x10.

[Robert Hall]

I think that one of the major differences with the spectrum sensitivity of the film is due to the infrared dye being coated on a panchromatic film base. (I'm pretty sure it was their 100 ASA film base)

It is the same film that Maco sold as Maco 820c and has the same slow response.

I have 12x20 ir cut from the older stock and I rate it at 1/2 ASA with an 89b filter which is at about 695nm.

An example of a print can be seen in issue 2 of Emulsion (www.emulsionmagazine.org) in my article on IR films and printing with the platinum process.

I have about 8 sheets of the 1220 left and plan on using it up on my next trip at the end of the month.

I paid an arm and a leg (at the time) for th film, with shipping about $20US a sheet. I would probably buy a few more boxes of it if it were at the same price.

As with many of Efke's films, the emulsion is soft and they have a few quirks on quality, but for the most part, it does a fair job.

Oh, and Paul, the last box of 8x10 I bought of this stuff was $200 for a box of 8x10 25 sheets.