Plastic film canisters also don’t come with DX code (analog.cafe/r/a-beginners-…), which can cause issues with many point-and-shoot cameras. I’ve only got one roll so far, which came with a DX code sticker (analog.cafe/r/amber-t800-f…) that I was to attach myself.
Whereas some point-and-shoot cameras will default to ISO 100, which can still be OK for certain emulsions rated up to ISO 400 (like Lomochrome Purple, analog.cafe/r/lomography-l…) — others, like Konica Big Mini F (analog.cafe/r/konica-big-m…) default to ISO 25.
35mm film needs canisters, and they’re in short supply.
Kodak and Ilford manufacture and sell classic metal 135 film canisters, so they and brands like CineStill could package and distribute the most common type of camera film.
However, the demand for 35mm film has grown dramatically in the past five years, and the big two are struggling to meet it. Kodak even had to change their canister design at some point to circumvent a supply issue (petapixel.com/2021/06/30/k…).
There’s an alternative 35mm film canister build that has gained recent popularity:
The plastic 135.
It looks nearly identical and works like the metal — but I don’t think it’s as good. The plastic 135 canisters break and malfunction whenever I try to reuse them, which isn’t ideal for bulk loading.
Given their disposable nature and the severe issues with recycling (cbc.ca/documentaries/the-p…), these plastic canisters are just another source of plastic pollution and customer inconvenience that’s better avoided.
I understand the necessity and the convenience of the product. I can see that it’s easy to load the first time, and it’s more accessible than the metal canisters. But I’d always pick a metal can if there’s a choice.
Ilford’s Ultra Large Format order window is now open until June 1.
From 127 HP5+ rolls to 20x24 sheets of FP4, Ilford is now receiving orders for large and unusual film sizes across various retailers.
Ilford (or Harman Photo) is the only company offering this service, which happens once a year. This is the time when you can place an order for your giant or odd film sizes with your local shop (complete list of retailers here: ilfordphoto.com/wp/wp-cont…). Harman will then produce your film and ship it around September.
Ilford notes that there are minimums for all orders and reassures us that they don’t need a huge production quantity to justify cutting the film for us, which is so nice!
Jennifer, the Team Leader for Film & Chemistry at Polaroid, has added a few technical details on Instagram:
1. The new chemistry includes colour stability improvements that ensure that the frames remain black and white, instead of brown and white as they age. Some examples of this effect can be seen in my review of the SX-70 film: analog.cafe/r/polaroid-ban…
2. The ratio of TBHQ (or tertiary butylhydroquinone), a black and white developer that was first talked about at length when Polaroid released their Reclaimed Blue frames (analog.cafe/r/polaroid-rec…) has increased. In turn, this appears to have bumped the micro-contrast/sharpness of the photographs (this answers my question about the new chemistry above).
3. Further tweaks seem to have dramatically improved the overall contrast ratio/extended the dynamic range of film. As you can see in the side-by-side example posted below, the new chemistry (left) shows greater shadow *and* highlight detail. In short, this means it’ll be easier to avoid over- and under-exposing Polaroid film, which is known to be the greatest issue with the emulsion.
All of the above is very good news. I’m glad we’ve got more context about the improvements; looking forward to running my own tests with this film!
Polaroid has just announced improvements to their black and white “600” film chemistry.
The new B&W 600 frames (which now come with the standard white, fancy black, and the novel grey borders) are promised to have “richer detail” and “lighter contrast.”
Since it was founded as Impossible Project (history: analog.cafe/r/a-brief-hist…), Polaroid continuously altered its emulsion, batch by batch.
Polaroid’s ongoing improvements are usually incremental and hard to notice; the most significant one thus far (for colour film) is documented here: analog.cafe/r/polaroid-ori…
Today’s B&W 600 upgrade is meant to be another significant step in bettering the film’s dynamic range, which I estimated earlier to be around 3.5 stops (making it one of the hardest films to expose correctly): analog.cafe/r/polaroid-ban…. Hopefully, the new frames beat that number, which is paramount to creating better images, esp. for new photographers.
I’m also curious to see what they meant by “richer detail” (whether it’s stronger microcontrast on the emulsion level, improvements to the plastic guard, or both). I’ll place an order as soon as my bank account recovers. 😅
P.S.: I’ve contacted Polaroid about upgrades to their SX-70 chemistry and will update this thread as soon as I hear back.
Making CURSED Images | Can You Develop Film In BLOOD?
Yvonne’s side of the project adds serious Halloween vibes in May. This (below) video unveils her experience developing black and white film *for the first time* using the theory and methodology in this project.
While the pig’s blood developer-rinsed photographs were not included in the standard table of agents (above), the results were surprisingly good (?). That is, the roll of HP5+ Yvonne shot was exposed at box speed (EI 400), sometimes under-exposed, and yet, the frames scanned quite well. The negatives weren’t particularly thin, which is already better than most developers in this article. But she won’t say that the process was pleasant.
I’ve reported the issue to my email distribution service provider, which I hope will be resolved in time for the next one. This should not affect your ability to sign in with your email or any other services on Analog.Cafe.
I just sold my XA2 that was in my possession for approximately 38 years. Your review is spot on.
To me it was always a good enough pocketable 35mm film camera, provided that I adhered to the “open the camera and immediately set the focus” rule. My XA2 saw a lot of international travel prior to 2007.
Its replacement is a 70 year old Voigtlander Vito II, which in my opinion has a better optic. I purchased the Vito II in 2019 for my 65th birthday for a pittance and did a D.I.Y CLA. — “Alles ist gut” -
Polaroid has just announced a “new” limited-edition design for their SX-70 colour film.
The packaging is a throwback to the original packaging by Paul Giambarba (1928-2023) that drove so much of the Polaroid aesthetic in its heyday thanks to its genius simplicity, vivid colours, and memorable geometric art.
However, the packs are not a 1:1 reproduction of the earlier masterpiece. They’re a bit of a mix of the old (graphics, including the logotype) and the new (lowercase bubbly “polaroid” font). Unfortunately, the new packs still contain just eight frames instead of the original 10.
(While Polaroid could probably fit ten shots in their new battery-less I-Type film packs, the SX-70 and 600 packs for vintage cameras simply can’t, as the new materials produce slightly thicker frames.)
Back in December 2023, I built an instant film camera out of gingerbread with a lens made of isomalt sugar. The fact that it worked felt miraculous — even though the images were super soft. This invention generated enough interest to get featured on PetaPixel, 35mmc, designboom, CBC News, and many others.
The camera still works today. Despite sitting on a shelf for over four months, it smells delightful, and the construction feels just as strong as it did on day one. And so in honour of Worldwide Pinhole Day and the DIY photography spirit, I decided to dust off the old bread and spend the last remaining frame that I kept there since December.
I was delighted to see that the camera remained light-tight and fully functional. The frame that remained inside all this time did not receive any light leaks. Unfortunately, the up-close photo of a garden flower I took (attached) is intensely soft — much softer than expected — which made me wonder if the isomalt sugar lens has degraded significantly enough to warrant a replacement.
Like many old film cameras, Gingerbread 2 appears capable of outlasting its intended lifespan. But it needs proper maintenance (in this case, it could use some lens polishing and/or replacement).
The blood was seriously dodgy! I tried with rosemary. I extracted the phenols by boiling the rosemary, then let it cool and filtered it, then added a touch of caustic soda and vitamin C. It worked really well for photo paper. Maybe I should try with film too.
We tried almost all the things we could think of to concoct viable film developers (EpiPen, moss, pee, etc.) with our standardized bracketed samples on Ilford HP5+.
Really enjoyed the take in this video (and thank you, Daren, for inviting me to be a part of this experiment!) Very well explained, easy to understand, and lots of fun.
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