Happy New Year from the Ag+ Process Blog.
The year 2021 was a busy one for for analog photography. From new reusable cameras to new pinhole cameras to new LF cameras, new films launched and more.
Here is to a happy and prosperous New Year to all! Shoot film, be nice!
A slightly modified version posted to Twitter:
On the ninth day of Christmas,
my Emulsive Santa gave to me,
Nine rolls of Delta 3200,
Eight rolls of Ortho Plus,
Seven rolls of SFX,
Six rolls of Delta 400,
FIVE ROLLS of HP5,
Four rolls of FP4,
Three rolls of Delta 100,
Two rolls of XP2,
And a bulk roll of PanF in a pear tree.
Seasons Greetings and a Merry Christmas to all!
Wishing all a prosperous and healthy New Year!
Chroma Camera, maker of the Chroma Carbon and Snapshot 4x5 cameras, has added a fourth camera to the stable: the 135 Cube pinhole camera. This camera offers a lightweight (156g) compact camera that can be picked up and carried easily at all times. It features an 0.2 mm pinhole, about f/150, on a 24x24 frame.
This is about 3.2 stops more than f/16, so sunny 16 would indicate a shutter speed of 9.4x slower than the desired film speed, e.g. about 1/40th of second for ISO 400 in broad daylight. The shutter is a magnetic shutter plate that slides, perhaps the thing sticking out on the right in the product photo. There is a nub visible in the product photo the left side of the camera.
The camera does come with a tripod socket and a level built-in. The winding mechanism is a sprocket counter mechanism, that allows lining up the frames by a marker.
Click here to buy from Chroma, and read more at Kosmo Foto.
Wait, wait! This is for all formats of film! Large Format Friday has a piece on DIY film development vs. sending film to the lab. He prices out the rough cost of developing film and uses a simple metric to figure out how many rolls of film to the breakeven point of DIY vs. the lab. If you shoot more film than the breakeven point, DIY savings are in the bank!
Of course, if you want to develop and print your own film for the full, immersive experience, that is a valid choice as well. This is simply an exercise of figuring out the costs for those that want to save a buck.
View on for more details:
If you are hungering for 220 format B&W film, fresh stock is coming from Shanghai Shenbei. There have been complaints about emulsion quality in the past, so exercise caution before stocking up. There should be no backing paper problems though, 220 only has paper at the ends. It is said that the factory in China has changed hands and is being advised by an established producer of film.
Shanghai GP3 in 220 format was reported on Pentax Forums by the user, Diskonnect.
The Talk Photography forum previously reported that Nik & Trik in the UK has a supply of Shanghai GP3 film in 220 format. At time of writing, £9.69 Inc. vat a roll. Not bad for double the length of 120. Also available in 120, 127, 620 and 35mm formats, and in sheet film up to 20x24.
Also available at the official GP3 store.
Here is a video on the Sunny 16 rule and its variants, with some practical examples from a shoot with Henry J. Keith. Check it out, well worth the time.
It is possible to even get good results shooting slide film just using Sunny 16. Between the hour after sunrise to the hour before sunset, it holds well. Once you are used to it, an all manual camera can be operated outside without a meter no problem.
Mike Padua interviews Stephen Dowling of Kosmo Foto on the Bringing a Film to Life. Stephen reveals the motivation to bringing a rebranded ISO 100 film to market and how that came about. A short twelve minutes on just how this happened:
Ribsy is a photographer from England, with a demonstration of printing with the RA4 colour print process. He uses a drum that he rolls with his hands, so no great expense in machinery and it works for him.
Check it out!
The blog, That Photie Place, has an article on changing brands, recommended by Lomography. An interesting take, can you have two? Or only be dedicated to one? Camera brands, that is.
Read on for one take on the age old dilemma.
KosmoFoto reports that ORWO will release a new colour film next year. The R&D has been going on for the past couple of years. ORWO already supplies Lomography with a range of colour films under the Kino label.
Read on for the details and more!
Bloomberg produced this QuickTake on the rise and fall.. and rise again of Kodak, dated Nov. 18, 2020.
The piece outlines what Kodak knew from the 1970s - that digital cameras were going to take over - and the culture that prevented acting on that knowledge. Well worth the 15 minute whirlwind take on the iconic company.
Kosmo Foto reports that a Zoom meeting held by the Reflex SLR project earlier this week signals the end for the project. Unless new investment to produce a shutter mechanism and finish the prototype camera can be found, it is over.
Founder Laurence Von Thomas will not be asking the over 400 backers of the project for more money.
Read more at Reflex SLR project ‘on hold’ after three years of troubled development (KosmoFoto).
Vivian Maier was an unknown photographer in the 1950s whose work was not discovered until a decade or so ago. The Photographic Eye suggests that posting for likes is not what makes a photographer.
See more on Vivian Maier: vivianmaier.com.
Photographer, Tom Humble, did a comparison of three film stocks and an evaluation of lab scans vs. home scans, to find out the best combination and price point for him. Less than 18 minutes to the conclusion, with pictures to compare for yourself, and why. The conclusion may be surprising!
Japan Camera Hunter, Bellamy, wrote a piece on the new film released on Kickstarter by Kosmo Foto: Agent Shadow 400. Kosmo Foto has experience selling their Mono film worldwide since November 2017.
Last month, Cinestill announced bwXX film in 120 format. This film is similar to the Kodak Double X 5222 cinema film for 35mm, but in medium format, opening the door for medium format shooters to get that cinematic black & white look.
Even earlier last month, Dubblefilm released the third reloadable camera, the turquiose camera. This is a fresh look for the hot summer, with a pink cover, lilac strap and turquoise Show reloadable camera.
Back to this week, Japan Camera Hunter has JCH Streetpan 400 film in 120 format on sale! Up to $20 off for the 10 pack, $10 off the 5 pack with or without case and and $6 off the 3 pack. That is $2 off a roll!
Finally, ending on one direct from Polaroid, not JCH, an interview with Quinn Wilson who creates with the dimunitive, recently released Polaroid Go camera. An instant camera that is easy to carry and have with you at all times.
Enjoy your week!
Kosmo Foto Agent Shadow 400 Kickstarter:
The Ilford ULF Ordering Window 2021 is now open. This event, which happens only once per year for the past 16 years, allows large format photographers to order Ilford product in the unusual and hard to get film sizes. See the link for specific sizes available, ordering details and other information. Restrictions may apply.
Today is World Pinhole Photography Day for 2021! Snap your pinhole photos today and upload to http://pinholeday.org/.
You have until June 30th, 2021 to upload your photos, but the photos must be taken today.
There are many options, from a shoe box to a pinhole lens, such as the Thingify Pro S lens and anything in between. It is even possible to make your own pinhole lens with a modified body cap or lens board on a camera and a piece of foil.
Enjoy!
Lina takes us through the easy five step process to create slides from B&W film with the Adox Scala process. The kit contains no restricted chemistry, so it can be shipped anywhere in the world. There are only two liquid concentrates required for processing, the developer and bleach, plus a clearing bath shipped in powder form.
The extra two steps over regular B&W processing are exposing the film to light and the second development. Simple.
Lina uses 35mm film for this video. The Adox Scala 35mm film is made on a clear base, with lots of silver content, for great results. Keep in mind that many large format and roll films (120 format) are often made on a clear base. Check the technical data for your chosen film.
Order a kit worldwide from Fotoimpex. A detailed video on the process is available from Adox Scala. Product details are on the Adox website.
Lets let Lina take it away!
Mike Lane reviews the Benbo tripod, still available today, and the Uniloc tripod. The Benbo tripod is made in England, and features a unique locking mechanism that locks not only the legs of the tripod, but also the center column. The center column can extended or retracted to its full length, and positioned at any angle. This lets the photographer position the camera just about anywhere the tripod can reach, including level to the ground. Let Mike take it away in this short video:
Hamish Gill of the 35mmc blog, has announced briefly in an interview with Analogue Wonderland that he will be partnering with Chris at Skyllaney Opto-Mechanics to produce a new series of lenses for Leica cameras under the Omnar Lenses brand. The initial lens made by Hamish will be made from salvaged compact camera lenses (what else would they be made from?). Eventually, a lens with manufactured elements is planned.
Watch:
Analogue Wonderland, a magical source of all things film photography related in the UK, has an interview with Jon Mided of the DigitalTruth Massive Dev Chart posted. Every B&W photographer who develops film themselves should be well acquainted with this Chart.
Apps are available for iOS and Android with the Chart builtin, along with a timer that offers temperature compensation and the ability to store previous film and developer combinations.
The interview is worth the read, and the Massive Dev Chart should be a tool in every darkroom practitioner's kit.
Steve Sherman of Power of Process Workshops, gives an overview of Extreme Minimal Agitation and how it releates to stand and semi-stand development. He believes that the technique of EMA development produces controlled, superior results.
Suffice to say, diluted developer and long development times with specific steps for agitation yield negatives with controlled highlights and detailed shadow areas.
Another technique to have in the arsenal for B&W development.
One man asks "Why shoot film in 2021?" and then gives some reasons. I'm sure anyone can come up with rationalizations for why they do something. Doesn't mean the reasons are wrong, though.
The number one reason to shoot film is that it is fun, magical and what you want to do.
NSFW language or if you have senstivity to certain language. He bleeps out some of his commentary.
Wishing you a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year in 2021, from Ag+ Process!
To start off on the right foot, Kodak dropped hints on the SilvergrainClassics podcast that potentially two new emulsions will be released this year. As the vaccines roll out, the economic recovery and the return to some level of normalcy should open up film production again. Hopefully, silver halide photography will have a bumper year!
Read more at Kosmofoto in the article, Kodak Alaris Planning Two Film Releases in 2021.
The YouTube video of the podcast is in the Kosmofoto article, or see below: