Basic question about vintage photography ...

[dmr]

I'm sure you folks will know this one ...

Kind of a question and sanity check.

I'm doing a blog article which features some photos shot at an international exposition in 1898. These were shot with (I assume) a view camera on Eastman Dry Plates.

I can't seem to find any reference to approximate film speed of said plates. I know that DIN/ASA/ISO were not even a twinkle in their parents' eyes back then, but I would think there would be some way to tell about what speed these were.

All I can seem to find is a fleeting reference to 1/5 second at f/22, which I assume is outdoors and looks like more or less a "sunny 16" for ASA 10. I also assume these were ortho.

Anyone have any thoughts about this?

Thanks as usual. 🙂

 

[mfogiel]

1/5th of a second at f22 in the sun is equivalent to an ISO of 10, however, I am sure some guys dedicated to LF alternative techniques will be able to add some more useful information.

 

[Muggins]

I suspect that Roger may be your man for a definitive answer on this.

IIRC the earliest speed scale was Hurter and Driffield's (in fact, I think RH told me that), so you may be able to find something looking for them.

If I get a chance I have a Kodak "How to make good pictures" book that looks to date to circa 1910, and I'll see if that mentions speeds in any way shape or form, but in the absence of better evidence I would think assuming speeds in the range of 1-10 ASA is probably near enough for jazz.

Adrian

 

[David Hughes]

Hi,

About 1900 you could get really fast, if not the fastest, B&W plates rated at 650 H&D or about 20 ASA/ISO. That had increased to about 30 ASA/ISO by the mid 20's.

Kodachrome was 10 ASA/ISO by the mid 30's when it was first sold. Dufaycolor was a dreadful 4 ASA/ISO.

All figures taken from a chart in the Focal Press's "Story of Photography" by Michael Langford, 2nd Edition.

Regards, David

 

[sevo]

About 1900 you could get really fast, if not the fastest, B&W plates rated at 650 H&D or about 20 ASA/ISO. That had increased to about 30 ASA/ISO by the mid 20's.

That sounds way too fast. In 1918, the then fastest plates in Germany (Schleussner Rotetikett) were rated 19° Scheiner (ASA/ISO 6), the competition did not make it past 17° - twenty years earlier, sensitivities must have been lower.

 

[dmr]

Thanks all.

An individual on "another network" responded that they were definitely ortho and not "ordinary" and roughly ASA/ISO 8.

Amazing that those were "fast" at the time! 🙂

I'd also include Tanenbaum's "Wonderful Thing About Standards" quote in here too. 🙂

 

[Muggins]

Glad you found something as my book only has statements such as your 1/5th at f22 - and many of the figures given are for the US system of aperture values, just to add complication.

Adrian