Efke IR820 Aura B&W Infrared & KODAK HIE

[3 Olives]

Actually I have 3 Questions.
1) I'm considering buying some KODAK HIE. Is it worth trying at $20.00 a box if I can find it at that price?
2) Are the photos Efke IR820 Aura B&W Infrared 35mm produces similar to KODAK HIE photos?
3) What would be your choice of 35mm infrared film?
Thanks for your time.
Jeff

 

[gdi]

If you can find recently expired HIE (2/2009 is the last batch) for $20 then buy it. It normally goes for more than twice that. I am sure the Aura is good, I have used a lot of the older Efke in 120 and it's great - but it is very slow. Hie can be hand held you'll need a tripod for Efke.

Go look at Flickr for examples of Aura, but I would pick HIE everytime.

 

[3 Olives]

If you can find recently expired HIE (2/2009 is the last batch) for $20 then buy it. It normally goes for more than twice that. I am sure the Aura is good, I have used a lot of the older Efke in 120 and it's great - but it is very slow. Hie can be hand held you'll need a tripod for Efke.

Go look at Flickr for examples of Aura, but I would pick HIE everytime.

Thanks for the reply. It has to be hand held. I was just hoping to get HIE for $20.00. I guess I'll just have to post a WTB and also keep an eye on the big auction house. I respect the law of supply and demand, but I am also an optimist. 🙂

 

[gdi]

Thanks for the reply. It has to be hand held. I was just hoping to get HIE for $20.00. I guess I'll just have to post a WTB and also keep an eye on the big auction house. I respect the law of supply and demand, but I am also an optimist. 🙂

Just be aware that very old HIE, even if frozen, may be problematic. I have never shot any more than a year out of date, but it wasn't a problem.

Good luck!

 

[Lilserenity]

I have two rolls from 2001 in the freezer, the last roll I shot (same expiry) earlier this year was not too bad at all. Maybe horses for courses?

Either way 2 left then all gone. 🙁

 

[gdi]

I have two rolls from 2001 in the freezer, the last roll I shot (same expiry) earlier this year was not too bad at all. Maybe horses for courses?

Either way 2 left then all gone. 🙁

That's good to know - I haven't used any that far out of date. I would have expected lowered IR response, based on samples I have seen.

 

[charjohncarter]

Questions: no, no, Efke IR 820.

Efke IR 820:

 

[Mephiloco]

I love regular efke IR (non aura), never shot the Aura. It was the first IR film I used since I couldn't get HIE locally, and there were all those scares of it being discontinued. Only bad thing is the need of a tripod but it really didn't bother me.

I ended up stocking up from Calumet and getting like 10 rolls of hie from calumet for something like $11/roll. Think I still have at least 5. I didn't even realize it was discontinued and almost threw away a roll that I only shot 1 frame on just because I needed to load another film in the camera and didn't wanna bother with IR.

Now I guess I'll get some conversion rings and put my r72 on a leica lens.

 

[Mephiloco]

Semi related: Checking ebay often will be helpful. for example

http://cgi.ebay.com/KODAK-HIGH-SPEE...in_0?hash=item33553461c8&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

If I needed HIE I'd get that. $7/shipping kind of sucks, but $17 for a roll of HIE isn't a bad deal

 

[Chris101]

You won't find any $20 HIE. I have shot HIE that was frozen for 20 years and it worked fine. Storage is key, a single year at RT will fog it.

To get the full IR effect with Aura, you will need to use an opaque filter and rate it at ISO 6. I pushed some to 100 and used a red filter, for a final ISO of 25. Here's a hand held example:

Notice how weak the IR effect is, but the light does have the HIE character.

If I could have HIE back, I would probably pay $20 a roll. The $50 I have seen is kinda high.