Exposing Eastman (Double-X) 5222 in the Leica

[Tom A]

As Leo says, the XX (Kodak 5222) and the Plus X does not have remblack backing. I suspect that most of the colorneg stock has it though.
Some of the older bl/w did come with it - Du Ponts Superia did have it. I picked up a can of it a couple of years ago - it was 40 yeras out of date and I did shoot a couple of rolls and went to the effort of removing the remblack. It was not worth the trouble - a/the film was old enough to have lost about 3 stops of speed (asa 12!) and that damnd remblack will dry and coat everything with a fine black dust! Gave it to a friend instead (he is a professional movie "processor" and has a better facility for removing the stuff and he likes odd old films too).
Even after a year and frequent scrubbing I keep running into patches of the stuff in my darkroom!!!

 

[kully]

Whoops, that'll teach me to be ambiguous - I was typing ref. the link to the Kodak Vision 320T in Nokton48's post.

 

[srtiwari]

All this talk is getting me excited. Any good places to buy this stuff in the US ?

 

[Nokton48]

Srtiwari,

Kodak Cinema & Television
212-631-3400
800-621-FILM
They take VISA. A fresh 400' roll from Eastman is approx US$130 plus shipping.

Today, I snagged two more cans of XX 5222 on Ebay: "Short End" Roll of 5222 XX Film 290 feet. That works out to US $0.11/ft + shipping.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=130196288162&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=003

And, 400' roll of 5222 XX at $56.00, which works out to US $0.14/ft + shipping.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=140205405502&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=004

I search on Ebay using keywords "Eastman Film" and "Arri". It's out there!

 

[Tom A]

Just finished loading another 30 shots with XX on to Flickr. Just for fun I also added a roll of Berger 200, which supposedly is very similar to XX. In my opinion it is not. It has an east european "curl" do it and run with the XX and Adox @ 7min30sec-the Berger looks about 125-160asa.
I also took my 35mm f2.8 out for a roll. Every time I use that lens I am impressed! No "sexy" aperture or "aspherical" nomenclature - but that lens will do spectacular work in the mid-range aperture and particularly in close up!

 

[PhotoJim]

Tom A,

Where do you get your Double-X?

I've tried filmemporium.com a couple of times but always strike out. I am wondering if you have a Canadian source.

I will be in Vancouver in May so if there is a local source, that will be awesome. (I am driving out there from Regina so x-rays will not be a problem.)

Thanks!

 

[Tom A]

I get the XX through a friend in the movie business. By the time it is here, it costs me about $140/400ft can. I think you can also order it directly from Kodak (somewhere on this thread there is a phone number for them).
I am doing another order this spring, partly for me and partly for some friends and I will be happy to include a can or two for you for May pick-up.
Tom

 

[cosmonot]

I was able to get 150ft of 5222 from Film Emporium in Brooklyn on my first try, but when I'm ready to do a 400ft roll, I think I'll go straight to Kodak NYC.

FYI I called Film Emp. on Thursday of this week, and they didn't have any other short rolls in. Fast service, though it helps that FedEx Ground gets a box to me overnight from NYC.

 

[Tom A]

The reason I order in Canada is that it saves me the hassle of dealing with Customs and the $8-10 it costs me extra /can is worth it.
I usually try to "gang" order larger volume as that ensures the same emulsion number and expiry date on all of it, The XX 400ft cans come in boxes of 20, with each can neatly packaged in its own protective cardboard shell.
The next order this spring will be for another full box and then I get friends and other XX addicts to chip in and take some of them off my hands.
I seem to be going through 400 ft/month so 10-12 cans is a year is about right. My excuse is that I save money this way! At about 1.75/roll versus close to 5 bucks for Tri X - it adds up! The short ends are cheaper, but there is a risk of inconsistency in storage and age with that. The misery of loading 70+ films is the same either way so I "splurge" and go for fresh stuff!

 

[Nokton48]

Right,

The problem with RECANS and SHORT ENDS and LONG ENDS is Dust and Crap on the film. Dust from the film gate of the 35mm motion picture camera, or film magazine. Or, wherever it was loaded from, or how it was stored. Fresh film from Eastman NYC is well worth it for an important project, but not for daily burning-throughs, lens tests, etc. I have recently successfully ordered 400' +X from Eastman in NYC absolutely no problems at all. Very professional and quick/painless process. Tom's right, short ends and long ends are cool, for the right types of projects. 11cents/foot recently, I just got another 690' Shortends on Ebay. Haven't received it yet, from -(Hollywood)- Florida 🙂 .


Once Again:

Kodak Cinema & Television-
New York City, U.S.
212-631-3400
800-621-FILM

They do take VISA.

 

[PhotoJim]

Thanks Tom. I appreciate the offer. I have another email off to filmemporium. If they don't have any short ends I think I will take you up on your offer. I will send you a PM.

 

[tomasis]

I have sent some emails to filmemporium but they didn't responded at some weeks now.

Tom, can your friend ship to Sweden too? 😛

 

[Tom A]

I suspect that you are better off contacting Kodak directly on XX. I assume that the guys in N.Y. coudl tell you if they keep stock in Europe. Sending film privately is aiways a bit iffy as one has no ideas on X-ray etc. I assume that Kodak ships film to Europe, either via container or "secured" air freight (i.e no X-rays or "wonder what this is, lets open the can".)
Of course, ideally try to pair up with other XX potential users as the freight of one can probably would cost 40-50% of total.
Tom

 

[tomasis]

Tom, I understand. I have contacted swedish Kodak support. They replied with adresses to two distributors in Sweden and one in US (filmeporium). I haven't any sucess to get any reply from them boh distributors in sweden. Looks like I can find a luck in Ebay 🙂

 

[Nokton48]

I've just finished developing four more rolls of XX, and ran through another roll this morning with M2. I really like what I'm getting. Now I've added an old beat-up selenium Leica MC meter, which I'm liking, atop M2. It is not a distraction for me, and it's helpful when the light is -really- overcast. After ten rolls, I find the quality of the ADOX Borax MQ, running at seven minutes at sixty-eight degrees F to be -perfect-. Bracketing the exposures does help, but this film is tough to overexpose. It's got an incredibly long straight-line, kinda like the old Super-XX sheet film. But of course, 5222 is not the same emulsion. But it does respond in a similar manner to light.

 

[SergioGuerra]

If anyone gets to any contact on getting XX in Europe I would also be interested... maybe we can buy outdated 1000ft long roll and share ? eheh

Regards,

Sergio

 

[Tom A]

Just downloaded another batch of XX/Adox shots on our Flickr site. It was a high contrast light shoot. Mostly f11/16 @250 stuff. The XX handles it very well. I have enough Adox left for 10 more rolls and then I will try something else. Possibly the D86 and also the Td201 split developer (The Film Developing Cook Book by Steve Anchell). Weather supposedly Ok tomorrow and then back to f2,8!

 

[Nokton48]

My two cans of (Ebay) XX arrived today from Hollywood, Florida. One is a fresh unopened 400' can, and the other is a 290' shortend. So I've got a bit over a thousand feet of XX at this point, and 400' of +X I have yet to open. I'd roughly estimate about 200 36exp rolls of XX, give or take. And also arrived today is another box of Kodak Snap-Caps. Tonight I'll load some more XX rolls up, if I have time. The ten-roll Kodak Snap-Cap boxes are a very convenient way to carry alot of rolls, even one pre-loaded with a second Leica M2 filmspool, ready to drop into the camera. It's very fast and easy to make lots of exposures, especially with Tom's Rapidwinder 🙂

Made another XX run late yesterday, along with a lone roll of ERA100, in my 4-reel Nikkor tank. The XX looks way better than the ERA100, IMO. No contest at all. Seven minutes in the ADOX Borax MQ works just great with this film. Negatives look tasty, I've sleeved all of them up in Printfile pages, now I need to get them scanned. Contact sheets would be also be a good idea at this point. I'll also try to get a Flicker page going soon, we are just getting our freshly rebuilt hardrive up and running, after some major problems popped up recently. And things are -cold- in my basement darkroom, right now, it's about 62F down there. Takes a bit of time to heat up the ADOX Borax MQ to 68F.

Anyway this project is a hoot, and I'm planning on sticking with this excellent filmstock for a good while. Shooting XX has been a very gratifying experience for me so far. And I'm carrying my new M2 everywhere with me.

 

[Tom A]

Hmm. contact sheets! Many years ago I decided that I would "gang" process contact sheets and set the goal to do a batch every 100 rolls. Ok, time went by and I decided to do it every 200 rolls (I hate contact printing!) and then it was 500 rolls. In the end I faced up to it. My film "library" is never going to be contacted! There are currently 7500 rolls in neg files and binders and I trained myself to "read" negatives instead! Maybe if I got a flat bed scanner that could do 6 wide and 7 down negfiles I could use that! Nah, I know myself to well. It would never get done.

 

[Spyderman]

Translation form post number 71:

25-57 C teplota, prvních 10 minut hojně míchat, pak nechat ustát.

means: temperature 25-27 degrees Celsius, first 10 minutes more agitation, then let stand-develop.