In Praise of Slow Films

Well, it's not 2 digits..... but here are a couple of test prints on TMax 100 (120). 14minutes at 20C in Pyrocat HD.... (Film exposures of 1/4 sec at f4)... i think this film will do the trick for me when i'm looking for smoothness in bigger prints. Grain is small and very fine. Holds detail in the shadows well. I'll have to shoot some landscapes w clouds to see how i like the highlight separation. Not as wildly contrasty as Pan F, not as 'clinical' as Acros. Test prints are still wet

50227844301_91eebb984b.jpg


50227201138_49a584f55d.jpg

Flickr
 
Normally not a fan of the graphite and paper look, but that looks great, Helen

Besides being faster in low light, why was Acros such a beloved film? Everyone seems to not like its midtone separation
 
Normally not a fan of the graphite and paper look, but that looks great, Helen

Besides being faster in low light, why was Acros such a beloved film? Everyone seems to not like its midtone separation

Very good reciprocity characteristics for long exposures, & sharpness, I would guess. I'm going to settle on TMax 100, for its availability (at half the price of Acros ll ), because it's also produced in sheet film & will likely be on the market longer than Acros.
 
It never hurts to bump up a negative size either. Here's a print from this morning from a 4"x5" neg. on Oriental Seagull (11x14") FB Film Ilford FP4+.... my standard slow LF choice, got to love the long gentle tonal scale.

50252792711_5d3a02d240_c.jpg

on Flickr
 
I have tried ORWO sound recording film TF12D. It is a very high contrast film, but grain is almost non existent. Xtol did not work well for contrast control, so I tried Rollei low contrast (RLC) developer. I can say - I like it. And this film can be bought for less than 1.5$ per x36 roll (in bulk):

50267153256_06e1cf3e1f_b.jpg
 
img217.jpg


As youngster, 1963, no idea what I was doing: street photography with Panatomic X in Promicrol. No densitometer. Mid tones look OK.
Leica M2, Summicron 50.2.0
 
No mention of Adox Silvermax? (I noted Scala 160, which is basically the same film). I have shot a few rolls of it and sometimes I feel it has great tonality. Unfortunately, I think it is discontinued. All shot with an M42 Carl Zeiss 50mm f1.8 Ultron.


hawk by Mark Wyatt, on Flickr


Leafy Plant by Mark Wyatt, on Flickr


flowers by Mark Wyatt, on Flickr


paella by Mark Wyatt, on Flickr


Secret Journey by Mark Wyatt, on Flickr

All these were developed by The Darkroom in DDX.
 
No mention of Adox Silvermax? .

Mark, this thread started out as a 'what still exists'....rather than a list of discontinued. In the meantime, I've tested (to my satisfaction) TMax 100 and got my hands on some more Agfapan 25 in both 35 & 120... Those will keep me happy.
 
Mark, this thread started out as a 'what still exists'....rather than a list of discontinued. In the meantime, I've tested (to my satisfaction) TMax 100 and got my hands on some more Agfapan 25 in both 35 & 120... Those will keep me happy.

Does Agfapan 25 still exist? TMax does of course. There is a little bit of Silvermax floating around out there, but I suspect not for long. If Scala 160 continues, then that means Silvermax continues, as I am told the two are the exact same film.
 
Agfapan 25 results were the root cause of the thread.... as in "is anything that good still in existence?"......the question brought some film to me (for which i am grateful)
 
Agfapan 25 results were the root cause of the thread.... as in "is anything that good still in existence?"......the question brought some film to me (for which i am grateful)

Ok, I understand. I read through the thread. To be honest, I am not sure Silvermax/Scala is actually discontinued. I cannot find an official announcement, and Scala 160 still seems to be for sale, albeit at a bit higher price ($9.49/roll ). My last purchase of Silvermax (Feb 2020) was $8.99.
 
B&H shows Adox Silvermax 100 as discontinued. It doesn't come up in searches on the Freestyle search engine. The last time i tried to order some, it was 'backordered' and i ended up buying some Adox CH-20 which while admittedly slow, didn't really work for me.
The reviews for 100 made it look appealing though....
 
B&H shows Adox Silvermax 100 as discontinued. It doesn't come up in searches on the Freestyle search engine. The last time i tried to order some, it was 'backordered' and i ended up buying some Adox CH-20 which while admittedly slow, didn't really work for me.
The reviews for 100 made it look appealing though....

Freestyle does have Scala 160 (Low Stock), which again, is the exact same film, just marked differently and rated at 160 for reversal purposes instead of 100 for negative purposes. Rergardless, at least for Silvermax (maybe not for Scala, as I really did not check), supply is on or off.
 
I have quite a bit of Rollei RPX25. Contrast is a bit high. I’ll stick with Acros and then FP4.
 
Yes, I have a comment. That second image (Switzerland I presume) is awesome - nice work.

I was both social distancing and time travelling in the darkroom today. By chance I printed two photographs, one from a 6x8cm negative on Agfapan 25, and one from a Leica negative on Fuji Acros. Now I commonly use Tri-X or TMY2 for medium format or 4x5.....but i was struck by the amount of information held in those negatives on slower films. I find both of them to be remarkable, and definitely lament the passing of Agfapan 25.

I have found both Ilford Pan F, and Adox CH20 to be difficult to work with and I have not been able to produce consistently good results with them. I include Acros as slower film, because i'm amazed at the tonal range and character, that seems unlike typical ISO 100 films.

What are your favourite slow films and do you have any particular comments or results to share?
50181425098_813b6ee67c_b.jpg

Leica MP, 21mm, Fuji Acros, Pyrocat HD, print on Ilford Classic FB

50181429068_b996a60f3a_b.jpg

Fuji GW680lll, Agfapan25, Pyrocat HD, print on Ilford Classic FB
 
Thank you David. South Tyrol (Northern Italy) 60miles south of Innsbruck.
 
Back
Top Bottom