In Praise of Slow Films

[Timmyjoe]

Sloooow Film, Fast Lens... YUM !

Pan F 50 and a borrowed noctilux 50 f1




Nocti Magic by Helen Hill, on Flickr

Have always loved this image Helen. Bravo!

Best,
-Tim

 

[Deleted member 65559]

Watching her...i ADORE the Cinematic Quality of Slooow Fiim, Fast Lens by Helen Hill, on Flickr

Love this one Helen. A beautiful & cinematic image!

 

[Pál_K]

I began with K II at ASA 25 - that was normal for me. Even today I almost never go beyond ISO 400. In the past few years I've used mostly RPX 25, TMAX 100, Gold 200.

My favorite used to be Tech Pan shot at 25 and developed in Technidol; tonality was excellent.

I need to try this one:

 

[charjohncarter]

I began with K II at ASA 25 -

My favorite used to be Tech Pan shot at 25 and developed in Technidol; tonality was excellent.

I need to try this one:

I still have two rolls left of Tech Pan, nice film but Tmax 100 is the easiest to deal with.

Tech Pan, it did great with skin that had reds in it.

Technical Pan Rodinal by John Carter, on Flickr

and when you wanted zero grain:

Kodak Technical Pan expired 150+1 Rodinal by John Carter, on Flickr

 

[Beemermark]

I don't consider anything above ISO 80 a slow film. Slow films are high contrast and require a low contrast developer. One of the reasons film like old Pan-X were great is because they were based on silver rich technology. All films today (or at least most) are based on tabular grains.

 

[Huss]

Kodak 5234 iso 6, developed in Cinestill DF96.

 

[Deleted member 65559]

I don't consider anything above ISO 80 a slow film. Slow films are high contrast and require a low contrast developer. One of the reasons film like old Pan-X were great is because they were based on silver rich technology. All films today (or at least most) are based on tabular grains.

Mark, What you say is unfortunately true. Agfapan though was the exception, it had a long tonal range and was not by nature high contrast. I no longer have any 120, & every time i print off those negatives, I realize what we've lost. There's no current film like it. Panatomic X & Verichrome Pan were terrific films.
I never took to TechPan and Technidol. And the same is true of current high-contrast films.
I think Acros/Delta 100/TMax 100 (based on others reviews), share that small grain & tonal smoothness that Agfapan 25 had.
There are times when LF is too cumbersome and yet a 16x20" or 20x24" print is the desired output. Agfapan delivered the goods those occasions.

 

[helen.HH]

Yum to Pan F 50.... Elmar M, modern version





Rock Me... by Helen Hill, on Flickr

 

[helen.HH]

Have always loved this image Helen. Bravo!
Best,
-Tim

Love this one Helen. A beautiful & cinematic image!

Thanks MUCH Tim, maybe it's one of my Best...
in a French Bistro, with Eric , a dear Friend Cam Wilder with her boyfriend
Playing around with her 1970]s Noctilux, absorbed in the thrill of a new lens and the pulse of Life around me

Thank You Greg, that roll was a Special moment in Time...

 

[helen.HH]

50 Elmar M, pan F50




knocking balls ... by Helen Hill, on Flickr

 

[css9450]

CCS9450 That night shot is a killer. Beautiful image. Any other comments on Delta 100?.... what developer do you favour?

Thank you! By the way, I use Rodinal for everything.... I like the consistency of using just one developer while I vary everything else: films, film formats, cameras, lenses, etc. And the ease of use, the price and the long shelf life of Rodinal can't be beat.

This thread makes me curious about Tmax 100. I thought that was only supposed to be developed in Tmax developer? It is for that reason I have never tried that film, but I've always been tempted. And it's readily available here locally too.

 

[valdas]

Efke R50 in xtol

 

[MJ Buckpitt]

M3, 50mm f1.1 Nokton, Ferrania P30

M3, 50mm f1.1 Nokton, Ferrania P30

Untitled by Mel Buckpitt, on Flickr

 

[helen.HH]

Wonderful Mel, love,love,love !
nokton rocks on sloooow film and so does 'little man' ...

 

[MJ Buckpitt]

Wonderful Mel, love,love,love !
nokton rocks on sloooow film and so does 'little man' ...

Thanks, Helen, slow film in low light is always fun, as is the little man 🙂

 

[Deleted member 65559]

CC9450, I'm with you on the one developer train. I'm still going to use Pyrocat-HD in glycol. I was just looking at info/reviews on TMax100 and saw that John Sexton was a big proponent of TMax100. I'll have to do some testing in 120. I'm all set in LF with FP4+ & TMY2. I'm more specifically looking for a film to use in medium format, as i do not as a rule make larger prints from 35mm.

 

[PRJ]

My favorite slow film was Efke 50. Just a beautiful film that was reminiscent of Panatomic-X. I still have a stash that I am saving for a rainy day, but I doubt I'll ever use it.

That is followed closely by Agfa 25.

I think the best slow film today that I've used is Acros. I don't know why people are characterizing it the way they are in this thread. I have found the tonality to be exceptional both in Rodinal and Pyrocat-PC. I don't think you could do any better from the traditional quality standpoint factoring in tonality and sharpness and ease of use than Acros in Pyrocat. If you think Acros is flat you just aren't developing it right.

 

[Deleted member 65559]

My favorite slow film was Efke 50. Just a beautiful film that was reminiscent of Panatomic-X. I still have a stash that I am saving for a rainy day, but I doubt I'll ever use it.

Stunning image Patrick!

 

[Larry Cloetta]

My favorite slow film was Efke 50. Just a beautiful film that was reminiscent of Panatomic-X. I still have a stash that I am saving for a rainy day, but I doubt I'll ever use it.

That is followed closely by Agfa 25.

I think the best slow film today that I've used is Acros. I don't know why people are characterizing it the way they are in this thread. I have found the tonality to be exceptional both in Rodinal and Pyrocat-PC. I don't think you could do any better from the traditional quality standpoint factoring in tonality and sharpness and ease of use than Acros in Pyrocat. If you think Acros is flat you just aren't developing it right.

Those are nice. And, I’d agree with you on the Acros, pretty much. How are you developing it in Pyrocat, 135 and 120, if I might ask?

 

[PRJ]

Larry, I use (or used to use) Pyrocat-PC which is a version of Pyrocat with P-Aminophenol. The differences between the versions aren't that much really, but PAP is what Rodinal is made from, so I have it around. I mix it in Propylene Glycol.

Acros 120, Pyrocat-PC, 10m 77º. From a Holga Pinhole camera-