Polypan F 50-800 ASA

[petronius]

I bought a roll of Polypan F last week. Normally the 50 ASA are way too slow for my photography, but the price ...
I shot a roll with ASA settings between 800 and 50 (OM-1, 50mm) and developed in Rodinal, 1+30, 30min.; agitation 30sec continous, then once a minute.

The shots at 800 ASA were very thin, but still useable, some 400 ASA shots are attached. Two are fullframe, the leaves are cropped 100%.
( Canoscan 8400F, 3200dpi, grayscale, Canon software, curves done in PS 5.0LE )

 

[Cale Arthur]

Very interesting! I bought a roll of Polypan-F late last year for $15us, and it's been sitting in my fridge since then - might be time for me to give it a try. I've been wondering what kind of base this stuff has that allows it to be packed in 90m increments? I'm guessing it has no anti-halation layer? Really great shots, Petronius.. post more if you can!

--c--

 

[petronius]

Thank you. The base is polyester; The film reminds me of the old Agfa APX 200S traffic surveillance film. I´ll try to shoot some frames in direct sunlight when the sun will be back here ;-)

 

[petronius]

Three more shots @200/400 ASA. Same processing data as above. Zorki 1, Industar-22

 

[varjag]

You can see it doesn't really have 400 ISO. Blocked shadows and high contrast.

 

[petronius]

Thats right. Its not really a film for a complete grayscale. I´ll go on experimenting with the development time.

 

[AshenLight]

Hi Petronius,

I'm curious how you arrived at 1:30 for 30 minutes for the film? The results look great.

Regards,

ash

 

[petronius]

ash, thank you! The development time was a blind try as the dilution was. It was just luck that the negs came out useable. I found no info about exposing the Polypan higher then 100 ASA in the net, so I had to experiment. The dilution might be slightly different from 1:30, because I´m a really messy darkroom worker!

 

[AshenLight]

ash, thank you! The development time was a blind try as the dilution was. It was just luck that the negs came out useable. I found no info about exposing the Polypan higher then 100 ASA in the net, so I had to experiment. The dilution might be slightly different from 1:30, because I´m a really messy darkroom worker!

It worked out well for a blind try. It makes me want to give Polypan F a try,

ash

 

[petronius]

These were shot @200ASA, development Rodinal 1+30, 35min.

 

[irq506]

I just bought 600' of this stuff via eBay with the understanding that it was the same as Pan F, however it looks as though the grain is heavier on this then Pan F. Im not concerned about that too much as I am primarily looking for a large volume of ilm which I can get to know over time and get into the rhythm of.
I am very interested in seeing any feedback on it in terms of processing because I generally use Xtol or Rodinal and am ready to try another kind of developer to achieve the very best result I can possibly get from this film as i will be considering this emulsion for future serious projects over a longer period of time.
Petronius, thank you for your posted results here, very informative and immediately gives me a head-start on my experimentations with this film. Id be curious to see what 125, 100, 80 or below yields in your 1+30 Rodinal soup.
Joe

 

[bcostin]

Thanks for posting this information, petronius. I've been interested in this film for a while and I just decided to buy some on ebay. Your examples and Rodinal developing details will be very helpful.

 

[petronius]

These three examples were developed with reduced time. 200ASA, 25 min. Agitation 30sec. continous, then one tilt every minute.

Be warned: When shooting in harsh light, the negatives are hard to scan. The pictures sometimes need much PS work. The film is definitely not made for fine art printing when shot at 200/400!

 

[petronius]

To illustrate the grain at 200/400ASA , three 100% crops.

 

[petronius]

I tested the stand development for Polypan F. One hour in Rodinal at a dilution of 1+100. 30 secs agitation, then standing. Exposed at 100 ASA.
Two pictures attached, one full frame (Ricoh R1), one 100% cropped.

The interesting thing is that I developed a roll of Fomapan 400 in the same tank with the Polypan. It came out good too.

 

[petronius]

For comparison two examples from the Fomapan 400. Same data for camera and development.

 

[varjag]

So, I bought 90m of it, and shot some 6 rolls.

I didn't like it in Rodinal, a bit grainy for such a slow film. In Diafine (EI 50) it looks a bit better. I think the best match for it would be normal metol/phenidone/hydroquinone developers, like D-23, D-76 or Microphen. Don't have any at hand now.

Below was EI50 in Diafine, shot with a flash.

 

[petronius]

Today I have to make a sad update to the use of Polypan F. I ruined three rolls of film, by presoaking the Polypan for 1 min before development. The films show odd bromide drags. Three other films, developed under identical conditions, without presoaking, came out perfect! (APH09, 1+50, 12min, exp. @50ASA)
I will post examples asap.

 

[Teetzelk]

Coming in late to this, I know.

Here is PolyPan shot at 50 and developed in 777 for 12min.
10 sec initial agitation with 10 sec agitation on the top of each min after that.

 

[petronius]

Great portrait - and Welcome to RFF!