Shanghai GP3 in 127

[tlloydau]

I'd love to hear from anyone who has used the 127 gp3 rolled by Shanghai themselves. I ran into issues with scratches on the negatives but I had shot in an old film back which might be the source of the scratches. I haven't tried to shoot other 127 film in the back and don't have any on hand so I can't definitively say one way or the other.

 

[Muggins]

Be very careful winding the stuff on!! I shot with black tape over the windows, tried to be careful not to let sunlight fall on the red windows and STILL I have numbers imprinted on my film.

Not a happy camper!

 

[Coldkennels]

Be very careful winding the stuff on!! I shot with black tape over the windows, tried to be careful not to let sunlight fall on the red windows and STILL I have numbers imprinted on my film.

With the old stuff - the construction paper backing - the numbers didn't appear on the film because of print-through from light exposure, but because humidity caused the ink from the backing paper to transfer onto the film. it was an absolute pain in the ass to avoid, and I wonder if that's still happening with this new one.

 

[Muggins]

Possibly. They're still drying at the moment, but it looks like really swampy background as well. I'm a bit pi**ed by this as I bought 3 rolls so I could use some 127 cameras that deserved better. The background could be me sodding up caffenol again, but I'd had some decent results and thought I'd nailed it.

 

[Coldkennels]

The overall mottling - which I think is what you mean by "swampy background" - was another trait of the ink transfer. It ruined entire films and was why I gave up on Shanghai GP3 altogether in the end.

I actually went back to the 220 roll I mentioned earlier in this thread and re-digitised it with a better/more polished setup. In doing so I noticed some odd streaking - not consistent with development artefacts, as it was running the wrong way across the frame - and an odd "rash" across certain frames.

Here's the whole frame, unedited:


And here's a tight crop of one of the affected areas:


I checked the negatives - tiny pinholes everywhere. Apparently it's a common problem with this stuff.

Really frustrating, as Shanghai are basically the only game in town for these neglected formats. I hope they can get the QC issues dialled in for future runs.

 

[Muggins]

The overall mottling - which I think is what you mean by "swampy background" - was another trait of the ink transfer. It ruined entire films and was why I gave up on Shanghai GP3 altogether in the end.

I actually went back to the 220 roll I mentioned earlier in this thread and re-digitised it with a better/more polished setup. In doing so I noticed some odd streaking - not consistent with development artefacts, as it was running the wrong way across the frame - and an odd "rash" across certain frames.

Here's the whole frame, unedited:
View attachment 4859598

And here's a tight crop of one of the affected areas:
View attachment 4859600

I checked the negatives - tiny pinholes everywhere. Apparently it's a common problem with this stuff.

Really frustrating, as Shanghai are basically the only game in town for these neglected formats. I hope they can get the QC issues dialled in for future runs.

Yes, that's what I meant! I'm really frustrated if so, because I was naive enough to think that the stuff had improved enough to be marketable, especially as Rerapan seems to be unavailable in anything other than 400, which is waaay too fast for most of my relics.

 

[Muggins]

Well, I emailed Nick & Trick, who I bought it from, and apparently they've had no other complaints, so it may be me who's sodded it up. I'm shooting a second roll, and will develop by numbers in a commercial developer. I'm tempted to try what Richard at N&T has recommended, though I'm in pretty tight circumstances at the moment, and I haven't looked the cost up yet!

 

[OmegaB600]

well the issue is that a person can wind their own 127 if they take the time.

But the shanghai film, iv only used the 220 version and well im not the happiest with it. Id rather just save money and get ilford 120. yeah.. ilford 120 is actually cheaper at the moment.

 

[Muggins]

OK, I've developed a second roll in Euro HC (HC110 substitute), and the negs look really great, no mottling, no numbers. The issue this time is scratching. There are a series of parallel scratches along most of the length of the roll. What's interesting is that at one point they double back on themselves - that shouldn't happen if they were caused by something in the camera, as the film can only run one way. So my best guess is that it's something I've done in the process of loading onto the spirals.

I've a busy couple of days ahead, so I'll upload pics when I get a chance, but I'm wondering if anyone else has found the stuff probe to scratching, or do I just have a superhuman ability to find new ways to muck it up?

 

[qqphotos]

Just a note to 127 folks who haven't already noticed -- Ilford has added FP4+ to the menu for the annual ULF sale. It's expensive, but if you have 127 spools and papers, 127 FP4+ is about as good as it gets.