Shooting Eastman (Double-X) 5222 in the Leica

I just did a roll of the 5231 +X emulsion and put it on Flickr. As it was a test roll, I used it to shoot a lens and camera with a 60 macro Elmarit on a SL. I did throw it in with 4 rolls of APX 100 in Rodinal 1:50 for 10 min. Looks good, but it will be more interesting seeing this film with something like Beutler or Pyrocat. The grain is finer than the APX 100, at least in Rodinal. Use tag Eastman 5231 in Flickr and you can see the result. Only three shots so far. I am shooting another 1/2 dozen rolls in the next couple of days.
 
Im really eagre to try out some XX or any B+W movie film for that matter. I am looking for large quantities of film and have been buying large chunks off eBay to satiate my needs, however a thousand feet of one thing or another would be a lot better I think, for consistency value. Leo or Ikgroup sent me a link to a guy but I lost the link (twice) and so have been hovering around eBay trying not to look like a window shopper. There are some really good deal to be had on there actually (everything I buy is post dated).
I have been bulk loading for 20+ years now and wonder why anyone would bother doing it any other way, its 50% more free mileage per penny!
Typically I used Neopan and Rodinal Special, however RSP is gone and so is bulk Neopan so I am playing with other combinations usually just Rodinal or Xtol for their blindingly amazing versatility!!!
I actually saved up and sold off everything else to pay for a 35 Asph Summilux and since Ive had that Ive been using slower film -by the bucket load...
Anyway, Leo can you PM me that link again ( I promise I wont loase it this time).
Joe
 
I have shooting some of the +X Movie stock. I tried it with Rodinal 1:50 for 10 mins. Seems to work well, no fried highlights and I just posted some stuff (on our Flickr)done with it and Pyrocat HD. AS I was using APX 100/Acros 100 as reference films, I did run it at 9 min. A bit too active for the +X (rated @ 80 asa). I would suggest 7-7.5 min - or possibly 10 min semi stand developing (60sec initial agit. two turns at 4 and 8 min).
Very smooth grain, looks even finer than Acros 100. Not as "raw" as APX 100 which can be quite contrasty.
 
Reading this thread make me want to try out these films. I just ordered one roll of X and one roll of XX from Kodak :)

I used to bulk film that's 100 feet long with a typical bulk film loader (which accept 100 feet film roll). May I ask how you load the film? Guess cut it into 100 feet?
 
Hi Nevin,
What is X? Do you mean +X? :D:D +X and XX are an awesome combination, highly unlikely Kodak will discontinue these 1960's grade retro-emulsions any time soon, as it feeds the Cinema Industry. Should still be available, when you can't get film in cartridges :bang:

Does Fuji make B&W motion picture film for the Leica? What about Agfa? What is available, and from WHO? :confused::confused:

I open the big can in the dark, stretch out an arm's length piece of film, then snip it off, tape it, and roll it up in a Kodak Snap-Cap. It's very easy, once you try it, I like to do ten rolls at a time. You can also roll-off 100' rolls, to put into a daylight loader, but you'll need a plastic core, like comes on the end of a used-up 100' roll. That's more tedious to roll, but still, not too bad.

-Dan, off to pick up my Tan M5 (Mr. Zhou) everready case-bottom, arriving at rocket-speed from China. It's at the post office in my neighborhood right now. :)
 
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Nokton48 said:
Hi Nevin,
What is X? Do you mean +X? :D:D +X and XX are an awesome combination, highly unlikely Kodak will discontinue these 1960's grade retro-emulsions any time soon, as it feeds the Cinema Industry. Should still be available, when you can't get film in cartridges :bang:
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Yes I do mean +X :D I'm curious though who is still shooting B+W movie nowadays?

Nokton48 said:
Does Fuji make B&W motion picture film for the Leica? What about Agfa? What is available, and from WHO? :confused::confused:
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I only know Fuji has 35mm color negative motion film.

Nokton48 said:
I open the big can in the dark, stretch out an arm's length piece of film, then snip it off, tape it, and roll it up in a Kodak Snap-Cap. It's very easy, once you try it, I like to do ten rolls at a time. You can also roll-off 100' rolls, to put into a daylight loader, but you'll need a plastic core, like comes on the end of a used-up 100' roll. That's more tedious to roll, but still, not too bad.
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I think I will try to cut it into a 100' roll and use a daylight loader to finish the job :)
 
Nokton48 said:
The beginning sequence in the latest James Bond movie "Casino Royale" was filmed with Eastman XX film, as an homage to Spy Movies of the cold war era. Here is a link, scroll down to see an XX image from the film (Bond using his silencer & Wather PPK):
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Yes indeed that's a very nice one. I'm afraid it's a drop in the bucket though. I guess I should enjoy it while the film is still available. :)
 
Just run 4 rolls of +X in Beutler 1:1:8 -together with a roll of Acros as reference. Way too dense negs - probably need to cut the time from 7 min to 5,5 min - or do a 1:1:10 dilution and run it for 6.5 minutes. Will post some of it tomorrow. The Acros was fine, so it seems like the +X is highly sensitive to the Beutler. Grain looks nice and tight - where you can see it through the dense, black mid-tones!
 
Oh dear :( this trivia page

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0381061/trivia

seems to have confused RX,Royal-X Pan and Double-X 5222


Quote

The black-and-white opening of the film was the idea of director of photography Phil Meheux as to give a surprise to viewers, and as a nod to The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965) and Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967). The opening sequence required 6000 ft of RX-2222 black-and-white film stock. So far, Casino Royale is the only James Bond film to have any sequence filmed in black and white.

Unquote
 
American Cinematographer lists "Plus X 5222", and as we all know, Eastman 5222 is Double X. Looks like a typo. BTW I have this movie on DVD, and it's -great-. Love the opening B&W sequence.

The very grainy, gritty, fight scene in the bathroom, where 007 gets his first kill, looks like XX pushed several stops, at least, to me. They certainly got "grit" and grain, lots and lots of it.
 
Nokton48 said:
The very grainy, gritty, fight scene in the bathroom, where 007 gets his first kill, looks like XX pushed several stops, at least, to me. They certainly got "grit" and grain, lots and lots of it.
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more than likely its not. the grain I always got from this film when projected is *nothing* like what it looks like printed on paper or a monitor. I dont know if it was in the negative or the combination of the positive as well, but the grain feels like it triples when you project it. Because of the look of 5222 projected, which was a main stay for a few years, I started to shoot TMZ in hopes of securing the same look in still photos.
 
Just finished hanging four more rolls of bulk-loaded B&W film. Three are Eastman 5222 XX, and the fourth is Agfa APX400. Development was 9 minutes at 20C, agitating for the first 15 seconds of development, and 5 seconds per minute (five inversions of the Honeywell Nikor tank). Negatives from all rolls look really good, the extra minute did seem to have helped a bit. Once again, love the XX "look" and the negs have the full range of tones, deep shadow detail, and nice, subtle highlight values. I'm very pleased, I did get some interesting interior XX negs (from our visit to the Hard Rock Cafe in Cleveland), shot at 1/15 and 1/8, wide-open with the Canon F1.2 on M2. The Agfa APX400 has a funny greyish base color, but the negs look printable, when I examine them closely, holding them up to the light.

The Borax ADOX MQ Developer and Replenisher continues to be an excellent, easy to mix and use, very forgiving developer, to use on a wide variety of B&W emulsions. Next I will try it with some of my 200' of newly acquired Tri-X. It would be interesting to compare Tri-X against XX, as I rate them both at EI 250, to see the difference in the "look" of the two films, developed together in the ADOX.
 
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Has anyone tried HC-110? I recently acquired some and thought I might give it a go.

At the beginning of the thread, Tom A was using HC-110, and I think it was pretty good for him.
 
Pesphoto,
I'd call them on the phone, I think they sell their stuff acquired in a matter of hours. Not sure what happens when you use the "carts", but I'm not sure if you'll get film that way.

I bought a "long-end" in Hollywood Florida, and it was 240 feet. And when I bought a "re-can" in NYC (from them) it was 400 feet. I guess "short-ends" are around 100', but I'm -not- a Cinematographer, although we have some around here, and they frequent this thread. XX -is- COOL, scarf some up, and start shootin'. You'll like it.
 
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