Soviet Era Film

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KoNickon

Nick Merritt
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Perhaps this has been discussed here before, but I don't see anything. What film was available in the Soviet Union? Were there Soviet-made films, or was film brought in from elsewhere (Yugoslavia, the DDR)?

Anyone have experience with Soviet films?
 
Svema

Personally I've used only the Foto65. A bit under niveau of the Orwo NP20 in terms of speed and resolution and a little larger grain.

In the 80s sometimes we got Foto65 delivered as replacement if no NP20 were available. We saw such cases as disadvantage.
If I remember correct, we exposed as 50/18° to fit it into our NP20 workflow (hanging tanks with Orwo A03).
 
there were many films produced at 2 major factories: Svema in Ukraine and TASMA in Russia. TASMA actually was (and still is) in the town I use to live (Kazan). ORWO films from Eastern Germany (then DDR) were also available. At the time, I was shooting and developing some of them (Svema/TASMA Foto 32, Foto 65, Foto 135, TASMA Type 17, "Mikrat" (copy film), ORWO UT 18, ЦО-22 etc). They were good. Both factories still working TASMA still works but the film produced is mostly for military and medical applications; the quality of consumer-grade films is not up to the old imperial standards and it is not easy to get.
http://www.tasma.ru/en/
 
I was using ORWO slide film with family FED-2 and Industar-26m (still using this kit).
Picture from this time. I scanned it couple of weeks ago.

med_U57736I1416630477.SEQ.0.jpg


But B/W was more common. All photos in my family were b/w darkroom prints.
 
9073615844_067440c9c0_c.jpg


Tasma Type 17 @ 100 iso. Developed in Td 201 developer A3/B4 min.
Leica M2 and Summilux 50f1.4 vII. Slight over exposure.
 
415345661_2d0a172aff_z.jpg


Type 17 surveillance film - probably by Tasma, though no markings.
Beutler developer, 1:1:8 6 min.
Leica M4-2 and Leica Tele Elmar 135mm f4.0.
 
The names of the films seem so Soviet… if Lomo were selling them today, they would be KomradeKolor and GUMP Gray. :)

Dante
 
gb hill said:
I just bought some fresh dated Svema film. B&W 200 from the FPP store so you can still get it. The color version looks cool too. It's made at the Shostka Chemical Plant in the Ukraine. Scroll down to see all the Svema films.

http://filmphotographyproject.com/store/film/35mm-film
Click to expand...
It is just a trade name, no film made these days in Shostka, Ukraine. See >>this post<<. It is dated 2013. Here is how real Svema film looks:

36.jpg


30.jpg


And this is the factory:

18.jpg


a pity...
 
TASMA type 17 had been widely used for general photography but it was developed for aerial photography. For instance, >>this<< camera used 80mm-wide version (look for "тип 17" in description, it means "type 17"). Nice film, small grain. TASMA still makes it from time to time but I was unable to buy it this fall during my stay in Kazan, where its made. Here is >>product info<< for type 17 from some Russian website.
 
amirko said:
30.jpg
ity...
Click to expand...

I have forty rolls of 120 Svema 64 I bought fresh from the Ukraine on Ebay over ten years ago. That's the film in the center of the picture, I think. It is 64 speed 120 Svema, and I'm sure it is still good. Interestingly it is wrapped in foil, just not heat-sealed. So you open it like a roll of 1960's Lifesavers Candy. :D Saving it off for future use

Also have some 9x12cm 64 speed Svema that is presumed still good. The previous owner got good results (and posted them) at EI of 12. This film will be used up in my Plaubel Makiflexes.
 
gb hill said:
Michael Raso says in the discussion thread Svema films are made near the original factory. The lables are made by FPP because they buy the film in bulk & respool on cassettes. I have no reason to doubt these guys.

https://www.flickr.com/groups/svemafilms/discuss/72157644297909161/
Click to expand...
If "made" means re-spooling into cassettes, he is absolutely right, because it is exactly what they do. The name of the company is ASTRUM (АСТРУМ). Here is topic on Russian sister-site about this:
http://rangefinder.ru/club/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=12740
 
As already mentioned, soviet made were Tasma and Svema. Those were very cheap. East German ORWO was considered "top-shelf" film. There was no Kodak or Fuji or anything else from the other side of the iron curtain, unless one was close to the "elite"...
 
amirko said:
If "made" means re-spooling into cassettes, he is absolutely right, because it is exactly what they do. The name of the company is ASTRUM (АСТРУМ). Here is topic on Russian sister-site about this:
http://rangefinder.ru/club/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=12740
Click to expand...

I can't read Russian so I have no idea what they are saying & too lazy to use google translate. The FPP guys are the ones doing the respooling. They buy it in bulk & load it in 24 frame 35mm cassettes.
 
A lot of OrWo film was exported to the Netherlands. The slow and medium speed B&W film was even not bad at all. I liked the film and even their slide UT-18 (color) was usable. Cheap of course, compared in the 70-80s to Kodak or Agfa film.

Tasma and Svema never reached the Dutch borders. The Svema factory closed already many years ago, see above pictures.
There is no production of any film in Ukraine any more and according photo friends in Kiev and Odessa that Astrum company is a sales type company only.

Everybody can put bulk 35mm film whatever from OrWo Filmotec, Foma without markings in a 35mm cassette and put a nice Svema label on it.
 
300mtrs of unexposed Russian film, asks EUR 50.00

http://link.marktplaats.nl/m866893948

No connection to seller, appears he/she has multiple cans of 300mtrs. Exchanged emails on the stuff and got a reply saying the previous owner of the film (not current seller) stated it needed to be rated at 200ASA.

I'm not getting it (too much, I'm stacked up on PolyPan F already) so I thought I'd better share it!

Enjoy!
 
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