FPP X-Ray film, now in 35mm

I’m always eager to try new films, especially black and white emulsions.  This latest film isn’t exactly new, but it was only previously available in 120 and 4x5.  I have shot several rolls of the FPP X-Ray film in the past year, and found that I liked the results from this orthochromatic film.  So, I was understandably eager to try some in 35mm.

The FPP 35mm X-Ray film comes in 36 exposure rolls (Yay!), and is in a plastic film cassette, like some Lomography films and other brands.  The film is rated at 200 ISO, but there is no DX coding on the cassette. That actually makes sense for this film, as I have shot the 120 version at ISO 100.  I reviewed this film last year in the 120 version, so read about it in that post (https://randomphoto.blogspot.com/2023/04/fpp-x-ray-120-film.html).

I shot the first roll in my Nikon FE, and with a 50mm f/1.2 Nikkor that I just had serviced by Crystal Camera Repair in Asheville.  I was on a short hike up near Craggy Gardens off the Blue Ridge Parkway, and shot the roll under mostly sunny conditions.  So, it was a test of the refurbished lens and the film.  I developed the roll in D-76 at 20°C for 6 minutes, standard water stop bath, and fixer.   I scanned the negatives on my Epson V700 scanner.

Results 

While this film is considered to be grainy, I have seen far worse.  In the 120 version, grain wasn’t a problem.  The film IS contrasty, orthochromatic, and what I call “crunchy”.  That means the high contrast in sunlit situations, combined with the fact that the film has no anti-halation layer - results in a greater differentiation between bright objects and shadows, which some of the above images (especially image 4) will show.  In my opinion, this is an interesting film that in the right conditions, will give you some unique results.  I’m going to shoot the next roll under cloudy overcast conditions and also indoors with good lighting, and see how that goes. I may also try using the D-96 developer - for 7 minutes.

It's an unusual film in that the original purpose was some sort of x-ray film, and I always like using a film that wasn't originally considered for pictorial use, as a pictorial film.  The fact that it's a relatively fast film makes it all the more attractive.

UPDATED 06-01-24

I have now shot the second roll under cloudy to overcast conditions, as well as indoors.  This film really stands out under these conditions.  As you can see in the first photo, there is no anti-halation layer, and the halo around the points of light indicates that.  All taken with a Minolta X7A and 50mm f/1.4 Rokkor lens.

Inside Highland Brewery

The rest of the images are from my backyard, and as a landscape/nature emulsion, it works very well. 

 

One Roll Review - Ferrania Orto 50

 

Before modern-day panchromatic b&w film emulsions appeared, film was orthochromatic - sensitive to the blue part of the spectrum, but insensitive to red.    Wet-plate photographers still deal with this, and their images have a special look that while retro, are modern.    Likewise, modern orthochromatic emulsions - and there are a few - are geared towards a special use as in 35mm cine applications, or like the ortho emulsions from Ilford, Rollei, and now Ferrania - offer a special look that panchromatic films cannot.     

Ferrania has been producing their P30 panchromatic film since late 2017, which was a bit of a surprise for the backers hoping for an E-6 film. However, as in my 2018 review of the P30, I liked the black and white film, which said to be an old-school emulsion with rich blacks and wonderful tonality.  The film certainly gained a fan.    Moving to 2023, Ferrania has just announced their Orto 50 orthochromatic black and white film.    I was given a test roll by the Film Photography Project  to see how this film looks.   

From Ferrania’s web site, here is their description of Orto 50: "In the earliest days of silent cinema, film stock was blue-sensitive or orthochromatic. Hollywood relied on cosmetics as a "corrective" for on-screen actors. One hundred years later, the very "flaws" that plagued our predecessors are now the creative features that distinguish orthochromatic films today." This is a true statement - orthochromatic films are definitely for those that want a unique look to their images, as reds turn into dark tones in this film. I don’t usually shoot people in my photography, but if you do, ortho films give an old-time look to portraits. In addition, these low-iso ortho films are fine-grained and great for architecture and many landscapes.    In urban settings, they give a contrasty old-school look to images, and that’s why I love to shoot with them.

Ferrania recommends that you shoot this film at box speed, ISO 50. That holds true for other Ortho films, such as Ilford Ortho Plus (ISO 80), and Rollei Ortho 25.  Shoot at box speed!

I loaded the film into my Pentax Spotmatic SP II with a 55mm f/1.8 Super-Takumar lens, and headed out on a walk along Haywood Road in West Asheville.    It’s a great place to test any film, with colorful murals, store fronts, bars, and many signs.  It was a good test for this film on a wonderfully sunny day.

I developed the film in FPP D-96 for 8 minutes, as recommended by Ferrania. I used constant agitation for the first minute, and then agitated for 15 seconds, stopped for 15 seconds, and repeated that until the 8 minutes was up.    Water stop, and 8 minutes in fixer.   As soon as I hung the film to dry, I knew that I’d be happy with my results.

red is very black with this film, as it is insensitive to it.

Lots of blue tones here, so they are lighter