FPP Frankenstein 200 Film!

For the past several years, the Film Photography Project Store has been introducing a monster-themed black and white film.  One of the reasons is that people love films with great packaging, and it certainly helps if the film itself can give good results.  Their line of "Monster Films" are hand-picked by Mike Raso to give consumers a taste of different films they might otherwise not consider.  The Dracula 64 is one of my favorite films with good contrast and fine grain.  Last year, the FPP introduced Wolfman 100 in both 35mm and 120, and this year, 2021, they came out with Frankenstein 200 in 35mm,  120, 620,AND 4x5. A big surprise was the release of Dracula 64 in 120, which I am quite excited about.

I'm not going to go and tell you what these films actually are -- that sort of spoils the fun - but if you are familiar with their line of film stocks, you can probably figure it out.  Besides, isn't it great when someone asks what you are shooting with and you can say "Frankenstein 200?"

Due to the wonderfully rendered monsters on each film label, I think that these films sell quite well, and the results from them are scary good. You don't have to save them for Halloween - any time of the year is good.  So, let's take a look at the latest Frankenstein 200.   

Frankenstein 200 is a medium speed panchromatic film that conveniently fills the gap between ISO 100 and 400.  In the color world, ISO 200 is a common ISO, but not so much in the monochrome world.  In older cameras that may not have 1/500 sec shutter speeds (and in the Hexar AF, a not so vintage camera, 1/250 sec is the max), Frankenstein 200 gives you a nice option.  It's a medium-grain film that has a traditional look to it, and it does well with the common D-76 developer.  Since it's also available in 120 and 4x5, that gives the larger format users something that's reasonably priced at ISO 200. 

Developer-wise you have a few options:

• Kodak D76 - Stock Solution / 20°C/ 5-6 min
• Kodak D76 - 1+1 / 20°C/ 8-9 min
• FPP D96 - Stock solution / 20°C/ 7 min
• Kodak HC-110 - Dilution B / 20°C/ 4 minutes or Dilution H (1+63) for 9 min
• Kodak X-Tol - Stock solution /20°C/ 6 min

I shot two rolls - one with my Leica M2, and one in my Nikon FE2.  Each roll was shot on separate trips, and I thought my results were very good.  Both were developed in D-76 1:1 for 8.5 min.

grain elevator, Tucumcari, NM
Leica M2 with 35 f/1.4 Summilux

Cuervo, NM ghost town
Leica M2 with 35 f/1.4 Summilux

Cuervo, NM ghost town
Leica M2 with 35 f/1.4 Summilux

Virginia Rest area, Nikon FE2

Glen Jean Bank, WV, Nikon FE2

Kent Square, Pittsburgh, PA, Nikon FE2

I really like this film, and you should give it a try.

I don't know what's in the works for next year, but I hope that Mummy 400 is under wraps until then. 

Widening Your Horizon

Vance Birthplace, Reems Creek, NC 2019. Sprocket Rocket, Fuji Superia 400

One of the important aspects of photography is determining how much of a scene will appear in your image. Not only that, but the aspect ratio in which the scene was recorded (whether film or digital), is also an important decision.  We often see different aspect ratios available on digital cameras - 1:1 (square) 3:2, 4:3, 16:9, etc.  With film, the original aspect ratio of the medium is square 1:1 (24x24 mm for 35 mm, or 6x6 cm in 120), 2x3 (24 x 36mm for 35mm) 3x4 (18 x 24 mm in 35mm half-frame), and in medium format, 6x4.5, 6x7, 6x8, 6x9, and 6 x 17. Large format of course, is 4x5, 5x7, 8x10, etc., but not a part of this discussion.  I only mention digital here because you can choose a wider aspect ratio in-camera, but at the cost of pixels. Panoramic format is generally considered to be about twice as wide as high, so an aspect ratio of 16:9 is pretty close in the digital world. 

I'm going to discuss 35mm film formats, since that's the most-often used film, and the panoramic options are more affordable.  To get more of a landscape in your image, one can go the wide-angle route, using lenses with short focal lengths such as 28mm down to 16mm.  My favorite wide focal length is 24mm, because it's not so wide that there is going to be major distortion in perspective, compared to 19mm or 20mm.  However, the problem with just using a wide-angle lens is that all of the scene, from sky to foreground is there, unless you crop it out.  The better solution to a wide-scape is to use a wider frame of film for the scene.

While a standard 35mm still negative image area is 24 x 36 mm, there are other formats that will affect the area of the scene captured.  You may often hear about panoramic format images from 35mm and the typical, easy way to do that is simply to mask a 35mm frame so that it ends up with the negative area that is about 15mm high x 36mm wide.  There are many 35mm point and shoots and a few SLRs that do this trick by using a horizontal mask at the top and bottom of the frame. It works quite well, but the downside is that you have also lost some resolution, as you are cropping the 35mm frame to a much smaller area.  Making enlargements will often be grainier and less sharp. However, with a wide-angle lens and a good exposure on fine-grained film, the result can be quite acceptable.   

Lake Michigan Dunes, 2007. Ansco Pix Panorama, Delta 400 film

The better way to present a wider-aspect ratio image is to increase the frame size. To do this, the camera needs to have a wider film gate, and a lens that will work with the wider image circle. There are several options for this, and most of them are expensive. The one camera that's probably most coveted for wide shots is the Hasselblad X-Pan (made by Fujifilm, and also known as the Fujifilm TX-1). The negative area for that camera is 24 x 65mm, almost double the frame width of a typical 35mm.  The price of such a camera now is beyond the means for most of us. So, what other choices are there?  Well, fear not.  My list that follows are low-cost solutions to the panoramic problem.

Ansco Pix Panorama 

The low-fi way to do it.

The removeable panoramic mask in the camera

This is the low-fi, low-cost way to shoot a cropped frame panoramic. Amazingly enough, the images are better than one might expect. They have the toy camera aesthetic, and with the 27mm lens, one gets a true wide-angle for the best result with the cropped 13x36mm negative.  The shutter speed is about 1/125 sec, with an F/11 aperture.  The panorama mask is removeable so that you can also get standard 24x36mm negatives.   Ebay prices are quite low, ranging from $5 to $20.  Ansco Pix Panorama  cameras are quite common (not made by Ansco, but by Haking in China), so don't overpay for one.  Due their easily pocketable size, they provide a fun and easy way to get a panoramic look.  On sunny days, ISO 100 films should be just fine, otherwise ISO 200 or 400 films.  Kodak's Tmax 100 for b&w would be a good choice for sunny conditions. There are many other 35mm cameras with a panorama mask and wide-angle lens, such as the Ricoh R1, Minolta Freedom Vista, Olympus Trip Panorama, Yashica Microtek Zoom 70,  Nikon Lite Touch AF 600, Vivitar IC101, Vivitar T200, Vivitar PN 2011, Pentax UC-1, etc. 

Lower harbor, Marquette, MI. 2014. Yashica Microtek Zoom 70.
Konica VX 400 film.

Curvilinear, 2013. Nikon F-50D with the pano mask, Tmax 100 film

Lomography Sprocket Rocket

Lomography's Sprocket Rocket is a great plastic fantastic panoramic camera, which I discussed in 2017.   The Sprocket Rocket's real frame size is actually wider than the X-Pan, at 24 x 72mm, or two full 35mm frames.   With its 30mm f/11 and f/16 lens and only Instant (1/100) and B shutter speeds, it's limited in the ways that an X-Pan is not.  However, it does have a tripod socket, so lengthy exposures are possible.  Best of all, it's an easy to carry-around camera that takes pretty darn good images. There's some vignetting, some blurred edges, and a bit of distortion, but I love the images that I get from this camera.  I do not care about showing the sprockets, and they are cropped in my scanner frame, anyway.  With a 36 exposure roll of film, you will get about 16 shots.   I have found that using 200-400 ISO film works great in most conditions.  My favorite film to use with this camera is Eastman 5222 (Double-X).  

Cloudgate, Chicago, 2017. Sprocket Rocket, Eastman 5222

Holga 135 Pan

The Holga 135 Pan looks much like an elongated  Holga 120N.  It has a removable 55mm f/8 lens plus an f/236 pinhole lens.  The frame size is 24 x 72 mm - again, a tad wider than the X-Pan. It's zone focus, and has two shutter speeds - ca. 1/100 sec and Bulb.  It also has a tripod socket and a hot shoe for flash.  I have used mine as a pinhole camera and also with the regular lens, and I prefer the 55mm lens. I reviewed the camera back in 2012.  I don't think the images are as sharp as the Sprocket Rocket, which is due to the Holga lens. However, if you want to shoot wide with a toy camera, it's one to consider, and it's definitely given me some memorable images.

Great Lakes Freighter, 2012. Holga 135 Pan, Superia 200

Angell Hall, 2012. Holga 135 pan, Vista 100 film

Holga 120N 35mm Adapter

I reviewed this solution in 2010, and the resulting frame size is 24 x 55 mm, because you are using the 35mm film in a 120 film body.  The biggest drawback in my opinion is the frame counting is tedious, and you can't rewind the film without taking the camera into a dark bag and unloading it.  You can also put 35mm in film other medium format cameras, and only a 6x9 format makes this desirable.  There are many hacks for doing this, but in most of the instances, you can't rewind the film in camera, which does make this method cumbersome.  In addition, the medium-format lenses are typicall "normal" and not wide, so the effect won't be quite the same as a panoramic camera.

Result from the Holga 35mm adapter, 2010.

Other Medium Format Camera Adapters -

Using a 35mm adapter in a Pentax 6x7 ought to give nice results if you use it with a wide-angle lens such as the 45 or 55 mm lens. There are 3D printed adapters available online.  One photographer has blogged about his impressive results.  A Mamiya RB67  can also be modified to work with 35mm, and as with the Pentax 67, there are some online sources for a DIY or finished product.  Again, all of these adapters require you to rewind the film back into the cassette by using a dark bag or darkroom. If you already have a Pentax 6x7, then the adapter is a low-cost entry into 35mm panoramas. I plan on trying one out this year.

Horizon Panoramic Camera

Horizont (Horizon) 35mm swing-lens panoramic camera

The other option is to use a swing-lens panoramic camera that does not distort the images the way toy cameras are prone to do. The Horizont cameras, manufactured by Krasnogorsky Mechanicheskiy Zavod (KMZ) in the Former Soviet Union (FSU), debuted in 1966, and use 35mm film with a 24 x 58 mm framze size.  KMZ is also known for its line of Zenit 35mm cameras.  The Horizont features an 28mm f/2.8 Industar lens and four shutter speeds, ranging from 1/30 to 1/250 sec. It was replaced by the Horizon 202 in 1989, and then by the Horizon S3Pro in 2003.  Lomography now sells the Horizon Perfekt, which has an ABS plastic body, easier controls, more streamlined shape, and is made in the Zenit factory.  Another model from Lomography is the Horizon Kompakt which has only 1 shutter speed and an f/8 aperture. A new Horizon Perfekt will set you back about $350, with the older models going for less.  The Horizont will give you sharp images, and is a heck of a lot cheaper than the Widelux or Noblex swing-lens panoramic cameras.    My Horizont arrived the other day from an eBay seller, and I am just testing it out now.

To sum it all up, shooting a scene on a wider negative provides a much different view than a standard 35mm frame, even if a wide-angle lens is used.  You can of course, crop any image to get a wider aspect ratio, but cropping is at the loss of image area, whether film or pixels. A wider negative in panoramic format presents the viewer with a more dynamic depiction of a scene.

Of course, you do not have to shoot panoramas horizontally.  Vertical shots are really fun, and provide a definite vertically dominant image.

A triptych from 3 vertical Ansco Pix Panorama shots, 2007.

About Medium Format Panoramas

If you want to really go with film real estate, you can choose among medium-format cameras, with 6x12 and 6x18 cm being very amazing, and also very expensive.  However, there are a number of people that have produced 6x12 cameras using 3D printing.  The Kraken 6x12 from Graham Young is a good example. This makes shooting wide in medium format much more accessible. Lomography's Belair also does 6x12 at a reasonable price, but my sample of the camera never seemed to focus accurately, and I really never warmed to to it.  Of course, there are Widelux and Noblex cameras that use 120, and are pricey.  The cheapest 6x12 would be the Holga 120 Pan that has a 90mm lens and the typical Holga construction.  However, it's probably no longer in production. On the higher end of the scale, Linhoff and Fujifilm have the extreme wide panoramic cameras with prices and image quality to match. 

 

  More Images!

The wide-angle image from the Ansco Pix without the
panorama mask in place. 2008. 

April 2017 Festifools. Sprocket Rocket, Kodak Gold 200.

Smithfield Cemetery, 2020. Sprocket Rocket, expired
Ektachrome Elite 200

Parker Mill, 2010. Holga 35mm adapter.

Pergola, Biltmore, 2021.  Sprocket Rocket on Ultrafine 400

Landscape, Biltmore, 2021.  Sprocket Rocket on Ultrafine 400

Skeleton, 2015. Holga 135 Pan, Tmax 100

Perspective, 2006. Ansco Pix Panorama. Ilford HP-5

Black Rocks, Marquette 2006. Ansco Pix Panorama, Delta 400 

One Year

It's been a year since we moved to Weaverville, NC from Ann Arbor, MI.  We feel very comfortable here, and are very happy in our new home. If you had  asked me three years ago, where I might be living in 2020, I don't think that NC would have been on my radar at the time.  Life is funny, in how things can quickly change in ways that one does not foresee.  But, at the age of 62, one does not often make big changes, and moving here was certainly a big change.  To be honest, I was getting in a rut in Ann Arbor, and while I did like our old home, the neighborhood, and my friends, nothing much had changed, except that I was retired.  The ugly politics at work hastened my retirement, and I had no reason for emotional ties to the place I worked for almost 37 years.    It was time to reinvent myself, and in a way, I did.  I'm no longer a retired entomologist. I'm a retired man that is passionate about photography, loves living in the mountains, and having a relatively stress-free life. 

Vance Birthplace, State Historic Site. Nikon F2S, FPP Infrapan.

I have fallen in love with Western North Carolina - the mountains, the rivers and creeks, nature's abundance, and  the people here are genuinely welcoming and friendly.  I grew up at the NW edge of the Adirondacks in New York State, and love being in the mountains once again.  We are very close to the Blue Ridge Parkway, and getting into the higher elevations is a really quick trip.  There are so many streams and waterfalls that are within 30 miles, it seems almost too good to be true to be living here.   We had plans for some trips to the coast, but then COVID-19 happened, and of course, those were put aside for the time being.  Despite that, I have been doing a lot of day trips in the area, and it's helped familiarize me with the best routes and natural features. 

View from Mt. Mitchell.  Nikon FM3a, Rollei Retro 80s

I still have not gotten my darkroom put in, and the new space will be smaller than my old one, but will be adequate for what I do.  For now, the downstairs bathroom is where I develop film, and it's worked out pretty well.  Unfortunately, with the current situation, there have been no photography meetups or gatherings.  I'd really like to do a Western NC film-shooters' meetup, but that will have to wait.

Biltmore Estate, Tasma Mikrat 200, Nikon FM2N

One other thing that is new for me is that I am trying to learn to paint with Acrylics.  The landscapes here are inspiring, and maybe I will find my style and see where I go with it.  It's definitely a challenge.

Walker falls, Nikon FM3a, Ilford Pan-F

Of course, if you have been following this blog, then you already know the things that I  have been doing over the past 12 months.  I am currently testing a bunch of other films, and hope to have some reviews ready  in August.

Stay healthy, my friends.

One Roll Review - Rollei RPX 25

It seems that this is one of the few low-ISO films that I have not tried until now.  The film came on the market in 2014, so it's been available for quite a while. I placed a big order of Rollei and other films that I had yet to try, and B&H quickly shipped them to my door.  Among the films was Rollei RPX 25, which I assumed was a sort of replacement for the old Agfa APX 25, which I definitely liked when I shot with it over a decade ago.  After doing a bit of research, the RPX 25 is a different sort of film, which is made by someone, certainly not Rollei. While the packaging and the Rollei name are licensed by Maco, the film is quite different from the Rollei Ortho 25 Plus, and is not advertised as having extended red sensitivity like the Retro 80s film. 

From the RPX 25 Datasheet (translated by user ashfaque on Rangefinder forum 12/2015):

"Low-sensitivity, high-resolution, panchromatic black and white film, ISO 25/15°
Rollei RPX 25 is a panchromatic B&W film with a nominal sensitivity of ISO 25/15°, which is cast on a modern crystal clear, synthetic carrier.
    This film is characterized by its high resolution at fine grain and high edge sharpness. Rollei RPX 25 behaves perfectly in over- or under-exposure due to its optimum sensitivity reserve of up to 2 stops. Depending on the developer, the film compensates critical lightning situations. The 5µ film - silver-rich-panchromatic sensitized Rollei RPX 25 is poured into a crystal-clear polyester carrier of 100µ. "

Main Features in Brief

• Low sensitive panchromatic film at ISO 25/15°
• Resolution Contrast Ratio 1000: 1 = 260 lines / mm
• RMS granularity (x1000) = 8
• Exposure range (between 12 and 50 ISO)
• Good pull-push characteristics
• Good rendering of tones
• Very good maximum blackness;
• Transparent = optimal for scanning and as slide
• Optimum flatness thanks to anti-curling layer

I shot my roll of RPX 25 while on a trip to Dutchess Co., NY in early February.  I also traveled around the nearby CT/MA/NY area, and when I found myself at Great Falls on the Housatonic River, I knew that a low-ISO film was perfect for what I was seeing.  I loaded my Nikon FM3a with the RPX 25 and had exposures of about 2 sec maximum.  I saw no problem with long vs normal exposure times.  I developed the film in Kodak D-76 1:1 for 8 minutes at 20°C.

some negatives on the light table

In my research about this film, I found that it could have been made by Agfa, and might have been the Agfa Aviphot 80 aerial film. Which apparently, is the same as the Rollei Retro 80s.  I have shot the Retro 80s, and I like it, and it does not appear to me to be the same film.  The Polyester base does lie very flat, which to me, is a plus in scanning.   I know that the Rollei films are all rebranded from other manufacturers, and of course, it's not old-stock Agfa APX 25. What exactly is it?  Does it really matter?  It's documented that the Rollei Retro 80s is the Aviphot 80 film.   I am not buying that RPX 25 is the same film.  I am glad that the RPX 25 is available and from what I have seen thus far, an excellent film for landscapes.  I'll leave the keyboard commandos to their theories about the film's origin.

One may argue that one roll isn't really testing this film.  I shot the film at the box speed, using a camera and a subject that I am familiar with in my shooting style.  Yes, I used a tripod and a cable release.  I feel that my results matched my expectations for a low-ISO panchromatic film.  Of course, I would shoot this film again.   

One bit of caution - since the film is on a PET base, light-piping can occur, so keep the film in the black canister, and load in dim light. 

All images shot with a Nikon 35-105 zoom Nikkor, unless otherwise specified.

on the way home, along I-26 N of Asheville, 50mm f/1.4 nikkor

on the way home, along I-26 N of Asheville, 50mm f/1.4 nikkor

The Ricoh FF3-AF Point & Shoot

Back in the early 1980s, we were being treated to a  plethora of small, plastic-bodied 35mm point and shoot cameras.  Few attained the cult-like status of the Olympus XA (1979), which I think set the bar for design, ease of use, and image quality. Of course, the XA isn't a true point and shoot, but the XA2 that followed it is. Incorporating a flash always made for a larger camera, and because of that, the XA series with the separate flash module always were smaller than the cameras that incorporated a flash in the body.  Ricoh, while not a household name at the time, produced some interesting cameras, and probably made cameras for other brands.  The Ricoh FF-3 AF was introduced in 1983, and while it does not exactly stand out in the crowd, it doesn't try to do too much, and that is a good thing.

The Ricoh FF3-AF is an autofocus camera with a 5 element 35mm f/3.2 lens.  The lens cover slides back and forth across the front of the camera.  Uncovered, the camera is ready to go.  You set the ASA (ISO) by rotating a dial to the L of the lens, and film speeds range from 25 to 1000.  This was 1983, remember?  The film advance and rewind are motorized.  The self-timer is 10 seconds, and I think the close-focus distance is about 1 meter,  There is a window on the film door, so I don't recommend the camera for IR film.  A green light shows up on the L side of the top deck to indicate that the film is winding properly.  Just below it, a light indicates the self-timer is operating. You manually select the flash (a good idea) by pushing a tab to the L on the front of the camera. Best of all, the camera needs only 2 AA batteries to operate.  There is a tripod socket on the bottom.  No fiddly controls, and everything makes this autofocus point and shoot a bargain buy if you find one.  I especially like the fixed focal length of 35mm, making it a good candidate as a street camera.  As I said, there are no truly outstanding features, but the sum total is a compact, easy to use camera with a very good lens.

I did something I rarely do with a new camera -- I loaded a long-expired roll of b&w film. I used a roll of 1988 dated Agfapan 400.  Because of its age, I set the ISO at 100 on the front of the camera. There is no DX sensor inside to set film speed, which I really appreciate.

Loaded up with film, the camera weighs 12.8 ounces.  It fits into a pocket on my photo vest (which is a vest from Duluth Trading).  I took it around with me on several outings, and shot the roll of old Agfapan 400.  While there was some base fog, the scans came out pretty well.  In fact, I am quite pleased with the results from this old film!

My conclusion -- it's an underrated point and shoot camera that isn't particularly common.  I think if you find one for less than $10, pick it up.  It fits into a coat pocket quite easily, and the images from it will be just fine.

Now, some of the images...