Marc Roessler

Indeed! the acid it is more dangerous to handle and ship one is diluting it anyway so there is no real need to start with concentrated sulfuric acid NaHSO4 is cheap and really easy to obtain. It is also used as a pH value control agent for swimming pools, by the way. Checking needed if it's pure enough, though.

Nevermind.. found my error. Of course this strip of film had already been fixed, so no latent silver remained in the emulsion. After bleaching away the already developed silver there's nothing left to re-expose and re-develop. Seems the bleach works like a charm!

Good tip, Brian. I tried that.. all steps done in daylight. Had a small strip of processed fomapan 100r (processed as reversal). Bleached that strip with the described solution - worked quite well, silver image gone with small traces of image visible. After that I thought why not try the clearing bath step as well with the sodium meta bisulfite.. unfortunately at this step the image vanished completely, completely transparent base, no trace left of the image at all (very much unlike of what fomapan looks like during re-exposure, which is citron yellow). Even re-developing the test strip did not bring any image back. Any idea what where it went wrong? Did the bleach step work?

For reversal processing of Fomapan, or reveral processing in genereal: has anybody successfully used a NaHSO4 (sodium bisulfate) solution instead of thinned sulfuric acid for the permangante bleach? Much easier to obtain and easier to handle...

Hi everyone... apparently Witter-Cinetec is about to release a new color reversal film. The stock is re-slit AGFA Aviphot Chrome 200 (same emulsion as Agfachrome RSX II 200; also distributed as Rollei CR 200 slide film). This has an estar base and will be available in Super 8 and 16mm. I'm trying to get hold of a roll for testing, will keep you posted. Original announcement in German: http://www.wittner-c....php#20130205-1 Greetings, Marc

Hi everyone, does anyone here have any information on the ASCII Timecode (for sending and receiving timecode) that Aaton uses? It seems this is a single wire protocol for RX/TX.. Another related question: which devices actually support this format natively, besides the Aaton manufactured equipment? Greetings, Marc

Just to avoid confusion... Note that 100T and 100D doesn't say anything about how the film is to be processed. It just tells you speed (100 ASA or EI) and color balance (Tungsten vs. Daylight). The process is usually listed on the can, in most cases it's ECN-2 (i.e. normal color negative process) or E6 (normal color reversal process). For Kodak's (somewhat) current stocks, there is only one 100D stock made by Kodak, and it is 7285 Ektachrom Reversal Film for E6 processing. 100T may refer to the (somewhat) latest version 7212, but there have been older stocks called 100T as well. It's always a good idea to add kodak's number (7212, 7285, ..) when mentioning a stock, then it's what clear which stock you refer to. Welcome to the boards.

I agree that for some projects it's actually too expensive. It all depends on the amount of total effort you put into it. On the other hand, if a project isn't worth shooting on 16 or even 8, isn't there another problem to begin with? (It's different of course if you decide not to shoot film for other reasons. Film is not the ideal medium for every project, that's clear too.. for "ext/night with available light" I think an Alexa would be the better choice...) S16 is not that grainy as long as you stay away from the 500 ASA films. On the cinema screen (2k DCP) without degraining the S16 grain is apparent even with 200 speed films, it's a matter of taste there. But then again there are very nice degraining tools. S8 grain is very in-your-face grain and sharpness wise of course... Tastes do change and the slick digital look is very en vogue at the moment. However, whereever there's a trend there's usually a counter-trend too: I see quite some commercial music videos and ads shot on s8 at the moment .. one example is "DU" ("you") from Cro: Certainly a look only suitable for some clips, but I really enjoyed it here.

I don't think film and processing is that expensive. It's usually the (high quality) scanning that is expensive. Even for a short film, once you factor in cost for travel, parking, food, props & wardrobe, filming permits, renting lights, sound mix, DVD duplication (you give free DVDs to your crew, right?) in my experience you end up with 15 to 50 % of the budget spent for film stocks and processing. Let's face it, making a film is expensive, regardless of whether you shoot film or digital. Coming to think of it.. sitting through some indie films with endlessly long scenes where nothing is told to the viewer, I sometimes think that the cost of film stock and processing is a good thing. Forces you to be more to the point.

Hi everyone, as you all know things aren't going so well right now for our big yellow mama Kodak. And let's face it, in case Kodak (and the Vision technology) fades away, for color projects this will be the death blow to film as a serious choice as a recording format. Now my thought is, usually buying stocks (talking about financial stocks here, not film stocks) is seen as gambling, you're trying to maximize your returns by investing in stocks which you expect to rise. But when you buy stocks of a company, it also means that you invest in that company, giving them money to work with. (you should keep that in mind when buying shares of companies with questionable ethics, by the way...) Currently Kodak shares are somewhere around 18 Dollar-Cents. For example buying shares for 50 Dollars will give you around 277 shares. Yes they may drop. Yes you may loose all your money in case Kodak goes belly-up. But on the other hand, as a film affictionado loosing 50 Dollars will be the least of your problems in case we loose Kodak? It sure is just a tiny drop in the ocean, but I guess it's better than just sitting there and doing nothing... Greetings, Marc

Andec Film in Berlin/Germany will process it.. www.andecfilm.de/ Bit far from India, though. Richard, do you happen to know what's special about the Foma processing? Is it only the special internal anti halation layer?

Robert, looking forward to that! I think the N74 might be to grainy for me in S16 though (target format is 2K DCP). I've sent mail to Orwo and I hope they can give me some more information on what's going on. On a side note, for that film project I'm searching for two to three well stored 400' rolls of Plus-X as a replacement for the misbehaving UN54. If someone in Europe reading this has some for sale, let me know! Greetings, Marc

Bummer.. how in the world can they get away with this??

Hey everyone, today I had a test shoot on Orwo UN54. It really gave me some trouble. The camera was a well-maintained XTR Prod that happily ran any Kodak and Fuji material so far no matter how old it was (shrinkage). Loops are set perfectly, double checked all of this. I used fresh UN54 material, ordered 3 weeks ago. The camera runs quite loud right from the start. After running for about 10 to 15 seconds, the camera looses the loop (clearly audible) at which point I switch it off of course. After taking off the mag, re-centering the loop and reattaching the mag the camera is good for another 10 to 15 seconds. After some googling I found this thread (German, use google translate for a translation): http://www.am-neudeck.de/forum/messages/1/373.html?1281891954 Apparently others had this problem as well, with XTR, Minima and SR. Konvas 2M, Arri 16S, K3 and Filmo seemingly work fine. Can this be a problem with perforation tolerances being off? I know the Aaton claw slides in with a wedge shaped move, so could it be this mechanism relies on tight tolerances more than other (older) cameras? This really sucks, I thought UN54 might be usable as a Plus-X replacement, but now I will probably have to go with Double-X I guess.. Any ideas what might have gone wrong here? Greetings, Marc

Hi everyone, when using a video synchronizer (which locks the shutter phase to the CRT), I've read one should adjust phase until the shutter bar is not visible in the viewfinder. But isn't that wrong? In the mirror finder one sees exactly what the film does not see (timing wise), so shouldn't phase be adjusted for the bar being in the picture in the viewfinder? Greetings, Marc

Hi everyone, I just bought hetron video synchronizer (vsf 151, pickup unit and sync/phase box) for quite cheap from ebay (from a reputable seller, luckily). You can use it to phase sync your camera to CRT displays. The synchronizer came with a cable for an Arri SR3 (hetron 8 pin (Lemo) to Arri Fischer connector), but I'd like to use it with my XTR Prod. Now I'm wondering: #1 where does it connect at the Aaton? The sub-d 9 pin plastic video sync connector or the Lemo 8 pin speed controller connector? #2 what's the pinout of the 8 pin lemo connector at the hetron? Is it the same as with the XTRProd so I just can connect it one to one, or do some pins need to be re-routed? If someone knows the Pinout of the ARRI Fischer connector I can use that info to measure the cable using a multimeter and determine the pinout like that. #3 Has anyone got a manual for the hetron, or ever used one? Thanks, Marc

I'm planning a shoot on a tramway.. the setting is daytime, natural light. Due to the low speed stock used (64 or 80 speed, b&w) I will need to fill quite a bit with all this gray weather (unless we're really lucky and it's sunny or snowy). Now you all know how the typical tram shakes and bounces, especially when going across intersections. I might be able to get mains power from the tram, but I guess the filament of a mains powered redhead or reflector photoflood or fresnel would pop right away with all the vibrations. An obvious solution would be low voltage lamps as those are more sturdy, but I only one I know is the Dedos, and those are not quite powerful enough for use in daylight. Kinoflos are probably not bright enough. Or should I consider LED lights? Due to the b&w stock used I'm not concerned about color balance. Ideally the lamp could be powered by a 12V or 24V battery belt. Any ideas? Greetings, Marc

There is a petition for them being supported as cultural heritage here: http://petities.nl/petitie/analoge-film-van-industrie-naar-cultureel-erfgoed

Thanks John! It must have been exciting to be there! By the way, is that you about 1 second into the clip putting the LTR on the stairs in the background behind Sting? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9JzNjIgFfQ&feature=relmfu

most important: if the negs are dirty, don't let them dry. Keep them wet until you can clean them! I suggest to re-wash them (with de-ionised water and some Photoflo) and let them dry. Bent paperclips are a great way to hang the strips (hooking into the perforations).

That season of the year is approaching again... (well it's still a while...) Clip in HD resolution (with apparently a bit too much edge enhancement...) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDKSrD4Zarw I'm curious about the stock used... in the credits it lists Agfa Gevaert and Kay Labs, so I suppose it was Agfa stock processed at Kay Labs. It was shot November 1984, so XT 320 might be it.. but that's just guessing. Anybody know any specifics? What I know is that is was 16mm - an ARRI SR is recohnizable from the carrying handle and mattebox style, and in the making of an Aaton LTR can be seen.. Greetings, Marc

Hi everyone, what's your take on the Canon 7-63 vs. the 8-64? I know that the 8-64 is a tad faster (T2.4) than the 7-63 (T2.6 to T2.9) and that the 7-63 is newer.. but how do they compare image wise? Also I'm wondering, the manual lists the 7-63 as T2.6 at 7 to 50 mm, and T2.9 at 50 to 63 mm. But I can set the aperture ring to 2.6 even above 50mm. Does that mean that the image will just get a tiny bit darker when zooming in, despite the stop being set at 2.6? Thanks, Marc

Are you sure about Cineco Amsterdam? Their webpage doesn't say anything about this, and they still list negative and positive processing for both 16 and 35.

Picking this up again... How do you all feel about this subject a few years later? Are the zooms vs. prime arguments still valid, even with new zooms (Angenieux, Alura etc) and digital cameras with high base ISO values?

Hi, I just noticed my 16mm Angenieux 5.9mm doesn't seem to have filter threads.. Visual Products lists the same lens type for sale as having a 93mm front thread (here: http://www.visualproducts.com/storeProductDetail02.asp?productID=73&Cat=3&Cat2=16). Has the lens they offer been customized to have this filter thread? Or are there different versions of this lens? Greetings, Marc