John Salim

Eric, all labs running continuous film processors will replenish their tanks as film is being developed. As well as that, they'll run control strips ( sensitometrically exposed film ) to monitor the process and make adjustments if needed. It's a very precisely controlled action - and fine tuned as they go. This technique ensures the process is far more in tolerance ( in control ) than you'll ever see by eye yourself. It may surprise you to know most labs are using the 'same' chemicals they started with years ago ( but replenished and filtered all the time of course ). Some smaller operators ( usually those without professional laboratory experience ) may work by using 'single shot' chemicals. Those operators by definition cannot properly control their processing lines. John S ?

This is a classic example of the shutter being out of phase ! ( the film has started to be pulled down before the shutter closed ) John S ?

Hi Fabio, I've just sent you an email. Cheers, John S

I for one love ALL aspect ratios. As long as you're composing for the frame, what's the problem ? Movies like 'The Deer Hunter' ( 2.39:1 ) and 'Singin' in the Rain' ( 1.375:1 ) look beautiful and are perfection in composition. John S ?

Generally speaking 1.85:1 is a cinema format, whereas 16:9 is a television format. John S ?

Sadly these would have deteriorated over the decades, but for the best results contact this specialist lab... Film Rescue International in Canada .... https://www.filmrescue.com/ The Ektachromes can still be processed but the Kodachromes can only be processed as B&W negatives. John S ?

Slightly offtopic but related. Due to mishap, some archived early generation videotape British TV shows in colour were lost. Some time back, old B/W filmed distribution copies were discovered in an African TV broadcast station, in Nigeria I think. In playing them via modern telecine, it was discovered that traces of colour were appearing. Apparently the resolution of the film was just sufficient to have also captured the unique moire pattern of a PAL colour TV image which carries the colour information. With some R and D effort and the power of modern digital technology, it was apparently possible to recover in colour, the original coloured versions of the shows. Here's a wiki page on it .... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colour_recovery John S ?

Aren, Search this forum for 'Elaine' ... there's plenty to read ? John S

Hi Andries, Just a small lab providing E-6 ( cine and stills ) and B&W ( stills only ) processing. No scanning though ! Best wishes, John S

Hi Volker, Thank you very much for getting in touch and othering your spare ST-1. Happily we found the ST-1 and it just needs fixing up. The box has a crack in it and one of the battery terminals needs gluing down, but it does work ! It's the main battery box that would be useful to have ( as a head-rest ). Thanks again, and best wishes, John S ?

Thank you both for your advice. I'll pass them on ? Best wishes, John S

Does anyone have any recommendations for alternative ways of powering this camera ? A friend has just inherited one without the battery box. I assume it's nearly impossible to find a battery box nowadays. ? Cheers, John S

Thanks very much for that Charlie. The link is particularly useful ☺️ Cheers again, and all the best wishes, John S

Are there any members out there who could shed some light on the uses of wire recorders used in the field ? A friend of mine recently found a 'Webster Chicago' recorder and wants to know if they were used by the military. Any information however trivial would be gladly received. Cheers, John S

I've not shot any KAHL UT-18 myself, but have processed a lot of it. This film cannot be compared with Ektachrome 100D in any way for quality. It's good for what it is ( grainy, limited colour palette and no real D-min ) ..... it's loved by many artists, and is superior compared to Wittnerchrome 200D. Ektachrome 100D is a superb filmstock. If properly exposed and processed, it looks beautiful on the screen ! John S ?

Cale, The Yellow filter is for B&W photography, the darker one is a neutral density filter ( all films ) and the other is either a Close-up lens ( check by looking through it ) or a UV filter. More info here ... http://www.k3camera.com/k3/k3pdfs/2008-krasnogorsk-3-manual.pdf John S ?

A friend of mine occasionally shoots 100ft rolls of FP4 with his ( non register pin ) Vinten and Newman Sinclair cameras which handle KS perfs perfectly fine ( ... they're larger than BH perfs ). I prep all of his film by rewinding rolls onto camera reels ( films are supplied on 1" cores ), and arrange processing and scanning by DeJonghe Film Postproduction in Belgium. John S ?

I think that's as simple as it gets really. Trying to do this mechanically would be more complicated - and a lot more expensive ! John S ?

On simple designs, the moving feed arm is connected to a potentiometer controlling a variable speed DC motor. John S

You're correct Ethan, if you watch this YouTube video you'll see there's a variable speed control unit in the centre of the feed platter constantly adjusting the feed out speed ( at 1':35" ) You can guess what'll happen if the controller goes wrong ! John S ?

This picture of Natalie Wood being pied always makes me smile. Taken behind the scenes of 'The Great Race' ( that's director Blake Edwards throwing the pie ! ) John S ☺️

Here's another good example of a mis-timed shutter ( shot on Panavision ). It's a dream sequence for the track 'The Name of the Game' from the film 'ABBA The Movie'. There's a lot of use of filters too. Original ratio 2.35:1 ( anamorphic ). John S ?

I wouldn't have thought so Miguel, because the film has to physically start moving before the shutter fully caps the frame. There might be a software solution ???? John S ?

Really appreciate Dirk taking the time to do proper densitometric measurements through FedEx's shipping system. Good man ! John S ?

Here's a picture of the yellow subtitles... John S ?