Fun with Film: Kodak Supra 100

The world of Color Negative Film has gotten to be a bit dull to me - not dull as in "unsaturated," but more so dull in that there are not a lot of fresh options when I care to see if I can try out a new palette. 

Fortunately, there are, at the moment, a number of expired film stocks still found today, under 15 years old, that can still produce good results.  While these films may not be readily available, or even consistent from roll to roll, they can at least make for a fun new shooting exercise to throw into a trusted camera to see what you get.

One such film is Kodak Supra 100, an emulsion that appears to have shown up on the market around 2000, just as the world of digital photography was about to take off.  The introduction of a slower 100 speed film during an era when compact point and shoot cameras (that tended to need faster speed films) had gained so much traction in the market is an interesting and refreshing thing to note.  I'd presume that this film was marketed towards serious amateurs using SLR cameras or similar equipment.  

Information on Supra's selling points today can be a tad scant given that many web pages contemporary with the period the film was sold, have since vanished into cyberspace.  It seems that this film's main strengths were a vivid color and fine grain in comparison to the Kodak Gold and Royal Gold products at the time.  Supra was discontinued in all speeds around 2003, and remaining stocks of the film appear sporadically on eBay and other sales outlets, often in quantities of 5 rolls or less.

I happened to snap up a small lot of expired film from an ebay auction that included one roll of Supra, and was curious to see what this film could do, though the most recent examples of the film I could find on the web were a bit too "Lomo" for my tastes.  I elected to set out close to home with this film loaded in my Exakta VX, swapping from the Domiplan 2.8 to the Primotar 3.5 lens, and then finishing the roll in the Minolta A5 in order to see what sort of color the latter camera might provide.   

At the onset of the roll, the Supra provides a look that certainly doesn't look like a roll of film that was likely 15 years old, offering up bright colors that embody the vivid morning on which I rambled about.  Grain increase is evident in the sky, but is by no means distracting. 

Fun with Film: [kromiǝm] 500

Those like myself who really enjoy shooting analog color slides have little in the way of options as 2016 starts off.  At present, three emulsions are being made by Fuji, while one other by Agfa is reportedly being discontinued.  Meanwhile, delays in the Ferrania project to restart the Ferraniachrome 100 emulsion mean that this product is not ready for consumption.  Expired stocks are growing increasingly limited, and competition on auction sites can mean paying a scary premium for Ektachrome.  Fortunately, there are a few other options, one of which is called [kromiǝm] 500!

Fun with Film: Film X by Washi in E6 Chemistry

From the Lomography Site:

If you believe that life is best captured in color, then give Washi Film X a try. This panchromatic negative mask-less color film delivers high saturation, crystal clarity and an overall warm tone. Originally designed for road traffic surveillance, this emulsion yields a distinct texture to give your photographs beaming with character. What’s more, you can also process it as a slide film for even more vibrant hues!

Imagine a 400 speed color film that you could elect to process either as a color negative for printing, or in E6 chemistry as a vibrant transparency with amazing color.  This is pretty much what is claimed of Washi-X, a new film offered by Lomography.

The name derives from a hand made Japanese paper, and indeed the purveyors of Washi-X are actually trying to summon the spirit of hand making paper in another of their products, Film Washi, an ISO 25 medium made in small batches for the analog market.  This French made product is certainly unique in its nature and made with a great degree of pride.

But what of their Washi-X product?  Is this some miracle product made from scratch that might forever change the dynamic of analogue photography?  Is it even possible to make color film from scratch with any degree of consistency?  Is it possible to make a version with a Kodachrome palette? Can I get "less filling" and "tastes great?"

Packaging of Film X is admittedly pretty slick, with a sleeve bundled by a label rather than the typical plastic film can. 

The Varied Commute

A few months ago, I made a pretty significant change in my life, moving from my environs in Columbia MD out to Frederick, further to the west.  There are any number of reasons for this, but in doing so, I certainly weighed out the pros and cons.  One of the biggest cons was an increase in my commuting time to work in Washington DC.  However, I fancy myself one who likes exploring, and have always tried to "make lemonade from lemons."  In the process of settling in, I would try a number of different commuting options that involved various combinations of driving, bus riding, commuter trains and the DC Metro.  And each of these new views also brought with it a chance for some new photographic fun that I did not have on my previous commute.  Have a look at some shots taken on the Exakta, of my new and often varied commute.

Believe it or not, this image on Fomapan 200 was actually taken from the MTA commuter bus #515, and depicts a retention pond in the middle of the exit from Interstate 270 to Urbana.  

A Tale of Three 50's

Maybe not so much a tale, but a test, and even then not so much a test, but a comparison. There have certainly been any number of retellings of the history of lens makers such as Zeiss and Schneider, as well as decades old testing of their lenses.

But when I happened to acquire not one, but three 50mm lenses in a roundabout fashion, I couldn't resist taking a roll and shooting the same shot through all three to see which one I liked the best.  In most cases, the answers are subjective, but that is to be part of the fun.

So, included within the test are three reasonably common lenses available for the Exkata VX.  The first is my Meyer Gorlitz Primotar 50mm f/3.5 lens. Adorned in a slightly jaded coat of chrome, the lens is perhaps the gaudiest looking of the batch, and as well it is the slowest of the three.  The f/3.5 maximum aperture won't win any speed awards.  However, it does have the graces of generally good color renditions and pleasing bokeh,

The second lens was acquired almost by accident.  It is a Schneider Xenon 50mm f/1.9 lens.  It looks quite similar to the common manual focus lens designs of the 1960's onward, adorning a basic business black.  Though I managed to acquire it and a camera for a remarkably good price, it seems to be the priciest of the batch, routinely commanding more than double what I paid for it and the camera.  This is likely in part because it is the fastest of the three, edging out the Meyer lens by nearly two f stops in speed due to the wider aperture,

Another lucky pickup that I snagged with a camera win is the Zeiss Tessar 50mm f/2.8 lens. Of the three, it is the only one lacking the automatic diaphragm coupling to the Exakta system,  However, by foregoing this feature, it is also the most elegant looking lens of the three, with a gleaming, yet simplistic panache to its appearance.  The Tessar formula is one of the most revered in 20th century photography, and the lens has a capable reputation. Still, despite being so lauded, the lenses are remarkably common, and are not too painful on the wallet to acquire.  Also, unlike the other two lenses, it has a 14 bladed aperture iris, resulting in a nearly perfect circular opening as opposed to a hexagonal opening from the other two lenses.

Beautiful and a Bit Bizarre: The Exakta VX

A little while back, I finally gave 35mm another try, by reactivating a Praktica FX3.  The experience was interesting to say the least, and while I wasn't over the moon about dealing with some of the ways of the old camera, I was certainly open to seeing what else might be a usable option that would allow me to fire off a few more frames and be able to experiment with some 35mm film options that are not available in 120.

Around this same time, I began peeking about a Facebook group of Vintage Camera Collectors, when a particular camera, endeared by a number of people there, caught my eye. Reportedly built like a tank and glimmering in a mix of aluminum, chrome, and black leather, it was an SLR camera that carried with it a timeless beauty, predating the decades of austere machines that would copy its basic premise and leave us with endless sterile designs. Like the Praktica, it was known for having a few quirks, but many of its users loved theirs, and I was determined to join their ranks.  

And thus I set about acquiring one of these marvels.  Meet the Exakta VX: