Darkroom Diaries: Ilford Pan F+ 50 and Photographers Formulary TFX 2

Challenging one's comfort zone admittedly is a good thing.  As big of a fan of HC-110 as I am, I did have to wonder what else was out there in black and white developers that might work well to give me.  As my supply of the syrup was winding down, I began to explore what other options might be out there, and was wondering what I might find to vary my stable of developers.

Ultimately I selected Photographer's Formulary TFX-2.

The desire to try a new developer actually goes a bit beyond simple caprice as I imply.  As much as I love HC-110 as a general purpose developer, I wanted to see what I might be able to find that might be a lower contrast developer, particularly for use on microfilm as well as Ferrania P30, both of which tended to have higher contrast in HC-110.  I'd seen some results of P30 in the Metol based Beutler formula, which really looked promising, and was about to pull the trigger on the needed powders when, on perusing the wide array of options from Photographer's Formulary, elected that TFX-2 was the perfect choice.  Similar in makeup to the Beutler formula, but in a 2 part liquid formula that could be used as a one-shot developer, TFX-2 also had some at least one follower who was using it as a stand developing solution!  It was just like taking my existing practices and just changing the ingredients! 

Rather than jump directly into microfilm developing with TFX-2, I elected to do my first tries of stand developing of this developer using a couple of rolls of Ilford's Pan F+ film, a 50 speed emulsion known for being a bit heavy on contrast.  Using 12.5ml of both solution A and B in the 400ml tank for a 30 minute stand, I was quite curious to see what I'd get.  My first roll was a roll of 120 shot in a newly acquired Zeiss Ikonta 515/2, and my second roll was a cut down roll of 127 taken in my newly beloved Zeh Goldi.  

My results show a mix of promise and concern.  Some are simply wonderful, while I find there are a few challenges that can result when using this developer, at least on the somewhat temperamental Pan F film...

From the Zeiss folder, I'm instantly impressed by the first frame developed in TFX-2.  Though the sky shows some rather odd developer artifacts around the steeple, the tonality in the statue is nothing short of wonderful to me.

Dutch Date - Part 2: The Detrola Model HW and the Falcon Model F

Every so often, I'll get really frugal and ask a couple of cameras to share a roll of film.  Though there are problems here and there, they'll usually agree.  I call these "Dutch Dates" and usually try to pair cameras with something more than simply the film format in common.  Below is a look at just one such pairing...

The two Seniors noshed on some Japanese fare, while recalling the days when their format wasn't at all obscure!

Camera Models: Detrola Model HW (1939) and Falcon Model F (1937)

Similarities: It's as if someone built the shell of this camera for both makers to utilize in putting their own finishing touches and features on their version, as they are that similar.  Both are Art Deco era American Viewfinder collapsible 127 cameras whose design is rich in Art Deco lettering and design work, and as it so happens, both have tended to have a particular dislike of "homemade" 127 film, from previous experience.  Both also have Wollensak 2 inch Velostigmat lenses that have unit focusing instead of front element focusing. 

Differences: The models come from different manufacturers, and have slight differences in top shutter speed, as well as expected differences in trim. 

Film Shared: Rerapan 100 in 127 format, fresh dated. 

If you have read more than a few of my posts, you'll soon note that I'm a bit of a sucker for what are often known as "obsolete" formats.  After successfully cutting down 120 film to feed old 828 format cameras, my attention later turned to 127 format models, and I began to expand my film cutting adventures to this format as well.  However, I discovered some 127 cameras weren't the most enthusiastic about using this custom slit film, often slipping in the film advance, or simply having many issues with film plane flatness.  

Dutch Date - Part 1: The Nikon N75 and the Maxxum HTSi

Every so often, I'll get really frugal and ask a couple of cameras to share a roll of film.  Though there are problems here and there, they'll usually agree.  I call these "Dutch Dates" and usually try to pair cameras with something more than simply the film format in common.  Below is a look at just one such pairing...

The two Japanese millennials sat and reminisced on their youth as they partook in a shared roll of a newer American classic: Kodak's TMAX 100.

Camera Models: Minolta Maxxum HTSi (1997) and Nikon N75 (2002)

Similarities: Both are "mid-entry level" SLR cameras dating from the last 10 years of film's dominance that are largely overlooked today by film enthusiasts, who instead opt for higher end models of the era.  Both were acquired as an extra of a multi-camera lot, and happened to function perfectly.

Differences: The models come from different makers, and have different button locations for some similar functions.  The Minolta allows for manual setting of ISO speeds and has a faster top shutter speed of 1/4000 second.  The Nikon has five illuminated focus points that can be easily selected using a pad on the back of the camera.

Film Shared: Kodak TMax 100, fresh dated. 


In a world of camera collecting and shooting, you're bound to acquire a few extras you'd never intended to snap up.  Typically, these come in the form of an extra camera body bundled in with a multi camera lot that contains something else of interest.  All too often, these extra pieces are either something broken, something that you already have, or something that is just not terribly interesting.

Of the last of those classifications, there is often room for a slight change of heart, one that happens when you pick up that camera, load it with batteries (if it requires them), and fire off a few test shots, only to realize "You know what?!?  I don't hate this!"

Inst-amour! The Kodak Instamatic 700-800 Series

In most cases, I'm a terrible "Collector."

Though I may pick up vintage film cameras to a large degree, there have been few if any genres at which I've collected the entire set.  I don't need to have every Univex AF folding model.  Nor am I pressed to have the all black variant of the Pentax ME Super as well as the "SE" edition with diagonal split prism to round out my arsenal of that model.  And I'm never about to try to collect every lens offered for even the most meager SLR camera models.

But yet, I took an odd departure from my historical tendencies to snap up an example of each in one of the most endearing camera series that I've happened across this year...

In formation is the entirety of the 700/800 numbered series of Kodak Instamatic cameras. At the top of the stack are the 700 and 800, with the 704 and 804 in the middle, and the 714 and 814 making the foundation for this heavy stack of American cameras.

The Kodak Instamatic 700 and 800 series stood at the top spot of the American-made Kodak 126 cameras, and embody a remarkable sense of quirk and flair packaged in a durable housing with a surprisingly usable feature set.

Darkroom Diaries: Mastering Microfilm with HC-110

Looking to shoot film on a budget?  How about this "All You Can Eat Buffet" deal of the film world! For the cost of about 2 rolls of film, you are supplied with enough film to make about 20 or more rolls of film! This film has a nice slow speed and fine grain to allow you to open the lens up on most cameras in full sun, and it comes free of perforations, making an ideal candidate to stock 828 cameras with film! 

So what's the downside?  Well, there's lots of contrast that needs to be tamed in order to get an image with a more pictorial feel.  And the lack of sprockets that makes this a great 828 film also makes it very difficult to use in 35mm cameras, with some models needing some degree of modification, with some other cameras entirely unable to use the stock.  

This bargain film stock is microfilm, a long established medium of Archivists for the preservation of print media. Though never manufactured for pictorial use, this fine grained stock can be adapted for use in 828 and many 35mm cameras with a few caveats.

The most inhibiting of these caveats is the lack of perforations (sprockets) in most microfilm stocks.  This is film that was designed to be fed through a viewer with direct wheel contact, rather than fed through a camera with sprocket gearing and teeth.  This works fine in an 828 camera, but will slip when fed through manual advance 35mm cameras.  Many of the more modern 35mm film cameras with auto advance use an IR sensor that counts the film sprockets in 35mm stock as it advances.  With non-perforated microfilm, these cameras have no sprockets to count, and will simply give up and return the film to the 35mm cassette after attempting to load it.

For manual advance cameras that use a toothed wheel to pull film onto the take up spool, an improvised solution is to apply a layer or two of painters tape to the this wheel to increase adhesion and avoid the slippage that would otherwise result.  Within two minutes of trying this with a Ricoh KR30SP that I have, I had a camera that readily accepted the Microfilm stock.

Two 35mm cameras that will accept microfilm without any modification are the Canon 10S and the original Voigtlander Vito.  Both of these use a contact wheel that lacks teeth to advance film onto the take up spool.

So this all established, what are the rest of the challenges to using this medium?  The first would be supply.  Microfilm isn't typically found in the same places that those of us shooting conventional film pick up our supply.  Neither B&H nor Freestyle sells it, but it can typically be found on eBay.  If lucky, one can find single (100 foot long) roll sales for under $20.  It may take some patience and scouring, but it is out there.

Somewhat less challenging is the process of preparing a length of microfilm for use in a camera.  With 35mm, this involves taking a reusable cartridge, and either loading it with a length of film in the dark, or using a daylight bulk film loader.  Either method should work, but I used the former method, limiting the length of film to about an 18 shot roll.

I also loaded some 828 rolls by simply doing the same process above, but instead interleaving it with 828 backing paper (that the film was taped to on its beginning side) as I wound it onto an 828 spool. It wasn't long before I had three rolls of film ready to use in a variety of cameras.

Shooting this film involves some additional challenges.  I found that rating the Kodak Imagelink 1461 film at about ISO 20 seemed to give the best results.  

I knew I would encounter the potential for a lot of contrast when developing, and elected to scale back my typical stand development time (using Kodak's HC-110 developer at a 1:99 dilution) from 30 minutes to only 16 minutes.  This resulted in some pretty thin negatives, but these scanned with no issues whatsoever.

Below are some samples from my first three rolls of microfilm - the "All You can Eat Buffet" of the photographic world. 

On a very sunny day, I ran a short roll of Microfilm through a Bantam f/8 828 camera.  This wound up working perfectly with the slow shutter of the camera, and delivered some particularly good images given the very limited capabilities of this basic camera. Contrast is a bit high still, but not in an overwhelming way.

Zeh, not Meh - The Zeca Zeh Goldi Camera

For the classic camera collector, picking a handful of favorites can not only be a huge challenge, but it can also be something that largely defies strict logical thought.  

Consider one of my recent acquisitions that has quickly catapulted itself into "Top 10" camera status among my varied collection.  This is a camera that lacks any focusing aids whatsoever, has a top shutter speed of a "whopping" 1/125 of a second, and uses a film format that is especially difficult to find.  

So why would I be so enamored with a camera with such a limited feature set and usability? Because what I have is a camera compact enough to fit in a shirt pocket featuring a sharp, fast f/2.9 lens capable of focusing down to a mere 18", and giving an image size nearly 40% larger than the frame of 35mm film, all in an extremely well made housing indicative of a quality standard that has been abandoned for decades.  This little favorite of mine is the Zeh Goldi.

The diminutive and delightful little Zeh Goldi.

Though marked as "Zeca," the brand of this little known camera is actually known as "Zeh." This German camera maker released the Goldi in 1930, primarily as a half frame shooter of 127 film, though some less common full frame examples are also known to exist.  Zeh also made versions of this camera body for Rodenstock, which sold it as the Ysella.  Thus, while many various lenses can be found on Goldi cameras, it seems that Rodenstock Trinars are among the more common variants.  My particular version has a "Zecanar" branded lens, which may be of Rodenstock make, though it has a particular "hidden" talent that the Trinar variant lacks.  More on that later. 

Trying to Get Instant Kicks: The Polaroid J66

Stubbornness is considered an inherited trait, and is one to which I can readily admit having. I show it at work and in my family life, but my stubbornness is pervasive enough to affect my hobby as well. Where most sane people in the hobby of film photography would not bother with trying to get an image from a piece of equipment that is functionally obsolete, I push forward with a "Can-Do" spirit that is admittedly a bit over the top at times...

To the point where I have to wonder when I should stop beating a dead horse.

The tale begins in the height of my Polaroid pack film enthusiasm.  Still psyched to have a new toy to play with in the form of the Colorpack II, while preparing to purchase yet another in the form of the Polaroid 440 from Strawberry Fields, I'm somewhat intrigued by the sight of another interesting Polaroid camera sitting before me pleading me to add it to my collection.  It's called the Polaroid J66.

Knowing nothing whatsoever about this camera, with just 15 minutes on the meter outside, and my youngest son sitting on my neck as I sweat in the small store trying to keep him from breaking any of the multitude of interesting items, I take a quick look online, and without finding much in the way of information, elect to just simply toss it into my purchase for good measure.