JCam Loc: MD Eastern Shore

It, but has been a loooong time since we did any B&W processing and we had both the plastic and Stainless developing containers--I'd hesitate to call them tanks. The Stainless were much easier to use although I don't remember any significant difference in the results.

ArgusSnap1 Loc: Indiana

Hi every one--I really loved that panatomic film,it had such a beautiful fine grain and carity to it.I just started thinking about that film the other day and I really sad that it is no longer used. I used it with my Minolta SRT 202 with a 50mm normal lens Life was so much simplier then--one lens and simple match needle reading to expose by. I still have a lot of different film cameras-2 x Yashica Mats,a Rollieflex and a Minolta Autocord, a 4x5 Speed Graphic and now I have extra Minolta bodies and lenses. I started on my Dad's old Argus Markfinder. I have been picking up box cameras here and there and on Ebay and if I think I can shoot it I buy it. I need to stop now with my collection since I don't have room for them all. But still do enjoy film photgraphy.

A friend just lent me a Super 8 Movie camera with some unopened Kodachrome film to use in it with an exp. date in the 1970's. Does any one think it will work? I know now you send Kodachrome off to get dev. in B/W so I guess I'll give it a try.

I have read on various sites including Flickr that people are rolling 120 film on 620 reels and using 35mm on 127 reels ,but with the 127 camera you have to cover the red window since 35mm does not have the paper backing other film does.

B&H in NY,Freestyle in Calif. both sell 620 roll film and 127 I think. There are a few companies on Ebay that reloads 120 onto 620 rolls--try Ultrafine I believe.

I have last October shot with a old Zeiss Ikon roll film camera that has the bellows and takes 120. I got some shots but I had forgotton to focus so they were blurry and my hands shake to much any more. It has Nettar-anastigmat lens.

I have bought paper and chemicals from Freestyle but I do remember the mid 70's taking my color film to KMart--they had a really nice camera section and problably got a lot of things there. Hope you don't mind my long reply--Thanks

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I am not ashamed to say that I am not a film purist. When that was all there was, I shot lots of film, and I was reluctant to switch to digital. I liked having the prints in my hands.

After using quality digital cameras, I would never want to go back to film, but I'm keeping a nice Pentax, just in case.

Mercer Loc: Houston, TX, USA

I started off using the plastic (it was less expensive) but shifted to stainless early on. There was a knack to loading stainless, and once learned, you could fill one in a few seconds. Also, stainless was stronger and lasted longer, and was immune to the possible destructive effects of the "dynamiting" I learned during my newspaper days. The darkroom at The Montgomery Advertiser could develop and print in well under five minutes. I love film, and hope I learn to love digital as much.

wilsondl2 Loc: Lincoln, Nebraska

A friend just lent me a Super 8 Movie camera with some unopened Kodachrome film to use in it with an exp. date in the 1970's. Does any one think it will work? I know now you send Kodachrome off to get dev. in B/W so I guess I'll give it a try.

No one developes Kodachrome. You are out of luck on that. - Dave

ArgusSnap1 Loc: Indiana

Oh-I'm not a film purist either--I have a Nikon D70 that I still have a lot to learn about and last summer I bought a bridge camera with Panasonic Lumix FZ150--which I love. I like that so much since I don't have to lug so much stuff around--and has a Leica lens.

I know no one developes Kodachrome but I have read in some places on the net that some labs are developing it with b/w chemicals: also I know "The Darkroom" lab(you can find on the web) cross proceses E6 film color print chem. and c41 with E6 chem.

Oh--digital has many good qualities. I like for low light work and indoor work esp since you have control over the white balance. I also like the smaller sensor to crop the lens effect so a 70-300mm becomes 105-450 which helps my budget. Also it is cheaper to take ton's of pictures and not have to pay for film and processing.

There is good in both mediums and some inconveniences with both mediums--I just like to play and have fun. I have used steel reels and tanks quite a bit now I am set up to do plastic--haven't done it in a while, Hope I can rember how. Thanks

ArgusSnap1 Loc: Indiana

Mercer--Hi-what is dynamiting?Thanks ArgusSnap1

Mercer Loc: Houston, TX, USA

Dynamiting (probably misspelled) refers to extremely vioulent and rapid B&W processing in chemicals mixed as much as ten times their suggested strength. You could hear the negs sizzle when moved from one tray to another (especially after leaving the very base developer to be submerged into the very acidic stop bath). The hypo was almost full strength, further speeding up the process of clearing the neg. The neg was given a quick rinse, then placed between glass sheets and slid into place in a Omega enlarger. Exposure was quite rapid, and the exposed paper was given the same basic treatment in developer/stop/fix, then squeeged and placed on a scan-a-graver machine which produced the screened image on a piece of plastic which was put on one of the big rollers downstairs and inked/printed. The copy editors and compositors already had the text, headlines and an empty space in place on the correct press rotor, and it was off to the races.

I was a reporter on the Advertiser, which had been chosen by Kodak to get as much experimental film as we wanted. As a result, all the reporters carried cameras. (Mine was a Model D Leica, picked up in a pawn shop for $20.) The paper was one of the earlier ones to go to 35mm and I am sure the experimental film was the new Plus X, which had an enormous latitude. Joe Holloway was our chief photographer, and our photo staff included Charlie Moore, Paul Zukowski and Mills Cowliing, all of whom distinguished themselves during the civil rights days and later in the VietNam conflict. Joe went to The Atlanta Journal, and Charlie went freelance to Life and other mags.

God, I loved film. Also, in my old age (80 now) I seem to have fallen in love with myself.. Pardon the length of this ramble...

Mercer

cgchief Loc: Jarrettsville

For quite a few years I used the stainless steel spirals for 35mm, 120, and 4 x 5 sheet film, but now I cannot load them because of severe hand tremor. Still have the tanks.
Now I use the Patterson 'self-loading ?' for 35 and 120, and load with much difficulty. Using up my store of 35 and 120 b&w fim, scan it and put into Photoshop; my darkroom has been unused for 10+ years.

2MATO Loc: CNY -Central NoWhere

MY Brownie was 127. WOW does that bring back memories from the fifties! Click :mrgreen:

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

The first tank I uses was a Kodacraft for 127 film for my brownie. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7_TDLaufDw
I started with plastic but went to stainless pretty quickly.
Stainless reels could be loaded when they were wet.
That's what we used at the newspaper I shot for.
Our processing tanks were pvc pipe painted black and each held a gallon of chemistry.
When I worked at the base photo lab in high school I used a Graflex XL with a 50-exposure 70mm back. Anyone ever load 70mm film on a stainless reel?
The reel was a about 9 inches across if I remember correctly.

Pablo8 Loc: Nottingham UK.

I also did photography in the RAF. When I set up my own business, I used the centre loading S/S Spirals in a cage, developing in 5ltr tanks, with floating lids. Happy days doing real photography, in a darkroom.