Today’s Post by Joe Farace
Joe’s Film Box is different from other monthly subscription boxes that you’ve seen because you don’t have to subscribe and it doesn’t cost anything. Each month I’ll select two different rolls of 35mm film from a single dealer/vendor. Since most monthly domestic subscription boxes, not just those for film, sell for around $25 plus shipping. My goal will be to keep the total cost of both rolls of film around or under that number.
You can treat Joe’s Film Box like a film photography version of Oprah’s Book Club and purchase the film, shoot it and share your results. But I will also purchase the film and shoot it using an appropriate camera that matches the subject matter or maybe the film itself. Then I’ll have the film processed and scanned, and write a review about each of them. So you can decide if you would like to try one or both of the films that are in Joe’s Film Box…or not.
Here’s what’s in April’s Joe’s Film Box that has a monochrome theme and I’ve picked film (with links) that are available from Freestyle Photo Imaging & Supplies:
Adox CHS 100 II ISO 100 35mm— 36 exposure ($8.49) The original Adox CHS 100 was a popular film produced by Fotoimpex in Germany but was discontinued in 2012 because of to the unavailability of its spectral sensitizer. ADOX CHS 100 It is an orthopanchromatically* sensitized B/W film that has classical grain and a sensitization “optimized for greyscale separation.” The film is made from two separate emulsions that are combined into a single layer coating and has a wide exposure latitude. To enhance sharpness, it has an anti-halation layer between the emulsion and the base. Because of the film’s classic sensitization style, it features “harmonic tonal separation.” It can even be reversal processed (aka transparency) if you’re into that sort of thing and can find a lab to process it that way (or maybe do it yourself.) It’s also available in 120, 4×5 & 8×10 Sizes.
Japan Camera Hunter’s JCH StreetPan 400 35mm — 36 exposure ($8.99.) This is a panchromatic film that monochrome shooters should love. To provide dimensional stability, the emulsion is coated onto a 0.10mm transparent polyester base. Its relatively high speed make this film ideal for use under a wide range of lighting conditions.
The spectral sensitivity of this film is extended in the near infrared panchromatic up to 750nm, which might be interesting to explore with IR filters. As a result, the film offers excellent penetration through haze, fog and other atmospheric conditions that are liable to affect the image quality, producing sharp image.
Thanks to its two-layer emulsion architecture it should easy to scan. JCH StreetPan 400 also has a gelatin back coating to prevent scratches on the back of the film that could be picked-up by image scanners. The scans should deliver noise-free images in the highlights, but we’ll find out for sure in testing.
I ordered this month’s film from Freestyle Photo Imaging & Supplies today and the total cost was $26.47 including shipping. Have you ordered yours yet? Look for film reviews of each of these film stocks real soon now.
*If you would like to send me another kind of film to review or any other stuff that could be used for these posts and my videos you can mail it to: Joe Farace, PO BOX 2081, PARKER, CO 80134