Filmwasters
Which Board? => Main Forum => : Adam Doe July 20, 2015, 11:04:53 PM
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My five packets of New55 began to burn a hole I'm my pocket so I decided to shoot a test shot. Actually two but of the same subject, one of which I present here.
Technical bits:
- Crown Graphic, Fujinon f1:6.3 150mm, Polaroid 545 holder.
- Exposed for 1/2 second at f6.3 and ISO 160.
- Negative fixed in Ilford Rapid Fixer for 5 min and goop removed per New55s instructions, gently with gloved finger (oooh er missus).
- Rinse aid for 2 minutes
- Water rinse for 10 minutes.
I lost a bit of the emulsion during the water rinse (lower left of the negative), which was disappointing. As is evident here is an exposure difference between print and negative, but I'm happy as I'd rather have the negative exposed well.
I do hope that New55 finds a solution to their current hurdle that allows for both a positive and a negative( as that is where I believe the "magic" lies) so that all the other backers, and others going forward, can receive their film and so that they can also thrive as a company.
The Positive
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/485/19868260455_5a0007f46a_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/wgG2CK)New55 Test Shot Positive (https://flic.kr/p/wgG2CK) by adoephoto (https://www.flickr.com/photos/adoephoto/), on Flickr
The Negative
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/466/19873220221_2a43b06662_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/wh8rZX)New55 Test Shot Negative (https://flic.kr/p/wh8rZX) by adoephoto (https://www.flickr.com/photos/adoephoto/), on Flickr
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Excellent to see. Share it to their facebook, fingers crossed it all works out for them, will be so disappointing if not as this shows they are doing great so far...
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I must be down on the list as I didn't get my pack yet. Hope they work out the issues and keep distributing...
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I need to watch this carefully... my stock of Type-665 is running low. Thanks! Skj.
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I must be down on the list as I didn't get my pack yet. Hope they work out the issues and keep distributing...
Me too, I always loose out if things are sorted alphabetically. I am not too concerned with my pledge, really. I am more concerned with the project as a whole. It would be an enormous let down for all involved, and for the photographic community in general if this latest develoment should put an end to their efforts.
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Maybe you should change your last name on kickstarter to something that starts with an A.....
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Okay, I must be the biggest idot on the forum, but I have some New55 neg only. I want to use it but can't figure it out. I can load it into the holder and get the holder into the camera but then what? Where's the dark slide? How do I get the film exposed?? I feel like a complete numbskull since this is probably completely obvious, but I'm just not seeing it. Any help?
EDIT:
okay, I figured it out. The whole envelope is the dark slide. The film is held in place by the metal clip and the paper envelope moves out of the way when you pull it. DUH!
EDIT #2:
So something unexpected happened. First, there was a positive in there when I peeled apart the film. The box clearly says "Negative Only", so I don't know what this is.
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5745/20992051521_991071f6ed_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/xYZKyM)
Graflex-New55Pos-001 (https://flic.kr/p/xYZKyM) by James Harr (https://www.flickr.com/photos/harrlequin/), on Flickr
Next, the negative is weird looking. Someone tell me what happened here.
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5695/20796463780_25b024f64b_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/xFHj9m)
Grandpas-Tools-Neg (https://flic.kr/p/xFHj9m) by James Harr (https://www.flickr.com/photos/harrlequin/), on Flickr
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It's clearly solarized (sabattier effect).
This means it was exposed to light before fixing was completed... This also means you pulled the envelope apart too soon.
This happens because some of the tones act as a mask preventing further exposure of the area.
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Ok, instructions are hard to come by for this film. I thought the dev was exhausted and fix could be done in the light. I guess that doesn't make much sense now that I 'say' it out loud.
Thanks Francois.
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You're welcome!
Though you could keep on doing this if you should decide to channel Man Ray ;)
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Well, attempt #2 was a non-starter. The developing pod had leaked in the envelope and the whole thing was glued together.
Attempt #3 seemed to go normally, but there was no image whatsoever. Anyone else experiencing QC issues with New55?
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Instructions are on their site and fb page, you need to develop for 4 mins then into the fix...
I think they are still perfecting it a little, but they seem to welcome all constructive feedback on facebook. Good luck with next sheets!
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Instructions are on their site and fb page, you need to develop for 4 mins then into the fix...
I think they are still perfecting it a little, but they seem to welcome all constructive feedback on facebook. Good luck with next sheets!
There is also a post on there that says to shoot the negative only film at iso 150 and dev for 2 min. So it's confusing. They should put something in the box instead of the giant list of kickstarter supporters.
EDIT: Shot #4 was 'normal' I guess, but the developer only covered about 3/4 of the image.
Shot #5 was also leaked and welded together, so useless.
Overall I have to say that I am seriously disappointed in this product. That will be the end of my investment in New55.
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I have the feeling that they seriously underestimated the amount of money and resources such a project requires...
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I had a look at this on Kickstarter, a lot of unhappy comments under the updates, does seem they have had big problems, but also underestimated how complicated it is to go from small scale to big production run
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That may well be true, underestimating the complexity of a project is more the norm than the opposite. However I still feel this is one of the better driven projects I have supported. They have been very professional in how they communicate with the backers, and how they approach solving problems, finding alternative funding solutions and keeping the project alive. This could have gone south much earlier, but there is still a smidgen of hope.
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What helps a lot is that they are people who actually know what they're doing and have an actual knowledge of photo chemistry.
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That may well be true, underestimating the complexity of a project is more the norm than the opposite. However I still feel this is one of the better driven projects I have supported. They have been very professional in how they communicate with the backers, and how they approach solving problems, finding alternative funding solutions and keeping the project alive. This could have gone south much earlier, but there is still a smidgen of hope.
Yes! New55 have been very forthcoming regarding issues that have occurred as well has potential bumps in the road ahead, how they plan to approach those bumps and and what the potential fallout would be if the bumps become actual problems.
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I guess some of my disappointment stems from the "downgrade your Kickstarter reward and we'll send you something sooner." statement. I think the implication was that they were going to save some money, but still send something that works (in my case the negative only product). That turned out not to be the case. This product should still be in testing, not distribution. I mean 40% of what I received was completely useless. I wasn't feeling impatient about the reward. I could have waited, but I felt like downgrading was going to help the project while still giving me something to whet my appetite. They had an opportunity here, but I'm afraid they are shooting themselves in the foot.
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I contributed to the Kickstarter and never got anything so I won't be supporting them by buying the film.
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That's really bad. Those who supported their start-up should definitely get their allocation first. If I remember rightly, the website has some statement on it about needing to raise more cash to keep going, so they're selling film now. As much as I believe the Kickstarter supporters should get first dibs, I'd hate to see the company go under as a result of lack of liquid funds.
Seems like a rock and a hard place sort of situation and I can empathise fully with your sentiments, Deborah, as I'd feel exactly the same if I were in the same position.
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gothamtomato: don't you mean that you just haven't gotten anything yet? they're still working on sending producing film and sending it out.
as jharr wrote there's the option of downgrading to film not up to the standards of what they originally intended and I understand they will try to sell off that lot if there are buyers, anything to keep the project going to sooner make that perfect new55 a reality, specially for those backers eagerly awaiting a finished and perfectly working product.
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ah, asked now and it's the same product they're selling in the store as what they're continuously sending out to backers.
I guess they take a part of the produced films to sell directly so they can stay afloat? I haven't followed the recent updates that carefully.
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They are fulfilling kickstarter pledges in the order they were pledged, which according to them will take many months. They are selling a small portion alongside to raise funds to produce the kickstarter pledges and aim to make the busuness sustainable.
There was an issue with the receiver which means having to hand make them which is much slower.
They are quick to reply to facebook comments. Can see how it could be frustrating for backers, but look at the positives, it could be that or nothing, and this gives them more time to refine the process. Just my thoughts...
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Kickstarter is always a bit of a gamble. You should see how many fails there are on this platform.
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I just finished shooting and scanning a test shot with my Kickstarter film. My box said to shoot it at ISO 50. The negative looks good but the positive is pretty grungy looking. I wonder if the developing goo can be cleaned without damaging the picture? I couldn't find anything on cleaning it on their web site. I had one shot that came out completely blank, I don't know if that was a camera malfunction or a problem with the film.
Scan of the positive. I did crop it and ran an auto white balance in Gimp.
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1546/24339416451_baf3d2e8ac_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/D5MSxe)Sputnik+ (https://flic.kr/p/D5MSxe) by Bryan Chernick (https://www.flickr.com/photos/60348236@N07/), on Flickr
Scan of the negative with some adjustments in Gimp.
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1522/23817716424_d908d957c7_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/ChG2ib)Sputnik- (https://flic.kr/p/ChG2ib) by Bryan Chernick (https://www.flickr.com/photos/60348236@N07/), on Flickr
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Wow, the neg looks great! If New55 is anything like the Fuji FC stuff, then yes you can wash off the goop with water. But it doesn't look like that is even necessary...
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Still haven't got my Kickstarter pledge packs.
The negs look very good, but are the prints really that bad?