Author Topic: New55 Test Shot (Read 8106 times)

Adam Doe · « **on:** July 20, 2015, 11:04:53 PM »

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

New55 Test Shot Positive by adoephoto, on Flickr

The Negative

New55 Test Shot Negative by adoephoto, on Flickr

Chalky · « **Reply #1 on:** July 21, 2015, 06:30:18 AM »

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...

moominsean · « **Reply #2 on:** July 25, 2015, 01:24:44 PM »

I must be down on the list as I didn't get my pack yet. Hope they work out the issues and keep distributing...

Skorj · « **Reply #3 on:** July 26, 2015, 04:34:48 PM »

I need to watch this carefully... my stock of Type-665 is running low. Thanks! Skj.

Ezzie · « **Reply #4 on:** July 27, 2015, 08:50:48 AM »

Quote from: moominsean on July 25, 2015, 01:24:44 PM

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.

Francois · « **Reply #5 on:** July 27, 2015, 02:46:38 PM »

Maybe you should change your last name on kickstarter to something that starts with an A.....

jharr · « **Reply #6 on:** August 29, 2015, 06:01:10 PM »

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.

Graflex-New55Pos-001 by James Harr, on Flickr
Next, the negative is weird looking. Someone tell me what happened here.

Grandpas-Tools-Neg by James Harr, on Flickr

Francois · « **Reply #7 on:** August 29, 2015, 09:23:04 PM »

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.

jharr · « **Reply #8 on:** August 29, 2015, 09:39:51 PM »

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.

Francois · « **Reply #9 on:** August 29, 2015, 10:22:21 PM »

You're welcome!

Though you could keep on doing this if you should decide to channel Man Ray

jharr · « **Reply #10 on:** August 29, 2015, 11:11:22 PM »

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?

Chalky · « **Reply #11 on:** August 30, 2015, 10:19:55 AM »

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!

jharr · « **Reply #12 on:** August 30, 2015, 04:47:30 PM »

Quote from: Chalky on August 30, 2015, 10:19:55 AM

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.

Francois · « **Reply #13 on:** August 30, 2015, 09:06:01 PM »

I have the feeling that they seriously underestimated the amount of money and resources such a project requires...

Kayos · « **Reply #14 on:** August 30, 2015, 09:28:55 PM »

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

Ezzie · « **Reply #15 on:** August 31, 2015, 06:48:51 AM »

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.

Francois · « **Reply #16 on:** August 31, 2015, 01:36:19 PM »

What helps a lot is that they are people who actually know what they're doing and have an actual knowledge of photo chemistry.

Adam Doe · « **Reply #17 on:** August 31, 2015, 02:36:47 PM »

Quote from: Ezzie on August 31, 2015, 06:48:51 AM

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.

jharr · « **Reply #18 on:** August 31, 2015, 04:04:33 PM »

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.

gothamtomato · « **Reply #19 on:** September 15, 2015, 10:33:13 AM »

I contributed to the Kickstarter and never got anything so I won't be supporting them by buying the film.

Late Developer · « **Reply #20 on:** September 15, 2015, 11:40:33 AM »

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.

jojonas~ · « **Reply #21 on:** September 15, 2015, 12:25:04 PM »

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.

jojonas~ · « **Reply #22 on:** September 15, 2015, 01:04:20 PM »

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.

Chalky · « **Reply #23 on:** September 15, 2015, 01:42:20 PM »

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...

Francois · « **Reply #24 on:** September 15, 2015, 02:12:54 PM »

Kickstarter is always a bit of a gamble. You should see how many fails there are on this platform.

Bryan · « **Reply #25 on:** January 17, 2016, 10:21:35 PM »

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.

Sputnik+ by Bryan Chernick, on Flickr

Scan of the negative with some adjustments in Gimp.

Sputnik- by Bryan Chernick, on Flickr

Indofunk · « **Reply #26 on:** January 18, 2016, 12:00:04 AM »

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...

Ezzie · « **Reply #27 on:** January 18, 2016, 08:03:05 AM »

Still haven't got my Kickstarter pledge packs.

The negs look very good, but are the prints really that bad?