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> Fuji GW690 II - 220 Film Availability? |
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#1
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Fuji GW690 II - 220 Film Availability?
Am awaiting delivery from Aperture (London) of a Fuji GW690 II and whilst I have plenty of rolls of 120 film in the fridge & freezer, I wondered if 220 is still available. All I have turned up so far is a Portra 160 pack of five for £86.52(!!!) on AG Photo's website.
Main usage is b&w (developed in Rodinal) so if anyone can point to stockists of 220 it would be much appreciated. |
#2
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Ilford don't make 220 and haven't done so for donkeys years, and have no intention of doing so in the future apparently.
I think Fuji still makes some for the domestic Japanese market it seems. I have a few rolls of Velvia 100F in 220 in the fridge, I last used some alpine climbing a couple of years back in my GA645Zi, as reloading every 16 shots is impractical. |
#3
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It's rare new and very expensive, so not worth the extra shots on one strip of film. Using a couple, or more, 120 reels for the same price is easier on the wallet.
I've got a GW680 III, so very similar. I use it for scouting locations for old films, those shot in the Academy Ratio 3:4. Nick |
#4
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Thanks. It is not so much the potential cost-saving but more a case of the convenience of developing sixteen frames at a time rather than just eight. I do have two tanks so it would be a case of:-
film1 - dev/stop/fix/rinse then dash upstairs and hang in the shower film2 - repeat as above Or buy a Patterson 3-reel tank to take both of my 120 reels. Hmm, I see AG Photo are out of stock of that tank. Will look further afield. |
#5
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AFIK there is no 220 film made, Ilford has not made 220 for many years, Kodak recently dropped their last 220, and I don't think that Fuji make any, certainly none is made in black and white, so it is 120 or nothing, I think that the demand was so little and cost of production was higher than 120, so it became not worth making, as far as developing, with Patterson and Jobo tanks you can develop 2 rolls of 120 at a time, just make sure that the first roll is wound to the center of the reel. then load the second roll until it is just to the end of the roll, I do this very often, and with rodinal at 1/50 it works fine the same amount of Rodinal, or any other developer, develops the 2 films as well as the one.
Richard
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jerseyinblackandwhite.blogspot.com Last edited by Richard Gould; 23rd February 2016 at 11:38 AM. |
#6
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The 'two films on one reel' is not something I had considered, so thanks for that and certainly would be worth trying if/when I have two identical films to dev. First two through the camera this afternoon were Acros 100 followed by Tri-X, so two tanks tomorrow for the dev session.
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#7
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220 disadvantages
Two other reasons for not using 220:
- the base has to have a tint to prevent light piping along it, so is made of PET, so cannot be produced by just slitting and chopping - it won't fit in a drying cabinet without looping |
#8
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I'm pretty sure all the Fuji datasheets say their 220 is all on cellulose triacetate, same as the other non-sheet film formats.
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#9
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Quote:
A finished roll of 220 had to fit in a 120-size camera so the backing paper was attached only at the ends. Some manufacturers coated on grey-tinted polyester to prevent light piping down the length. But it could not be produced by simply slitting a triacetate parent to the same width as 120 (and 620) and chopping longer, which made it impractical to manufacture in decreasing volume. I wonder how Fuji overcame the light-piping problem. |
#10
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Surely with 220 there should be no risk of light piping, since unlike 35mm film the actual acetate film part is never seen or exposed to light except for during exposure, barring some kind of winding or unwinding issue in camera (for instance if the exposed film wasn't wound tightly on the receiver reel).
Also, for E6 film they can't tint the base anyway, or you'd get highlights appearing fogged. When asked about 220 on a recent factory tour I attended, Ilford said they still had the machine for it but the problem was it needed fixing, and the cost to do so would make 220 disproportionately expensive, and given the market for it is so small it would be an economic nonstarter. They didn't mention base material as a problem/obstacle at all. |
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