Complete Guide to 70mm Film

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Sirius Glass

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Haha. Its more embarrassment about not being able to use the camera to its fullest. Thanks for the welcome! :D

That will come with time and experience. Some things to know:
 
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ant!

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Stumbled on ebay over a roll of 5inch film, is this something which could be shot with a 70mm setup or cut down, or to 120 format? I guess it's quite a bit wider?
Also, this film says "Kodak Ektarchrome MS Aerographic 2448", does this means it's (old version?) Ektarchrome? I guess not Aerocolor, right?

This is just out of curiosity, the film is 50 years expired with unknown storage condition, and I don't really have a setup to cut/spool this stuff... (and I am not related to the seller)
 

blee1996

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Stumbled on ebay over a roll of 5inch film, is this something which could be shot with a 70mm setup or cut down, or to 120 format? I guess it's quite a bit wider?
Also, this film says "Kodak Ektarchrome MS Aerographic 2448", does this means it's (old version?) Ektarchrome? I guess not Aerocolor, right?

This is just out of curiosity, the film is 50 years expired with unknown storage condition, and I don't really have a setup to cut/spool this stuff... (and I am not related to the seller)

5 inch film will be for large format, for example, you can cut it into 4x5, 5x7 etc. But it will be a hassle to do it safely in the dark. Plus the aero film has thinner film base, and will curl in the film holder.

Even though I like bargain expired film, I tend to stay away from older color film. It is more likely to be bad than good, in my experience. Slow speed B&W film can last very very long time, not so much with color slide film. Unless it is like <10% cost of new film, then I might take a gamble.
 
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jimgalli

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When I worked out on the "range" in my career days, as late as the early 2000's we had a Photosonics 14S handheld 70mm camera that we used on the ground for the "wowee!!" pictures of some of the events. It would do 5 frames / second of Nikon quality images on 160 color film, and it used a Pentax 6X7 bayonet, so we had an arsenal of Pentax medium format lenses. We kept it in use until 3rd generation digital Nikons finally put it to bed. You can find awesome pictures of B1 bombers with nuclear warheads getting delivered (test mode, people, to the range) done with that camera. 5 fps 70mm hand held is ticking away pretty fast. We also had a full complement of 10R cameras that could run long rolls of 70mm film at 120 fps. In the mid 2000's we had a customer who was demanding that level of quality and I set all of them up and ran them with our long out of date color film stocks (constant 36 degree storage) and proved that even at that late date we could have delivered a fine product with equipment and stocks on hand. We didn't get the job but it was fun running all that stuff one last time. It's all gone to the 4 winds now and I'm enjoying my retirement. 70mm is perfect test film for the Cirkut cameras.
 
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Stumbled on ebay over a roll of 5inch film, is this something which could be shot with a 70mm setup or cut down, or to 120 format? I guess it's quite a bit wider?
Also, this film says "Kodak Ektarchrome MS Aerographic 2448", does this means it's (old version?) Ektarchrome? I guess not Aerocolor, right?

This is just out of curiosity, the film is 50 years expired with unknown storage condition, and I don't really have a setup to cut/spool this stuff... (and I am not related to the seller)

50 yr old ektachrome would be a terrible gamble. It's probably E4 process, which while you could do it, probably wouldn't be worth the effort. Would have been fun back in the day tho.
 

MCB18

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Stumbled on ebay over a roll of 5inch film, is this something which could be shot with a 70mm setup or cut down, or to 120 format? I guess it's quite a bit wider?
Also, this film says "Kodak Ektarchrome MS Aerographic 2448", does this means it's (old version?) Ektarchrome? I guess not Aerocolor, right?

This is just out of curiosity, the film is 50 years expired with unknown storage condition, and I don't really have a setup to cut/spool this stuff... (and I am not related to the seller)

Not worth it. Slitting is possible, but hard, and the film is probably toast anyway
 

ant!

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yes, thanks! That what I was thinking anyways, was just confused about both what this is and the format...
 

OrientPoint

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5" film is good for cutting to 4x5 or 5x7 (one cut per sheet, obviously, so it's not that hard to do), but much of it is perforated so you do lose some usable area. And as @blee1996 mentioned it's usually on the very thin base, which makes it a challenge to keep flat in a holder.
 

Chuck1

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Has anyone ever seen a 35mm to 70mm adapter?
Not sure if mercury made these or was thinking about it...
 

eli griggs

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Has anyone ever seen a 35mm to 70mm adapter?
Not sure if mercury made these or was thinking about it...

Are you speaking to an adapter for allowing a cassette of 35mm to run in a 120 film camera?

If so, yes, there are severa plastic 35mm cassette brackets that will allow the smaller roll to be used in a 6x6cm, for example, in a Hasselblad back.

Cheers!
 

Chuck1

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No I'd like to put a 35mm cassette into a 70mm film back a graflex rh50, to do panoramas.
would 35mm to 120 adapters work?
 

eli griggs

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No I'd like to put a 35mm cassette into a 70mm film back a graflex rh50, to do panoramas.
would 35mm to 120 adapters work?

I've never tried that make, and problems with film flatness and/or other areas prompts me to encourage you into asking this of the other experienced members here.
 

MCB18

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No I'd like to put a 35mm cassette into a 70mm film back a graflex rh50, to do panoramas.
would 35mm to 120 adapters work?

Certainly possible, just need to model the adapters. the 120 adapters aren’t going to work.
 
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No I'd like to put a 35mm cassette into a 70mm film back a graflex rh50, to do panoramas.
would 35mm to 120 adapters work?

Just load 35mm into 70mm cartridges. May need some sort of spacer in the exposed cart to keep the film pulling straight. I'm pretty sure 70mm and 35mm perf are the same spacings. May need some sort of a support mask in the film opening the help keep the film flat.
 

MTGseattle

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I wasn't sure if this is the right thread for this?

Is anyone using the military 70mm cameras?

This one;


Or this one;


If I ever stumble across a complete one for a price I'm willing to pay, is it feasible to actually use one? I don't like the 70mm prices I've seen lately, but 8x10 is pretty silly too.
 

jimgalli

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I wasn't sure if this is the right thread for this?

Is anyone using the military 70mm cameras?

This one;


Or this one;


If I ever stumble across a complete one for a price I'm willing to pay, is it feasible to actually use one? I don't like the 70mm prices I've seen lately, but 8x10 is pretty silly too.

Mike, it's hard to argue you couldn't accomplish the same thing with the more common and affordable Fuji "Texas Leica" 6X9 cameras. They probably have superior lens systems. But then, also hard to argue against the brute force of 80 sq. inches of real estate behind a lens.
 

MTGseattle

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For sure Jim. It's the novelty of the KE-4 that's intriguing. I hope someone somewhere is using one.
 
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rhizomeblur

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It is no longer made, and as far as I can tell, there are no examples of it online. I’m a bit hesitant to crack it open just because it is so unusual, and I’m pretty sure the 100 ft I own is a not insignificant percentage of what is still left.

Okay, I'm catching up here and realized that I never replied to this question about Aviphot 400. I've had some of this film for quite some time, and decided to finally test it, based on your questions in this thread. Here was the result:

Aviphot 400N test.jpg


This expired in 2003, around the time when Agfa stopped making this film. I'm not very impressed with it. Yes, it's professional color film, but I wouldn't say there's anything special about it. Colors have shifted a bit, and it's pretty grainy. It would be best shot at 200 or 160, which negates its original speed advantage. My conclusion: at lower speeds it should be a perfectly acceptable film, but wasn't made in large enough quantities to be available today, long expired, and not as good as slower speed films like Portra 160. Of course, for color film we have 65mm today, which produces spectacular results!
 

jimgalli

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For sure Jim. It's the novelty of the KE-4 that's intriguing. I hope someone somewhere is using one.
Gotta admit, it is tempting. Wonder if this old brute is repairable. What with all the nice Aviphot 70mm film coming out of India at the moment.
 
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rhizomeblur

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Hi @rhizomeblur. Thanks a ton for the website and this post. I have been looking for years to shoot 70mm and the resources have been limited. Looking at your website I did order the wheel replacement for Hassy which would enable me to use 65mm and unperforated film. I did have a question about the 70mm canisters. Is it possible to mix and match those containers from different manufactures? I have one from Kodak, another from Linhof and finally another one from Hassy. A few tries with the Linhof and Kodak did not go well, so kept everything as it is up until someone more knowledgeable came by. Thanks again for your contribution!

Hi Bartha, thanks for your kind words; I'm glad the site and this thread are helpful! In recent weeks we've vastly updated the site with a far more camera/back compatibility info, many videos, new all-perf modification guides, and many new products to make it easy to shoot 65mm and 70mm film.

To answer your question about 70mm cassettes directly: yes, you can mix and match cassettes from different manufacturers. Actually there was only one manufacturer: Kodak. Linhof and Hasselblad re-painted and re-branded Kodak cassettes for their systems, but they are otherwise the same.

Incidentally, we have recently posted a full video on shooting 65mm and 70mm film in Hasselblads:
 
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rhizomeblur

rhizomeblur

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Has anyone ever seen a 35mm to 70mm adapter?
Not sure if mercury made these or was thinking about it...

Yes, Mercury Works makes those, though we've never thought of selling them individually. They were bundled with our 4x5 135 Panoramic back, which shoots a crazy long panoramic image on 4x5 (or Mercury Stereo) cameras. They are all sold out now.

Our adapters include both a takeup spool that inserts directly in a 70mm cassette (and can also be used to feed bulk rolled 135 film, for huge roll sizes), and also a 135 cassette adapter that allows it to load in a 70mm back in lieu of a 70mm cassette. I can add this kit to our store if you're interested.

As someone else mentioned, you will have film flatness issues if you use this in a back not designed for 135. But there is one other possibility, which I've tried and works great: You can use a Mercury Works RB67 Pro-S 135 Panoramic conversion kit on the Mamiya RB67 70mm back, and then use our 135 spool kit. This solution keeps your film perfectly flat and gives you the advantages of long roll shooting!
 
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rhizomeblur

rhizomeblur

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I wasn't sure if this is the right thread for this?

Is anyone using the military 70mm cameras?

This one;


Or this one;


If I ever stumble across a complete one for a price I'm willing to pay, is it feasible to actually use one? I don't like the 70mm prices I've seen lately, but 8x10 is pretty silly too.

The 70mm aerial cameras are not really viable to shoot. They require a special power supply, originally wired into the aircraft (usually 24V). They also usually have no method of focus (they are fixed at infinity).

The Graflex KE-4, however, is a capable camera and can definitely be shot today! You can read about it on our site, on this page.
 
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rhizomeblur

rhizomeblur

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Gotta admit, it is tempting. Wonder if this old brute is repairable. What with all the nice Aviphot 70mm film coming out of India at the moment.

You should give it a try! A really interesting camera. On the other hand, do not fall for the Aviphot film from India. The emulsion is badly heat damaged. Good for testing a camera, but I would never recommend it for actual photography.
 

MTGseattle

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I could be wrong, but I thought the KE-28b (Maurer) and Ke-28a (Chicago Aerial) were mostly used in helicopters during Vietnam. I think it has an inboard battery or is full manual. 100% agree on the fixed focus.
Gotta admit, it is tempting. Wonder if this old brute is repairable. What with all the nice Aviphot 70mm film coming out of India at the moment.

I've looked at that listing a few times, Jim. I fear it is missing crucial parts.
 
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