ORWO F05 sheet films

huehnerhose · 2006-01-25T12:51:52+00:00

Hallo! Ich habe eine Schachtel "ORWO F05 Fototechnischer Film" gefunden und bin auf der Suche nach ein wenig Informationen. Über Google hab ich hier im Foru...

huehnerhose

Hello! I’ve found a box of “ORWO F05 Photographic Film” and I’m looking for a bit of information. I found an old post here on the forum via Google (it amazes me how Google manages to find a post that’s only just been written? Never mind) Unfortunately, I can’t find anything else about this film. I’ve just got an old plate camera (Nagel) up and running again and would quite like to load it with this film – if it’s suitable. The box says I can process it with a red light filter 108 or 107 (not quite sure which one is on there). I happen to have those filters too – just no lamp for them – but I can cobble something together. I’d be grateful for any info regarding: What sort of film is this anyway? Can it be used for ‘pictures’ or is it intended for something else? A rough estimate of the development time in Rodinal or something similar. Can I develop it in a tray? I don’t have a flat-bed film tank. And finally: light sensitivity? The thread mentioned above suggests around 25 ASA – does that apply to this film? Many thanks Sebastian

RalphRogge

Hello, You can download the ORWO Handbook of Photographic Materials here: http://www.silberphotographie.de/index-Dateien/Page1216.htm If you don’t yet have a (free) account, please email webmaster@silberphotographie.de with the subject line ‘Account request’. Best regards and happy shooting! Ralph www.silberphotographie.de

huehnerhose

Thank you for logging in and sharing this. Unfortunately, the first ‘FO’ has been omitted from the ‘Photographic Films’ section – but I’d guess that this is the FO5.

Halftone and line art images, halftone projection images

The first digit after the letter group indicates the contrast (1–6, increasing)...

So, I’ve got a very high-contrast film here, which I can’t really use to take ‘pictures’ with, but rather to trace my circuit patterns? Well... be that as it may – I’ll just see what happens when I use it as a substitute for a plate and run it through Rodinal (if the puddle I’ve got is still enough). Regards Sebastian

huehnerhose

I’ve had a go at using the film now: For the first attempt, I simply made an enlargement using the PWT timer under the enlarger and developed it in a 1:100 Rodinal solution in a tray – the result is a 13x18 cm slide. The contrast is a bit flat. But I’ve never seen any black-and-white slides before, so I can’t really judge. I then started at 25 ASA in my view camera, but even the last attempt at 1.6 ASA didn’t work out. It looks completely in need of underexposure. My question: I had a long phone call in the meantime; could it be that the developer has completely lost its potency and therefore the film’s sensitivity isn’t being utilised? Since the exposure under the enlarger at 13x18, f/5.6 roughly corresponded to the PWT time and since the Rodinal was still fresh – can you roughly estimate how much ASA can be got out of the FO5? Sebastian P.S. Can I actually just use Eukobrom? As I only have two cassettes for plates, it’s not really worth preparing 400ml of Rodinal every time (even if it’s only a few millilitres).

FrankB

Hi – this is Orwo’s hardest reproduction film – definitely not a recording medium for a camera – it’s even steeper than normal lith films – it’s intended for line reproductions – or for contact negatives for fine art printing processes in an absolutely soft positive developer (if you can get it to work properly)

cfb_de

Hello Sebastian, In my experience, a 1:50 Rodinal solution in a can with an Agfa swivel is used up after about 20–25 minutes. So I don’t think a 1:100 solution in an open tray will last any longer... Best regards, Franz

huehnerhose

Hello and thanks to both of you! Regarding the Rodinal: OK, so that was why nothing usable came out. I was on the phone for about an hour... As my Rodinal was empty after I’d mixed it, I couldn’t test a second batch. So the question remains: what happens to the film when using a paper developer? Hrmmm.... I don’t know anything about films like this at all – hence my naive approach. I did make an enlargement. I treated the film like paper. The image/“slide” (13x18) actually looks quite passable – even a bit soft. (The negative is extremely high-contrast; I had to set all the prints to ~0.5–1 – poor exposure on my part) I developed the thing by eye and gave it extremely rough exposure. So the comment about the contrast isn’t really meaningful(?) But if this stuff is supposed to be ‘steeper than lith films’, then something’s gone wrong here – assuming I’ve got the right idea about what lith films are. I only know lith films as having extreme contrasts whilst neglecting the intermediate grey tones – is it similar with films? Should the film therefore be more black and white than black and white – i.e. not actually have any grey tones? Could it be that this stuff is so old that the emulsion(?) is softening? I’ve just scanned the ‘slide’ against a white background. Slide If I’ve got something completely wrong here regarding reproduction – please set me straight or give me links where I can find out more, or keywords I can search for :lol: Thanks Regards Sebastian

FrankB

That slide looks quite good – OK, so it seems you’re on the right track – I haven’t tried it myself yet It’s clear that the film becomes ‘softer’ as a result of its age FO 5 means: orthochromatic (insensitive to red) 5 – developable up to a gradation of 5 or, in the negative process, up to a gamma of 5 – so if the films become softer as they age, you can of course end up in ranges that might correspond to a lith film, i.e. densities up to 2.5 –... 2.8 and possibly grey tones, but you’ll really have to test that out I would definitely use a positive developer, though, and develop by eye As a positive developer, I’d try Moersch Separol Soft first; if it turns out too flat, then use Separol HE at a higher dilution ratio than for prints (1+6 to 1+8) I’m looking forward to your results (I’ve actually got a roll of that film myself) Best wishes, Frank Bauchspiess

huehnerhose

I'm looking forward to seeing your results (I've actually got a roll of that film as well)

Well, that sounds ‘promising’... I’ve got about 40 sheets :) Somehow I feel at a disadvantage. Especially as I don’t have much experience with all this stuff (advanced/experimental darkroom work). You’re not from Berlin by any chance, are you, and fancy doing this together? :lol: I’ll give the Separol thing a go; I was planning to pop round to Impex tomorrow anyway – I was meant to get Rodinal, but this will do just fine. And a two-tank process would have come up soon anyway. I’ll probably just skip the regular testing once I’m getting acceptable results. Before that, I just need to set the camera’s cassettes to ‘sheet film’. The mechanism is designed for glass plates, and unfortunately the film has a tendency to curl slightly towards the emulsion side, causing it to get squashed or creased by the cassette slider. Regards Sebastian

FrankB

Hi Sebastian – I’m actually from Berlin – so we should get in touch Tel: 0172 3652860 So do get in touch Bye, Frank

FrankB

Right then – I’ve just had a look into it again: - This is a film used in reproduction photography for print artwork - O = insensitive to red light - 5 up to a gamma of 5 (very steep; almost no grey tones) developable - the standard developer was A 71 or A 77 (repro developer from Orwo) – only remaining stock is available on the market (I recently bought a large quantity of it on eBay); time 4–5 mins - positive developers can also be used (see above — Moersch etc.; I have had good results using W. Moersch developers with lith films for contact negatives for plate printing) - reproductions made with this film were produced from b/w halftone originals and colour images that did not contain red; red is developed as black with this film - As it had a very steep curve, I believe it was used for reproductions of very flat (low gamma) b/w originals - If it has softened due to ageing, it may well be that true grey-scale gradations are possible with this film – in any case, very interesting See you then Frank