CHS 100 Art out of focus?

wosis123 · 2016-06-13T17:38:42+00:00

Habe 4 Restfilme davon (120er) verbraucht, merkwürdigerweise alle unscharf! Dabei irritiert mich, dass bei reichlich gestaffelten Bildern (Abstand von 5 bis...

wosis123

I’ve used up four leftover rolls of this film (120 format), and strangely enough, they’re all out of focus! What baffles me is that with a wide range of distances (from 5 to over 20 metres) and apertures from f/8 to f/11, everything is out of focus, including the film numbers – what could be causing this? I bought the films around 2012, stored them in the fridge and developed them with Silvermax developer for 7.5 minutes – any ideas?

TR

Hi there, I used that film quite a lot about 10 years ago too. The film numbers that were exposed were also out of focus. Seems to be normal. My exposures, however, were of course sharp. You don’t mention whether you’ve checked your camera’s focus, or whether the focusing screen plane aligns with the film plane, and whether the distance markings on the lens align with the other two planes. It’s quite possible that something has become misaligned.

wosis123

I’ll give it a go with a different film and carefully controlled settings. However, the focus settings were correct on the lens scale every time (Rolleiflex 6008, 80mm and 150mm lenses).

Renate

Perhaps the film wasn’t of the best quality. The CHS 100 ART is coated on PET, and that doesn’t work well with every camera. My Kiev 60 didn’t cope with it very well, whereas the Mamiya RB magazines have no problems with it. When I develop the films in Neofin Blaue, I always get excellent sharpness. If the pictures were ever out of focus, it was always down to the camera or me. € Best regards € Renate

sputnik

I’ll give it a go with a different film and under strictly controlled conditions. The focus settings were correct on the lens scale every time, though (Rolleiflex 6008, 80mm and 150mm lenses).

? Is that the newly acquired 6000 series? My first step would be to carry out a focus test using Kodak/Ilford film (at full aperture from a tripod via the focusing screen), just to settle the matter once and for all. Even a Rolleiflex isn’t immune to being botched by a previous owner. You’ve heard of warped focusing screens, film guides not fitted in the film chamber, film guides fitted for the back plate instead of the magazine, and so on and so forth. I definitely wouldn’t rely on the meter scale in this case. ? The fact that everything is out of focus with deep-focus subjects, even at f/11, is a bit of a mystery, though, and makes it understandable that you suspect the film. I probably would too in that case. I’m assuming you didn’t shoot handheld at 1/60 or 1/30. ;-)

Wolfgg

Hello wosis, First and foremost, you should check the infinity setting; the best way to do this is via auto-collimation. All you need is a second camera that you know is correctly aligned: http://feuerbacher.net/photo/repair/InfinityFocus/InfinityFocus.html You could also stick the out-of-focus film back onto the paper, load it as you would an unexposed film, and, if the camera allows it, take a shot on B mode without a lens, then look inside (or press against the film) to see if the film bulges towards the lens. Regards, Wolfgang

Wolf_XL

...a film can’t actually be out of focus – it simply reproduces exactly what light hits the emulsion... ?

sputnik

Strictly speaking, perhaps not. For example, if the camera’s movement cannot be controlled in such a way that the film remains within the defined film plane throughout. If this is due to a film reel that is not only extremely stiff but also has a severe twist (not that I’m suggesting this is the case here), then it would indeed be down to the film and could (at least in my humble opinion) certainly lead to visible out-of-focus areas. I’d still check the camera first, though.

Wolfgg

Hello, An out-of-focus film would, in theory, be conceivable, but I’ve never seen or heard of anything like it. For that to happen, the crystals embedded in the gelatin would have to start floating around during the wet processing stage, effectively leaving the position they took up during exposure by more than 1 mm – much like cheese melting in the oven, so to speak. If Impex were to ‘put such a film on the market’, all hell would have broken loose here in the forum long ago. No, there’s something wrong with the camera. Regards, Wolfgang

wosis123

This is the new 6008. I’ve since realised that the film stage might be missing:

sputnik

Not just 'maybe'. :-)

DerReisefotograf

This is the new 6008. I’ve since realised that the film surface might be missing:

Hello, I’ve linked to a BDA for the 6008. It’s for a 6008 Af and 6008 Integral 2, but you can see the missing part quite clearly. http://heidifoto.net/Rollei/PDF-Documents/6008_integral2_Anleitung-D-.pdf € And on page 8 you can see a film surface, numbered 53. That’s exactly the part I can’t see in the picture. Can you return it or ask about the part? Best regards, Tobias

Wolf_XL

... Rollei also sold the film stage separately – specifically to convert the 6003 to magazine operation... It wasn’t strictly necessary – I certainly couldn’t see any difference – but it does give you the chance to get the film stage on its own if you need it...

Wolf_XL

... that's the part you're missing. It has the Rollei spare part number 13493...

wosis123

I've contacted the seller; they're going to send the item...