Neutrino
Hello,
I recently bought the Polaroid HP 701 back for my Mamiya RB 67 SD. As far as I know, this back is the most advanced model available and, unlike older backs, can be attached to the camera without a P-adapter.
First of all: I’m really impressed. It’s great fun and the quality of the FP 100C instant film is truly impressive. Apart from the size, the images are hardly inferior to proper prints.
Now to my problem: I’ve had some light leaks in certain images. This problem has never occurred under indoor lighting. With many pictures (not all of them!) taken outdoors in daylight, I had a bluish streak at the edge of the image. Admittedly, the streak is mainly where, due to the 7x7cm format of the back, there is only a black bar anyway, but firstly it doesn’t look nice and secondly, part of the image also looks a bit washed out because of the light leak.
Unfortunately, I haven’t yet figured out exactly what’s causing it or how to fix this problem. In my opinion, it’s either a leak somewhere in the slider or where I attach the back. Unlike standard film backs, the Polaback connects directly to the camera. So the rotating frame has to be removed. Is there any way to find out where the light is getting through? Am I perhaps doing something wrong when attaching the back?
Now for some general questions:
When does the development time start? From the moment of exposure, from the moment I pull the white tab, or only when I pull out the entire image?
I’ve often read that you can bleach the negative and use it as well. Can you then scan it normally and convert it into a colour positive on a PC, or even enlarge it at a photo lab? What is the quality of this negative like? Has anyone ever tried this?
I do hope that Fujifilm will continue to produce this film for a long time to come, but are there any alternative uses for the back? There is, of course, the option of loading integral films, though this is very fiddly as you then have to carry out the development in an Instax or Polaroid camera. Is it possible, for example, to use cropped sheet films? After all, that would at least allow you to take 7x7cm photos. For a medium-format camera, that’s actually quite impressive.
Best regards, Thomas
Urnes
The development time starts once you’ve taken the film out. You can bleach and scan it, but it’s a right mess. Apart from that, it was fun. The negative often contains more detail if it isn’t scratched. There are currently no alternatives to Fuji. It’s hard to imagine anything else.
Regards, Sven.
FFFoto
Does the light leak only occur when you use it in bright light (direct sunlight, etc.)? If not, check that it’s sitting properly on top. I seem to remember that I always had to press mine down really hard.
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Regarding the bleaching: I always stuck the negative, with the emulsion facing downwards, onto a glass plate at the side using adhesive tape. Then, in the sink, I applied DanKlorix (previously drawn up into a pipette) onto it and rubbed off the black emulsion by hand (wearing gloves, of course). If necessary, I applied more DanKlorix. Then I rinsed it off thoroughly. You have to be careful that nothing gets on the emulsion side, otherwise you’ll end up with light spots. I always used gelatin to coat the negatives afterwards, as the contrast is very low. It might work if you expose them for longer, but then the decal is ruined.
Neutrino
Thanks for your replies.
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FFFoto, yes, the light leak only occurs when it’s relatively bright daylight. I haven’t noticed anything under normal room lighting. I’ve done a few tests in the meantime. After removing the slider, I stuck some tape over the slot. Then the light leak stops. So that’s clearly the cause. Do you perhaps have any idea how I could sort this out myself without having to tape it up every time?
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I’ve already tried bleaching it as well. It actually works quite well. When scanning, however, I couldn’t get the colours to come out properly. Red was red and blue was blue, but somehow it all looked rather strange. I tweaked the curves and so on, but couldn’t get it right. Is it even possible to sort this out? The grain isn’t half bad either. It looks more like a Delta 3200. :D
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I’ve had another thought regarding sheet films: surely it must be possible to fit a piece of cut-to-size sheet film into an old slide film cassette, pop that into the Polaback, and then you should be able to take photos with it, shouldn’t you?
