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Testing RUSSIAN film with PENTAX !
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 22, 2019 5:49 pm    Post subject: Testing RUSSIAN film with PENTAX ! Reply with quote

the Kind Gent from Denmark who sent me the 35mm ORWO films has sent me 120 rolls of ORWO NP22 + 2 rolls Russian 'SVEMA FD64' dated 09/1993, a film I have never used. I loaded my Pentax 6x7 Mk II and tried it out, rating it at 40 ASA and processing for 9.5 mins @ 20oC in my 'Home-Made' FX-4 Formula 1+1 and got some good density negs BUT the film was badly fogged and 'blotchy' -- even some Fungus marks on end frame ! the 1992 dated ORWO had a higher than normal fog level BUT no 'blotches' so I don't think the packet was X-Rayed by UK Border Force. I show 2 frames, scanned with Canon 900F Mk II + Vuescan Pro + FastStone Image Viewer and I have not retouched out the White Marks and spots and fungus.
135mm f4 Macro-Takumar 6x7 @ f11

105mm f2.4 SMC Takumar 6x7 @ f16

No Animals were Harmed during the making of these Images


PostPosted: Fri Jan 03, 2020 10:50 am    Post subject: Re: Testing RUSSIAN film with PENTAX ! Reply with quote

Correction - Svema film is Ukrainian, not Russian (I guess it may be technically called "Soviet" if made in 1991 or earlier)

pentaxpete wrote:
the film was badly fogged and 'blotchy'

This film was bad even brand new Smile
But we didn't really have anything else (except for similarly bad Tasma - and that's Russian film) when I was a kid, so...


PostPosted: Fri Jan 03, 2020 11:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for that Information -- in the Instruction leaflet it was all in Russian Type script and I can't tell the difference between Russian and Ukrainian!


PostPosted: Wed Jan 08, 2020 10:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I want to just write that almost newly acquired ORWO sheet films from eighties and some nineties years that I developed before a while and looks good, too. Will scan it latter when it dry.
Currently ORWO NP27 shot like iso 100. Some ageing is visible from sheets but it is not so easy to handle with it as I can suppose before. I mean that it is 6x13cm sheet for my Fujica GL690 which can do such captures with sheet film. Evety time loading in dark bag and reloading and reloading Laugh 1


PostPosted: Thu Jan 09, 2020 7:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

pentaxpete wrote:
Thanks for that Information -- in the Instruction leaflet it was all in Russian Type script and I can't tell the difference between Russian and Ukrainian!


Actually it is simple if you know what to look at:
If there are western looking "i" -letters it is Ukranian

https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9A%D0%B8%D1%97%D0%B2


PostPosted: Thu Jan 09, 2020 8:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

kansalliskala wrote:
Actually it is simple if you know what to look at:
If there are western looking "i" -letters it is Ukranian

True, but you'll have a hard time finding Ukrainian language on Soviet (and early post-Soviet) era products - nearly all of them are marked in Russian


PostPosted: Thu Jan 09, 2020 9:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Alex TG wrote:
kansalliskala wrote:
Actually it is simple if you know what to look at:
If there are western looking "i" -letters it is Ukranian

True, but you'll have a hard time finding Ukrainian language on Soviet (and early post-Soviet) era products - nearly all of them are marked in Russian


Yes, that was dated 03/1993 so it has to be Soviet production? If that is process before -date.

Is Svema factory still running btw?


PostPosted: Thu Jan 09, 2020 9:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

kansalliskala wrote:
Yes, that was dated 03/1993 so it has to be Soviet production? If that is process before -date.

Yes, that's "develop before" date, so most likely it was made in 1990

kansalliskala wrote:
Is Svema factory still running btw?

No, it went bankrupt in 2004 or 2005


PostPosted: Thu Jan 09, 2020 10:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Alex TG wrote:


kansalliskala wrote:
Is Svema factory still running btw?

No, it went bankrupt in 2004 or 2005


Someone revived the Svema film brand and utilised the equipment from the old factory. Still based in Shostka, it seems to be doing okay.

Blurb from the US distributor -

https://filmphotographystore.com/collections/svema-film

I'm wondering if Svema are currently just pumping out film, as the U.S distributor at least, seems to be part of the production process. Canning and labelling.


PostPosted: Thu Jan 09, 2020 10:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sciolist wrote:


I'm wondering if Svema are currently just pumping out film, as the U.S distributor at least, seems to be part of the production process. Canning and labelling.

I've googled a bit and that's what I've found.
There is a small company called Astrum, founded by ex-Svema employees and located in the ruins of Svema plant.
They buy Chinese or Taiwanese film in bulk, do some basic QC, cutting and spooling and then sell the rolls to US, where it is labelled and retailed.


PostPosted: Thu Jan 09, 2020 11:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Alex TG wrote:
Sciolist wrote:


I'm wondering if Svema are currently just pumping out film, as the U.S distributor at least, seems to be part of the production process. Canning and labelling.

I've googled a bit and that's what I've found.
There is a small company called Astrum, founded by ex-Svema employees and located in the ruins of Svema plant.
They buy Chinese or Taiwanese film in bulk, do some basic QC, cutting and spooling and then sell the rolls to US, where it is labelled and retailed.


Thanks for the additional info. It's nice to read that it's ex-Svema employees. I guess they are not applying the emulsions.


PostPosted: Thu Jan 09, 2020 11:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sciolist wrote:
I guess they are not applying the emulsions.

Here's the direct (translated) quote from the 2018 article:
"Several years ago they secured the trademark rights and now no one except for Astrum LTD can make products under this name. A company spokesman says that even if they wanted to establish a complete production line whithin the walls of Svema, they would no longer be able to do this: there are no machines for applying photoemulsion for a long time, there are no drying facilities too, and after disconnecting Svema from the local heating station the premises have to be heated by firewood".

If someone is interested, here's the complete google-translated article:
https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=ru&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fthebabel.net%2Ftexts%2F21496-zavod-svema-ostanovilsya-bolshe-pyatnadcati-let-nazad-no-novuyu-fotoplenku-pod-takoy-markoy-do-sih-por-pokupayut-v-ssha-kto-i-kak-ee-delaet-reportazh-thebabelya


PostPosted: Thu Jan 09, 2020 12:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Alex TG wrote:
Sciolist wrote:
I guess they are not applying the emulsions.

Here's the direct (translated) quote from the 2018 article:
"Several years ago they secured the trademark rights and now no one except for Astrum LTD can make products under this name. A company spokesman says that even if they wanted to establish a complete production line whithin the walls of Svema, they would no longer be able to do this: there are no machines for applying photoemulsion for a long time, there are no drying facilities too, and after disconnecting Svema from the local heating station the premises have to be heated by firewood".

If someone is interested, here's the complete google-translated article:
https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=ru&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fthebabel.net%2Ftexts%2F21496-zavod-svema-ostanovilsya-bolshe-pyatnadcati-let-nazad-no-novuyu-fotoplenku-pod-takoy-markoy-do-sih-por-pokupayut-v-ssha-kto-i-kak-ee-delaet-reportazh-thebabelya


Thanks. That was an interesting article. It sounds like an investment in capital would help if they had further ambitions, but I'm guessing setting up for producing your own film, including finding suitable premises with sufficient power, never mind the machines, isn't cheap. I wonder if the machines went somewhere else, or were just scrapped in the demolitions.


PostPosted: Thu Jan 09, 2020 1:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sciolist wrote:
It sounds like an investment in capital would help if they had further ambitions, but I'm guessing setting up for producing your own film, including finding suitable premises with sufficient power, never mind the machines, isn't cheap.

I don't really think reviving Svema film in its old form is a good idea, to be honest.
To you westerners it may be of some interest because it is somewhat "exotic", but to us here it always was just a crappy film which we had to use since everything else was almost unobtainable.
I do believe that rebranded Chinese film is a better option really Smile


PostPosted: Thu Jan 09, 2020 2:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

about Russian films, any idea what these are?
https://silberra.com/films


PostPosted: Thu Jan 09, 2020 3:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

[quote="Alex TG"]
Sciolist wrote:
...
To you westerners it may be of some interest because it is somewhat "exotic", but to us here it always was just a crappy film which we had to use since everything else was almost unobtainable.
... Smile


Laugh 1 . You hit the nail on the head. "Exotic" is exactly how it is seen here. I'm not sure how many know it's Chinese film and the original was crappy anyway. I didn't. Such is the film scene these days.


PostPosted: Sat Jul 25, 2020 6:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm glad my original Post caused such a lot of interesting replies !