EXPERIMENTWITH

KODAK'STECHNICALPAN FILM,

2415By Jack and Sue Drafahl

40 PhotoGraphic/March 1982

A high-contrastscientific film canrender beautiful pictorialstudies, yieldcontinuous-tone results,and uncover faultycamera techniques allat the same time!

Black-and-white photographyhas added a new member to itsfilm family: Kodak Technical PanFilm, 2415. The fact that it isoffered as a scientific tool to beused for photomicrography,solar and lunar photography, aswell as a myriad of specialapplications, with only briefmention made of its possibleuse as a pictorial film, seems tohave provoked photographersinto a frenzy of creativeexperimentation.

Since Tech Pan's introduction, ,many have attempted to findways to use it for pictorialphotography. Inasmuch as it is ahigh-contrast film, the mainproblem lies in reducing thatcontrast. One may well ask, whychange a scientific film thatnormally has high contrast to anaverage-contrast film just tocapture some everyday scenes?Up to now Kodak Panatomic-Xfilm has been considered theultimate continuous-tone Kodak35mm black-and-white filmbecause of its fine grain andhigh resolution, but Kodak'sTechnical Pan film takes finegrain and high resolution onestep further—and therein liesyour answer. An 8x 10enlargement from a 35mm TechPan negative can resemble thesame enlargement made from a4x5 negative! Other desirablecharacteristics include a thinEstar base, scratch-resistantemulsion, variable E.I., and shortnegative-printing times.Inducement enough for a bitexperimentation, indeed.

Amidst all these glowingpluses, however, exists a majorproblem. To develop this film,Kodak recommends POTAdeveloper for low-contrastdevelopment. This developer isdifficult to locate, expensive,rates the film at E.I. 25, andrequires long developing times.Other developers such asH & W developer and

PhotoGraphic/March 1982 41

TECH PAN FILM

Perfection XR-1 developer work well withTech Pan, but again require long devel-opment times, are somewhat expensiveand usually rate the film at a low E.I.Compensating developers, two-develop-er baths and even water baths work tosome extent with Tech Pan film, but afterextensive research, one developerseems destined to be the companion toTech Pan: Edwal FG7. It is readily avail-able in camera stores, is inexpensive, in-creases the film's E.I. and shortens thedevelopment time. In order to retain lowcontrast, sodium sulfite must be added,however.

A simple formula for achieving perfectTech Pan negatives is as follows:1. Take 16 ounces of 68°F. water;

6. Here is where Technical Pan film reallyshows its stuff. An 8x10 enlargement of anE.I. 32-rated Tech Pan negative shows excel-lent quality. The four comparison photos showthe same scene, a segment enlarged 20X,shot with four different films—you compare theresults.6A. Tri-X6B. Plus-X6C. Panatomic-X6D. Tech Pan

2. Add one level plastic film can of sodi-um sulfite. Stir well;3. Add one level plastic film can of FG7.Mix well;4. Pour mixture through a filter (a coffeefilter works well) to remove any undis-solved sodium sulfite grains.

DEVELOPMENT PROCEDURES1. Load Tech Pan film in total darknessonto a 35mm film reel. Scissors will benecessary since this film does not tear.2. Load reel into the bottom half of a dou-ble-reel tank and place an empty reel ontop in the event you only need to processone roll of film. Close lid. The remainingsteps can be done in room light.3. Pour in 68°F. water sufficient to com-pletely cover the film. Agitate gently forone full minute. Pour out the water. Thewater will be dark blue to black in color—this is normal with this film.4. Pour in a minimum of 16 ounces of de-veloper at 68°F.Develop the film for the required time asper this chart:

E.I. TIME32 2 minutes64 3 minutes

125 4 minutes250 5 minutes

5. Agitate the film in the manner de-scribed no matter how long a develop-ment time is required: gentle agitation forthe first 15 seconds, then gentle agitationfor five seconds every 30 seconds fromthen on.6. Use stop bath and fix normally.7. Use freshly mixed Kodak Photo-Flo200 for each roll of film. This is very im-portant because if not done correctly, ex-tensive spotting will occur.8. Dry film as usual.CHOOSING THE RIGHT FILM SPEED

The following list will help you choosethe correct E.I. when shooting TechnicalPan film. Remember only one film speedcan be used for each roll of film. Be sureto carefully mark each roll with the cor-rect E.I. to ensure proper development.

E.I. 32 can be used in all situations:sun, shade on bright or dark objects. Itcan also be used indoors with tungstenlights or electronic flash.

E.I. 64 can be used indoors with elec-tronic flash. It can also be used in sunlightas long as there are no bright whites orextremely dark areas in the scene. Itworks very well on overcast days.

E.I. 125 should be used with flat light-ing only. It should not be used indoors.

PRECEDING PAGES:1. Rated at E.I. 64, Tech Pan does an admira-ble job in less-contrasty lighting situations.Here, flat lighting and low contrast of sceneare enhanced by the Tech Pan treatment.2. Rating the film at E.I. 250 will produce high-contrast special effects and should be re-served only for special situations. Here, notethe lack of shadow detail and high contrast ofthe recorded scene. If the photographer

42 PtiotoGraphic/March 1982

wished detail in the shadows, the film shouldhave been rated at a lower E.I. and developedaccordingly.3. Rating the film at E.I. 125 will increase thecontrast of your results slightly so this filmspeed should be reserved for scenes of verylow contrast.4. As a scientific film, Technical Pan produceshigh-contrast images with extremely good

sharpness. This negative of a urea specimenwas rated at E.I. 100 and developed in KodakHC-110, dilution F for six minutes.5. Pictorially, Tech Pan can be used outdoorseven under the brightest conditions. Here,Tech Pan was rated at E.I. 32 and developedin modified FG7 for three minutes. Notice thedetail in the deep shadows of the log and thebright highlights of the sea foam.

TECH PAN FILM

This film speed works well on overcastdays, in the fog or in outdoor scenes thathave no dominant highlights or shadows.It works extremely well with long lenses,300mm and longer.

E.I. 250 outdoors will produce high-contrast negatives for special effects.

Upon examination of your first TechPan negatives you may be amazed aswell as dismayed. Because Tech Pan filmhas such high resolution and such smallgrain, your negatives look beautiful, butupon closer examination you may be sur-prised to discover lens distortion, cameramovement or even misfocusing! Theseminor faults were previously hidden bythe larger grain pattern and lesser sharp-ness in other black-and-white continu-ous-tone films.

DISCOVERINGFLAWS IN SHOOTING

TECHNIQUETech Pan's high resolution makes it a

7. & 8. When using conventional films, mosttimes poor camera technique is masked by thefilm's inability to resolve fine detail. In photoNo. 7, mirror slap causes an undue amount ofimage blur because of the high magnification.After taking precautions (photo No. 8) as out-lined in the text, image is razor sharp. A blackcard held over the lens with the camera's shut-ter on B was used to make the exposure.9. Rated at E.I. 32 and developed with modi-fied FG7 developer, Technical Pan film can beused in almost every situation, even a high-contrast scene such as direct flash.

great tool for checking camera vibration,lens sharpness, precise focusing and theprecision of your basic camera tech-niques. Most photographers assume thatwhen slow shutter speeds are required,a tripod and cable release will solve allthe problems of camera movement. Weregret to inform you of the cold, hardfacts. Mirror slap can occur, causing

some loss of sharpness even if you usea tripod and cable release. After complet-ing several tests using Tech Pan film, thenegatives were examined using a high-power magnifier, and the results indicat-ed definite mirror slap, especially whenthe shutter speeds were from 1/15 sec-ond down to !/2 second.

To cure the problem of mirror slap, thephotographer can gently push down onthe top of camera during exposures ofone second and shorter. A better way toensure stability in your tripod is to attacha heavy weight to the bottom of the cen-ter column of the tripod.

For exposure times greater than onesecond, a black-card shutter is recom-mended. To successfully execute thismethod, a black card is held in front ofthe camera lens and the shutter on thecamera is locked open on B (Bulb). Theblack card is then removed from the frontof the lens and exact timing is achieved

TECH PAN FILM

by means of a stopwatch. When the re-quired exposure time is achieved, thencarefully replace the black card in front ofthe lens and close the shutter.

Some lenses seem to induce mirrorslap more than others. Telephoto lensesfrom 200mm and up, for example, be-cause of their weight, require tripods andheavy weights to steady the tripod, andhigh shutter speeds in order to obtainsharp photos.

Another area in which you might noticemirror slap is the equipment used forclose-ups such as macro tubes, slide co-piers, copy stands and microscopes. Aquick test using Tech Pan film on each ofthese setups will enable you to find thecause of your unsharp negatives. Oncethe cause is located, you can then set outto improve your close-up equipment. Forexample, you can start using flash withyour macro tubes, and your copy standcan be reinforced. Your slide copier canalso be reinforced or even converted toflash. When photographing through a mi-croscope you can use the black-cardshutter as mentioned before.

Some photographers have difficultyobtaining sharp pictures and usually putthe blame on their own inability to focusthe camera properly, or worse yet, thecamera's lens. But there is another possi-ble cause for poor focus and it takesTech Pan Film to discover it.

Mount your camera and lens on a tri-pod and carefully focus on different sub-jects at various distances from the cam-era. For each subject take two or threephotos on Tech Pan film taking care toavoid mirror slap. Make notes indicatingsubject matter, and record the focusmarked on the lens.

After taking each set of photos, refocusthe lens at a point you perceive to be10-20 percent in front of the subject, andanother photo at 10-20 percent behindthe subject. Remember to carefully rec-ord your information.

Process the film and view the nega-tives with a high-power magnifier. First,check the accurately focused photos. Ifthey seem sharp, then your camera bodyis well focused. If not, check the photosthat were back and front focused. If eitherof these photos is sharp, run the testagain. If your results are the same, youmay need a corrective eyepiece on yourcamera or else your camera needs repair(the focusing screen may be a differentdistance from the lens than the filmplane).

Tech Pan is a great tool for testing lensresolution. Mount your camera and lenson a tripod or copy stand. A commercial

10. Edwal FG7, sodium sulfite and a plasticfilm can for mixing are all you 'II need to turnKodak Technical Pan Film. 2415, from a high-resolution scientific film into a continuous-tonepictorial film.

lens-resolution test chart should be used.In lieu of the test chart, a page from amagazine that has type in all four cornerscan be used. Focus the camera carefullyand make sure to avoid any mirror slap.Make several exposures at different im-age sizes and different f-stops. Makesure your camera back is parallel to thetest target.

Process the film and view with a high-power magnifier. Examine the negativefor sharpness in the center as well nearthe edges. Look for any distortion nearthe edges of the chart. Should you dis-cover that the straight lines in the resolu-tion test chart are not as straight on yourtest negatives, then you might considerusing that lens only on subjects contain-ing no dominant lines, or else put the lensup for sale.

Compare your negatives from each f-stop tested. Determine the sharpest neg-ative. In most cases, the sharpest f-stopon your lens should be around two f-stops down from the widest opening.

Once you have all your testing done onKodak's Tech Pan film, it's now time togo out and take some great pictures. Oneof the biggest advantages of Tech Panfilm over Panatomic-X, Kodak Plus-X orTri-X Films is that it enables you to makehigh-quality enlargements up to 20x24inches. When enlarging Pantomic-X,Plus-X or Tri-X to 20x24, grain becomesmost apparent, contrast drops considera-bly, and image resolution falls apart.Tech Pan, on the other hand, maintainsextremely fine grain and normal contrastwith little resolution loss at 20x24. It'savailable in 36-exposure cassettes and150-foot bulk rolls (35mm), as well as the4x5 sheet-film size.

If you decide to give Kodak's TechnicalPan Film a try, expect to produce somedynamite negatives and noticeably im-prove your 35mm camera techniques allat the same time. D