Re: More on the Pixar thing...

[P3D Gregory J. Wageman <gjw@xxxxxxxxxx>]

John Fairstein asked:

>What is your opinion re Polaroid film in the Realist?  Did you have any
>problems with color and density?  How about sharpness? Have other
>readers used this film?

Norm Lehfeldt responded:

>I have used this stuff. I think the effect of the grain is interesting. It
>also produces moire patterns at some magnifications on lenticular screens.
>It is denser than conventional films. The emulsion is VERY fragile. Great
>care in mounting is required to avoid scratches.
>
>IT DEPOLARIZES LIGHT!

Harold Baize adds:

>I was doing the mounting, but I was told that the film was difficult
>to load in the Realist. This is because it is thinner than standard
>slide film. It also was more difficult to cut in the Realist cutter
>for that reason. The film has an odd silvery metallic sheen on one
>side. The reds were vibrant but the over all color balance was not
>to my liking. I couldn't tell about the grain or saturation. I would
>offer this opinion. It is an adequate slide film if you MUST have
>instant results, but it is certainly no substitute for Kodachrome!

I've used the Polachrome as well, and I agree completely with all of
the above comments.  The grain is *very* pronounced, resulting in a
scintillating effect in front of the image (no doubt produced by the
random placement of the grain WRT left/right images, resulting in a
certain amount of retinal rivalry).

Color balance definitely favors reds/browns, resulting in very warm
images.  Blues are also quite good, but greens tend to be dark.
Interestingly, Polaroid describes the film as "primarily intended
for projection".  The resolution figure given was also quite low,
IIRC about 40 line pairs/mm.  It's also a relatively slow film, at
ASA 40.

I've gotten the above-mentioned moire patterns when shooting a scene
containing a brick wall, and when shooting images off of a computer
monitor.  The red-green-blue sensitive layers are apparently arranged
in some kind of regular pattern.

There is some question as to longevity of the film also, since the
developing process can't possibly remove all of the silver from the
emulsion (the film is pressed against a strip of plastic containing
the developing chemicals for no more than two minutes during the
developing process).  I believe the remaining silver is responsible
for the "metallic sheen" described.  In fact, the developed film is so
reflective that you can't see through it at all without a strong
backlight, much like a half-silvered mirror.  Polaroid warns that
off-the-film metering can be fooled by this stuff.

Still, if you want *immediate* gratification and don't have a darkroom,
this is one way to get it.  The manual processor costs around $100
(an electric one is available for more), and a 36 exposure roll including
developing pack costs around $15.  In addition to the Polachrome (color),
they also make a high-contrast Polachrome, Polapan (B&W, ASA 125),
Polagraph (a high-con B&W, ASA 400 film intended for making charts and
graphs), and Polablue (blue-on-white high-contrast, ASA 4 [tungsten]/8
[electronic flash], for making title slides).

Another miracle of modern chemistry!
        -Greg W.


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