P3D black and white infrared film

[koganlee@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Andrea Blair asks,
<<Another film I find interesting (but haven't tried) is infrared. I have 
seen several members in our club use it with very intriguing results. 
Perhaps someone who uses infrared would like to share some information 
with us.>>

        I noticed that several people had commented on color infrared slides, 
but no one mentioned black and white infrared film. I use more infrared than 
any other film these days, and can say a few things about it. There are 
several kinds now available. Kodak High Speed Infrared seems to be the most 
popular and has the most dramatic "infrared" look. It also has to be loaded 
into the camera in the dark (changing bag) and has no anti-halation layer 
(which results in a halo around highlights). It is available in 35mm, 70mm 
(medium format long roll), and 4x5. Konica Infrared 750 is finer grained, 
sharper, and does not need to be loaded in the dark. Although not quite as 
dramatic, it definitely gives a very satisfactory "infrared" look. It is 
quite a bit slower in speed (about 64 for Kodak and about 6 for Konica (both 
with 25A red filters)), which is fine for me because I always use a tripod, 
but it would be hard to hand hold it and get any depth of field. It is 
available in 35mm and 120 (which is what I use along with some trials using 
Kodak 4x5). Ilford has recently come out with a film called SFX which can be 
used either as infrared or as normal film depending on what filter is used 
with it. It comes in 35mm and 120. Needless to say, these are all negative 
films, although I suppose one could develop them as slides with the right 
chemicals. Or slides could easily be made from the negatives. I make stereo 
cards with them myself, as well as large stereo prints. I will be happy to 
answer questions about infrared, or you can try the web page  
http://www.a1.nl/phomepag/markerink/mainpage.htm  . Also, I will have an 
exhibit of infrared images in the stereo card exhibit at the convention.

David Lee



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