Russian film?

[BILLC]

Has anyone used Russian film? Do they make film? We can get film from China, the Balkens(sp), the UK, and the US, but the FSU? Do they put T MAX or pan f through their old Feds like I do?
Bill

[Jocko]

Hallo Bill - the Russian film industry (so to speak) is smaller that it was (surprise) but you can buy some of their products in the west - and many other interesting films - here: http://www.retrophotographic.com/tasma.htm

Cheers, Ian

[KoNickon]

I hav wondered for some time just what film is used in Russia. I bet it's interesting, "old look" stuff, but the fact it's not available except for reloadable cassettes makes me lose interest. I bet if they decided to offer the film in standard cassettes they would have a market in the West.

[Jocko]

I agree Nick - although the 100 ISO film is available in cassettes. I'd really like to see some fast Russian film: I have visions of marvellously thumping grain and film noire grittiness.... Heaven!

Ian

[VinceC]

In the late 1980s, before the communist governments fell, my future wife visited Prague. I asked her to bring back a roll of film for me to put on my photo display shelf (just one shelf back then). She returned with a roll of Kodak Gold 100 and a small portfolio of several official-looking papers bearing multiple government stamps -- it had taken her the better part of a day to get permission from Communist authorities for a foreigner to buy film, then had to visit two separate administrative offices in the city to get the stamps and approval letters. This also garnered her surveillance by a plainclothes security detail for the rest of the day.

[Evgeny S]

Guys, FYI the only film manufacturer in Russia is TASMA plant. It produces the classic bw film, based on the "retro" technology. Although I didn't use TASMA film (because it's a bit difficult to buy it even in Russia itself), I've heard that this film can produce good pictures (sharp and with some kind of "retro" look).
BTW, another Russian pland still produces the photographic plates

[bmattock]

TASMA is in Tartarstan, and SVEMA is part of the SUMI OBLAST in Ukraine.

I have been trying very hard to get in touch with either of these to purchase some of their film for export to the USA. I understand that Retrophotographics in the UK sells Tasma, but I'm hoping to get a connection closer to the wholesale level.

I'm intensely curious about both of them. There is also a Russian company that I believe makes glass plates but not photographic film, but I forget the name at the moment.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

[rbiemer]

I bought some Svema 64 speed film(a whopping two rolls) from Alex[on ebay] the last time I got some other stuff from him just to put on the shelf with the FSU cameras. Cassettes look like the re-usable ones you can buy for bulk loading and are packed in foil in side the boxes.
Rob

[bmattock]

Originally Posted by rbiemer

I bought some Svema 64 speed film(a whopping two rolls) from Alex[on ebay] the last time I got some other stuff from him just to put on the shelf with the FSU cameras. Cassettes look like the re-usable ones you can buy for bulk loading and are packed in foil in side the boxes.
Rob

How did you like it?

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

[rbiemer]

Haven't actually used it. I couldn't resisit my curiosity and opened one of the boxes.
Don't think I'll be using the other--for the forseeable future I'm not processing my own--shoot mt a PM, Bill and I'll send it to you.
Rob

[lushd]

A few years ago a Russian friend who works at an institute in St Petersberg emptied the cupboards of their old film stocks and gave me a few rolls of Svema 64 in 120 size. I have to say it was poor but it was out of date. Fuzzy, low contrast etc. Not a fair trial though.

[lynn]

I hate sounding like an broken record (record? what's a record?) so I've been hesitant to join this discussion.
But: I shot one of my three rolls of very old Svemapan a while back. I posted the results here - somewhere (the thread had something to do with "logic", as I recall) - and on my photoblog.
The scanned images needed a fair bit of photoshopping, but I was happy.
I'm easy to please, though.

[bmattock]

Cool! I didn't know about it, and I'll look for it.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

[Evgeny S]

Comparing to the TASMA film, any SVEMA film is a real bull**** now. SVEMA plant was practicaly "ruined" during the last 10 years. There are rumours (99% truly, because I've heard this from different photographers) that all they can do now is to cut bulk outdated (!) Forte film and put it into cassettes under SVEMA name.

[ZorkiKat]

I once received a FED from the Ukraine with film still in it. The film developed well, save for fogged portions, likely caused by opening the camera's bottom plate when it changed hands. Film turned out to be Svema. I sent the seller scans of the negatives, asking her if she knew who these were, when these were from, and where from the Ukraine. She could only answer in the negative in all counts- plus saying that there were many places in her country that hardly changed in over a century, and it was quite hard to assess information from the costumes of the people seen there.

The pictures were snaps of children, pets, their Ded/Babushka, and some village scenes. These photos meant a lot to this people, and its so sad that they never got to see their snaps. There is a mark on the film strip which said "4 СВЕМА 01.92." which may well indicate its date of make. If so, the shots may have been from the 1990s.

Attached is a scan from a couple of strips from that Svema roll:

[Jocko]

Jay, that's amazing! One of the things which most intrigues me about our cameras is their "prehistoric" (pre-ebay) life: what things they must have seen! you are very lucky!

Ian

[BILLC]

Thanks for the link Ian, I will try some. Those shots found make me want to go there and use it there. My high school russian is 40 years rusty but it would be fun.
Bill

[Evgeny S]

This is the example of the TASMA Type-17 (400 ASA) film: picture. It's not mine, so I don't know which developer was used.

[AlexBurdov]

Originally Posted by bmattock

How did you like it?

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

I am live in Russia and regular use TASMA and SVEMA B&W film. It quality such FOMAPAn - but it save temperature great 21C for FOMAPAN

[ed1k]

Originally Posted by bmattock

TASMA is in Tartarstan, and SVEMA is part of the SUMI OBLAST in Ukraine.

I have been trying very hard to get in touch with either of these to purchase some of their film for export to the USA. I understand that Retrophotographics in the UK sells Tasma, but I'm hoping to get a connection closer to the wholesale level.

I'm intensely curious about both of them. There is also a Russian company that I believe makes glass plates but not photographic film, but I forget the name at the moment.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

Bill,

www.tasma.ru is a web site of the Tasma company. This site is in Russian, so you need translator (maybe some on-line engine can do it sufficient to get understanding). They have warehouse in Moscow
www.lasso-centre.ru
lasso-centr@telcomnet.ru

Or you can contact directly sales@tasma.ru. Probably best language for communication is Russian anyway, I don't know. I'm interested to get a few rolls of FN-32 and Type 17 aerofilm (400 ISO). I hope some of my friends in Russia will pick it up for me and I will be able to play with it this fall. I'm not intersted to setup a business and sell this film in North America though.

Svema, according to my research, doesn't really make film anymore. In photo stores across the Ukraine one can still buy Svema brand, but it's expensive and you never know what's inside (rebrended Forte or something similar). 25 years ago, Svema was much better than Tasma to my taste.

Regards,
Eduard

[varjag]

Svema definitely has some form of relationship with Forte: one bulk of Fortepan 400 I got was packed in a tin canister with Svema logo engaved at the bottom.

Overall I don't find FSU film particularly outstanding. Some of it is OK but I'll take Tri-X over it any day

[ed1k]

Originally Posted by BILLC

Has anyone used Russian film? Do they make film? We can get film from China, the Balkens(sp), the UK, and the US, but the FSU? Do they put T MAX or pan f through their old Feds like I do?
Bill

Answering this question I have to say I definetely used Soviet film as I lived here (Kharkov - motherland of FEDs). I used Svema brand, so I will describe this film if anyone's really interested. Here is a brief info on available for average amateur Soviet film. This is a history - I am referring to films produced between 1978 and 1991... and BTW our Feds and Zorkijs were new then ;^)

Foto-32. Blue box. 32 ISO. Very wide latitude and relatively fine grain. I can't directly compare this film to western brands as I didn't have western film then and I don't have Foto brand now. It was my favourite film, but I tryied and failed a couple of times with this film before I got development process right.

Foto-65. Green box. 65 ISO. It was most widely used film. Every newbie usually used this film, including me. This was the only film with some special measures to the emulsion resulted in keeping constant contrast. What I mean this was very forgiving film for inacurate processing time/temperature. Also, it was probably good film for pushing. Increasing development time one could get more dense negatives and normal contrast. Talking in curves terminology - over development shifts curve but angle is the same. Probably it's common property for most western film, but AFAIK that was the only film with this characteristics. It was good and bad - I realized that I usually overdevelop my film too late, when failed with Foto-32 and got too contrasty and grainy negatives. In mid of 80s soviet standard (GOST) was changed, standard contrast adjusted to western standards (I believe gamma was changed to 0.62 instead of old soviet norm 0.8) and as a result effective sensitivity was also changed. They started to mark this film as Foto-64.

Foto-130. Orange box. 130 ISO. Fast film which I never liked. It was not that fast but it was grainy. Maybe I didn't use it often because it wasn't my speed and can't say much about this film; maybe it was excellent film for someone who used it regularly. Later it was changed to Foto-125 as a result of changing standards (not emulsion).

Foto-250. Red box. 250 ISO. Really fast film for that time. Sometimes I used this film for available light. More often I used A2SH which was not available in retail stores, but professional only. A2SH was produced in bulk rolls only. It had better sensitivity in yellowish spectrum of traditional bulbs - around 380 ISO. I heard that Foto-250 was also more sensitive for bulb light, but I can't say anything about it. Foto-250 was grainy film... but you have to pay for speed.

In the end of 80s when Kodak, Ilford and others reported incredible results out of their new silver-save technologies, Svema also announced new plain crystall emulsions. I think, I read this in "Soviet Foto" magazine, and new film was supposed to be marked as FN instead of Foto. I never tried this FN stuff using old stock from my fridge. Someone told me nothing was changed, just a name on the box. Someone was in hunt for old Foto because didn't like results from new FN. Can't comment on it... really, that was time when USSR collapsed and I was a student at university... didn't spend much time shooting.

There were also colour films, really ****y ones. I remember DS-4 (day light) and CLN-90 (bulb light). Much better was East German Orwocolor films. I got just excellent slides out of Orwochrome. This imported film was expensive but probably the only way to get good results in colour photography.

I never saw Kodak or Ilford film while soviet union existed. I heard someone was able to get Fomapan stuff... but it was not available for an average Ivan like me.

Cheers,
Eduard

[comp_wiz101]

Thanks for the great perspective on the films available at the time. I always wondered about colour film in FSU cameras, and how commonly it was used.

[BILLC]

Thanks for the look back Eduard. What kind of cameras were you useing? I see so many FSU cameras for sale that we don't use, they must be common over there. I have at least a dozen cameras from a Fed 1 to a Zorki 6, Kiev, and a Zenit but I have never heard anyone talk about their Smena or Tchaika. They must have been everywhere and maybe still are. Does anyone still use the old rangefinders that we enjoy so much?
Bill

[varjag]

Smena, Vilia and such were in the niche of inexpensive point and shoots. Smena-8M though enjoyed somewhat "bohemian" reputation long before lomographs noticed its existence. Small camera that operated well in severe cold, it was commonly found in alpiners' or wilderness explorers backpacks, even at polar expeditions, although most samples were just used for family snaps.