the way of the dodo

[SimonSawSunlight]

it's perfectly possible that a similar thread existed before but i want a clean and current slate.

i stated recently that shooting and developing Neopan 400 is a bit like snacking on bits of the world's last reserve of dodo meat you nicked from the freezer, but it's just so good.

with that in mind, what extinguished species of film do you need back in your freezer? and more importantly, why? what property cannot be replaced by any current offering? or is it simply an emotional matter? does dodo meat taste even better because you can only get chicken and turkey at the grocery store?

[Ko.Fe.]

Polypan F and Shanghai 100 as dirt cheap film for tests.

https://kawarthachoice.com/directory...roduce-bakery/

[Deardorff38]

I miss paper, more than film & in my opinion it has a great effect on my final prints. Tri-X & FP4+ keep me going..... but i'd sure like to have Boespflug & Guillemot "Brilliant" and Forte Fortezo & Polygrade warmtone back...complete with cadmium.

[Bingley]

Plus X, Plus X, and Plus X. I love the "old school" look, and I love its tonality when rated at 320 and developed in Diafine. I tried Fomapan 200 and FP4+ and while those are both good films, neither completely captures the gorgeous mid-tones of Plus X (that said, I have been shooting a lot of FP4+ recently). I also shoot Tri-X and TMax films, but there's something about Plus X that captures the best of bw 35mm photography for me.

I still have about 10 rolls, and would love to see that film brought back.

And I would also love to see Neopan 400 back too.

[petronius]

Polypan F, because after 1000 rolls I finally know how to handle it;-)

(And speaking of dodos: Howard Waldrop: The ugly chickens and anything else he wrote!)

[Timmyjoe]

The original AgfaPan, APX-100. It was my go to film from the mid-1980's till Agfa went out of business. The replacement stuff is crap.

I love the tonal gradations (especially skin tones) and the rich blacks I got with the original AgfaPan processed in the original Rodinal (although the stuff Adox is now making is very close to being the same).

Best,
-Tim

[charjohncarter]

I'm not totally upset about film extinctions. The films I use now are enough for me. But like the OP, I miss Acros Neopan 100, and like Ko.Fe I miss a cheap film for testing.

[Big Ursus]

Polaroid 4x5 PN film
I sometimes dream of its gorgeosity!

[css9450]

Originally Posted by Bingley

Plus X, Plus X, and Plus X.

On a related note: Verichrome Pan.

Its heyday was before my time, so I've only shot it as expired.... But what I have shot with it, it looks fantastic.

[Takkun]

I don’t really mourn film losses; not for lack of want, but just to keep my sanity.

I’d also say ditto to all forms of Neopan, along with APX. My PJ professor in undergrad was old school and pushed us to HP5/TX, but I shot neopan 400 almost exclusively. Need to get around to scanning those.
At the beginning of summer I mentioned I purged binders full of crap I shot in middle and high school. For whatever reason, I shot mostly Plus-X and APX - I think I got a lot of old stock for cheap. Wish I could get those back and shoot them on worthwhile subjects and develop them properly.

Surprised it isn’t mentioned here yet, but also pack film, be it Polaroid or Fuji. So much creative potential with transfers and negative recovery. Got one box left, but I don’t want to spend a lot searching for an instant back for my GX680 just for 10 shots.

[SolaresLarrave]

Agfa Pan ISO 400. It went extinct a few years after I discovered it. Arista managed to spool some rolls of it (remnant) but didn't last long. Fortunately, I have liked Ilford HP-5 but haven't figured out whether it's as pushable as the Agfa was.

And, of course, Kodachrome...

[B-9]

Fuji FP-3000b

I never did get to shoot many packs of it.

[ChipMcD]

Originally Posted by css9450

On a related note: Verichrome Pan.

Its heyday was before my time, so I've only shot it as expired.... But what I have shot with it, it looks fantastic.

Amen. This was a really nice film, even though it was the cheaper, budget-level film, as compared to the "professional" Panatomic X, Plus X and Tri X films from Kodak (at least in the 1970s and 1980s when I shot it).

As another poster wrote, having Kodachrome back would be great too, although I rarely use film for color these days.

[Takkun]

Originally Posted by ChipMcD

As another poster wrote, having Kodachrome back would be great too, although I rarely use film for color these days.

I'm so torn on this, too. I have a (or several, if very old) digital camera, and that's what I go to for what little personal color work I shoot; but there's nothing like rich transparencies in medium format. Ilford looks like they're going strong, Adox has some nice BW stocks, but if the big guys drop C41, E6 or even cinema stock, I worry color film will be entirely gone, owing to the complexity of fabricating it. I highly doubt the smaller manufacturers would take up that mantle.

But at $10 a pop each for a roll and developing, it's awfully hard to justify shooting with any frequency.

That said, I have a couple rolls of Super8 Vision3 in the freezer I really need to get around to shooting...

[maddoc]

Fuji FP-3000b
Fuji Neopan 1600PR (Superpresto)
Kodak Kodachrome KR64
Kodak Plus-X
Kodak HC-110 (US version)
All sorts of Fuji BW paper


I miss the 1600PR and KR64 most and did never find anything to replace either film.

[helenhill]

Extinct ...Neopan 1600
And one day I too
Oh how I miss This film
Didn’t matter what time of day... I used it 24 /7

Pure magic... Pure Atmosphere



on the Way Home...another Fallen by Helen Hill, on Flickr





on the Beat, Elizabeth Street,NYC by Helen Hill, on Flickr

"


baby You can Drive my Car" by Helen Hill, on Flickr

[CMur12]

I used to really like Agfachrome 1000 for window light portraits.

Way back when, I really liked the palette of Agfachrome CT-18 for winter scenes and GAF 64 for fall.

Like many others, I miss Kodachrome, too.

- Murray

[Freakscene]

I miss missing things. These days I mostly just spend time feeling bad about the fact that I don't feel worse.

Marty

[gavinlg]

Natura 1600
Neopan 1600
Neopan 400

Those three need to come back. They're all wonderful and unique and you can't replicate the looks they gave.

[Ambro51]

Kodachrome 25

[Malcolm M]

Originally Posted by Ambro51

Kodachrome 25

I'll second that one.

[Prest_400]

Kodachrome. I only was able to try a bit of KR64 on its last days and heard great of K25. OTOH I have to recognise it is a lot about its look and nostalgia, with the guarantee of 75 years of color archival quality. Thankful that E100 is out there but haven't shot it yet. Partly due to doing much more BW and not knowing what to do with slides (hybrid I know!)

C'mon Kodak, E100 and TMZ in 120. If/when they put it out it will be a nice move, bearing in mind TMZ was never available in 120.

Following are Dodos I always heard abiut but are in legendary status:
Panatomic X and Verichrome Pan, it is way prior my time and perhaps TMX does a fine replacement.

Yes, the special use: I was able to try Aerochrome and that IR color is quite peculiar and fun for specific frames, supplies are old and few. Saw and heard a bit about HIE and Efke IR820. And well, another I didn't try is Tech Pan.
The E6 tomb. Fuji 64T, 400X

Edit: Forgot instant... Peel apart in its many formats and the original lanipulable Time Zero Polaroid.

[Dogman]

Hmmm. I miss: Kodak Medalist, Kodabromide, Agfa Portriga Rapid, Brovira--the look thereof. I miss Tri-X the way it looked in the 1970s. I miss original Agfa Rodinal (yeah, I know) and sodium sulfite concoctions. I miss Kodachrome II and X as well as 25 and 64 even though they were never accurate (but they were beautiful). I miss Ektachrome 64 sheet film and the filtration needed to "fix" it in shadows. I miss being able to get a Nikon F drowned in rain at a college football game, stripping it down and drying it out in a film dryer and then using it to shoot a bowl game in ankle deep mud the same day. I miss working 60 hour weeks.

I miss my youth.

But what the hell. I'm fine with pixels and sensors and what I still have. There's no going back and, except for a few instances of regrets, I really wouldn't want to.

[Phil_F_NM]

Plus-X. Old formula HC110.
Phil Forrest

[PRJ]

In order-

Agfapan APX 400
Agfapan APX 400
Agfapan APX 400

Neopan 1600
Neopan 400

Agfa Optima for color film.

Some of the old papers before they took out the Cadmium and other constituents. Forte Polywarmtone was one.

I still have some of these materials around, but I keep them more for souvenirs than anything else these days.

[jpa66]

Another one longing for Plus-X.
Also the original Agfapan APX-100 and Agfachrome (favorite slide film).


But I really, really miss Kodak HIE. Man, if they could bring that back, I'd be jumping for joy!

[ChrisPlatt]

• Verichrome Pan
• Panatomic-X
• Old HP5
• Old Tri-X
• Old APX100
• Kodachrome 64

Chris

[DMA1965]

Verichrome Pan. I have around 30 rolls in the freezer ranging from the early 1960’s to the early 1980’s. It does not seem to have an end of useful life. This is THE film for that classic medium format look.

[farlymac]

Originally Posted by Big Ursus

Polaroid 4x5 PN film
I sometimes dream of its gorgeosity!

Try here: Famous Format – The (Famous) Large & Small Format Photography Co.



PF

[farlymac]

I'm with Bingley on Plus-X. But also Acros 100 which I just got hooked on right before they pulled the plug on it. Hope they start shipping the Acros II soon.


PF

[huddy]

I miss Reala. The color profile was very neutral instead of warm like Kodak films or cool like most Fuji films. It was my favorite 120 or 35mm color film.

I started shooting right as Neopan 400 was discontinued and missed out on Plus-X also. I wish both were still available.

I am grateful for what still exists!

[Rob-F]

Originally Posted by helenhill

Extinct ...Neopan 1600
And one day I too
Oh how I miss This film
Didn’t matter what time of day... I used it 24 /7

Pure magic... Pure Atmosphere

"


baby You can Drive my Car" by Helen Hill, on Flickr

I like how the grain of this rather grainy film melts away into this image without calling attention to itself.

[Pentode]

Plus-X tops my list. HIE is not far behind it.
There are others: Tech Pan, Panatomic-X, Ilford P4 Surveillance film, Pre 1997 Tri-X, Efke 100, Agfachrome, Acros, Konica 750IR...

I miss them all, but I miss Plus-X the most. It’s what I learned on.

All that said, I have a fair amount of dodo meat in the fridge; enough to enable me to revisit my old favorites for some years to come. When my stocks run out I’ll be sad, but I do have to admit there are still quite a lot of very good choices available for B&W, many of which I like a lot. I won’t lose too much sleep before moving on.

[helenhill]

Originally Posted by Rob-F

I like how the grain of this rather grainy film melts away into this image without calling attention to itself.

yum to neopan 1600, Yum to You Rob !
very kind indeed , love your choice of words, Thank You °

[papasnap]

Fuji Provia 400X slide film, all the way! Fujifilm, please bring it back. You could shoot it all day in bright sunshine yet cheerfully push it +2 to EI 1600 and keep shooting all night with a fast 35mm lens, unrivaled dim light color film performance. I'm still reeling from it being discontinued back in 2012.

Back when I was living in Hong King, one glorious day in 2017 I stumbled on a carton of it - somehow still in date - in a old film lab around mongkok. A place where you rang the doorbell and a head would emerge from a window a few stories up, they would throw the key down to you on street level in a plush toy, so you could let yourself in and up the stairs.

I bought their last ~50 rolls of in-date Provia 400X - unrefrigerated, and just two months away from expiry - and the same afternoon picked up a brand new (NOS) Leica M6 TTL 0.58x to replace one I'd left in a taxi back in the 2000s. Ah, what a day.


Hong Kong, late one night in 2017.
M6 ttl 0.58 / 35 summilux asph fle / provia 400X +2 stops / small incandescent flashlight.


The ferry to Jumbo. HK, 2017.
M6 ttl 0.58 / 35 summilux asph fle / provia 400X +2 stops / small incandescent flashlight.


Shenzhen, China, 2017. Wandering the narrow lanes of Hubei urban village, a 500 year old throwback surrounded by a 30 year old highrise megapolis.
M6 ttl 0.58 / 35 summilux asph fle / provia 400X +2 stops



Our anniversary, Macau, 2017
M6 ttl 0.58 / 35 summilux asph fle / provia 400X +2 stops



Side note: Cinestill 800T is real nice in bright artificial lighting around EI 800 but with neg's tendency to wash out on underexposure, still not a real substitute as a dim-light, late-night film.

[Rob-F]

Another fan of Plus-X here. Smooth and creamy, very fine grain, and, in my experience, good shadow detail.

[maddoc]

Awesome photo!!

Originally Posted by papasnap

The ferry to Jumbo. HK, 2017.
M6 ttl 0.58 / 35 summilux asph fle / provia 400X +2 stops / small incandescent flashlight.

[jawarden]

There's a lot of Plus-X love in this thread, and I'm throwing my hat in too. I really enjoyed shooting that film in 35mm format; it had grain but not too much, and it had "lovely tones", whatever that means. I just miss it.

[nikon_sam]

I miss the 4x5 Polaroid film/prints for my large format camera...not interested in the replacement stuff...

[Canyongazer]

Agfa APX 100 at EI 64,

120 and 35mm
Long tonal scale, prints with black blacks.