Lucky B&w Films

[maxby]

During the past few months of restructuring in the B&W film industry, I was tempted to experiment with new alternative sources of supply. I came across a B&W film produced in China...Lucky Films.

In case you are wondering, no, I am not paid to write this review. Wish I was. Got a couple of rolls on 120mm format and tested it. The film is Lucky SHD100..iso 100



Shot a roll at Putrajaya and developed it a couple of days ago. I have used a handheld meter to meter the exposure.

There was very little literature on the chemicals and development time. The chemical recommended was D76 and a chemical made in China. I was told that this emulsion was "Kodak Plus-X". (BTW Kodak has substantial investment in this company) Did a couple of research and decided to use the information for plus-x given at the "massive development chart" as the starting point. Developed it in rodinal 1:50 20degC at 13 min.

On visual inspection, the negative turns out to be OK, a bit dense, (not unlike films developed in T-max developer) maybe it is because plus-x was rated at ISO125 while this emulsion was ISO100. Anyway my next development time would be 11.5min. (a 10% time reduction).

The film backing is bluish similar to the T-max backing but it does not give the purple coloration to the developer unlike T-max film. I find the film backing a bit on the soft side, so using a glass negative carrier is a must.

No I have not done any N (+/-) n development. Maybe will be doing it if I am going to use this emulsion as my primary emulsion.

Printed an example of the image last night. The image prints on grade 3 contrast which is normal for the slightly over developed negative. The grain structure is fine, in fact finer than T-max 400, Tri-X, Ilford Pan 100 and APX100 which was a surprise to me.

The image looks sharp but not outstanding like APX100 in rodinal. The image is smooth and has an old feel like HP5, FP4 or Tri-X. Will try to get my hands on a Plus-X for comparison.

The film can be purchased from Digicolor. The price is about RM4.50 per roll for both 120mm and 35mm film. At this price, it should be a good beginner film.

Disclaimer: This review is a personal opinion only. It may defer from the views of other members. The writer does not derive any money, benefits, etc from writting this review though he hopes otherwise.. :lol: The writer also hopes to get other feedback from members who have any experience on this film to build up his data base.

You can also visit this site for more information China Lucky Films

[maxby]

Here is the print I made from the B&W Lucky Film negative. This picture was taken just after the rain. The lighting was diffused and dull. I put the camera, a Mamiya C330 with 55mm lens on a tripod.

[ted]

oh maxby?

can u bring the prints from the Lucky 120mmm neg to DA's hse this evening?

thanks.

[Brian]

Originally posted by ted@Dec 6 2004, 02:52 PM oh maxby? can u bring the prints from the Lucky 120mmm neg to DA's hse this evening? thanks.

...should bring the negs, not the prints if you're evaluatin'

[choen]

Brian, I doubt many if any one today is able to eyeball a negative's quality.

[Brian]

Originally posted by choen@Dec 6 2004, 03:27 PM Brian, I doubt many if any one today is able to eyeball a negative's quality.

120/6x6? Sure, why not?

[maxby]

No worries, will bring both negative and print.....a good and cheap film to experiment with, won't burn a hole in the pocket..... :lol: :lol:

[Brian]

Hey maxby, would you be able to bring a couple of 120 rolls for me to play with in March? I can't find them for sale here and the last time I tried Lucky films was when I bought a roll in H.K. 3 years back and it was horrible

[maxby]

No worries, would get you some...120 or 35mm format or both ??? :lol: :lol:

[Brian]

Originally posted by maxby@Dec 6 2004, 05:50 PM No worries, would get you some...120 or 35mm format or both ??? :lol: :lol:

Just 120 iz fine. With me bulk rolling HP5+ now it'll be months before I would get to play with anything new in 35mm.

[maxby]

Originally posted by Brian@Dec 6 2004, 06:22 PM Just 120 iz fine. With me bulk rolling HP5+ now it'll be months before I would get to play with anything new in 35mm.

Will do.... :lol: :lol: