Camera Talk

Cape May, N.J., 2009 | Contax IIa, Carl Zeiss 21mm Biogon, Rollei infrared film

After Kodak HIE went off of the market, there weren't many choices for infrared film. Or any for a while.

At some point, Maco created a film, and at some point after, a Rollei-branded version was made available, including 35mm format. I think that I got this part correct.

I think this is a decent product. I can't recall if it requires handling in total darkness, but that's how I handled it. I shot with a nearly opaque filter, which isn't a problem with a rangefinder. It's impossible with an SLR, because the viewfinder is about 99.5% black (I didn't measure the percentage - it's an estimate).

The grain is tolerable, and it's easy to process. It scans well. It was available in 120, as well. I'm not sure if it's still being produced.

That's a terrific image, Mike. I've never seen an IR image of ocean waves. How did you judge the necessary focus shift? Is it marked on the Biogon?

A beautiful photo, Mike. https://www.freestylephoto.biz/ has Rollei IR film, plus Ilford SFX 200 which when used with a deep red filter can give similar results.

PF

Impressive photo, Mike, really I like it.

The 21mm Biogon has enormous depth of field at f/8, so I wasn't too concerned about focus shift.

Regardless, there was a lot of guesswork with exposure. I think that I used an effective ISO of 10. I can't say for certain, because it's been 12 years, as you can see.

I've used the Ilford SFX 200, and it gives infrared-like effects, which is how it was marketed.As you can see, most of the foilage turned white, but I didn't get dark skies. I shot this with a Retina IIC and a deep red filter.

Rollei IR was a nice film, but your eye made it even better!
great pic