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Matt_Hunt
Pooh-Bah


Reged: 07/11/2005
Posts: 2273
Which b/w film is best in humidity?
      #470891 - 25/04/2007 11:29

Hi

I am off to Singapore and Vietnam in 2 weeks and am wondering what film to take.

For colour, I am taking print and not slide since it will be more tolerant of heat IIRC.

Is there a slow-medium ISO b/w film that is particularly suited or that is non suitable to heat and humidity?

(If possible, I will get films developed in country to prevent damage to the undeveloped films.)

Thanks

Matt

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/reactivefilm/


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Zou
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Reged: 05/02/2007
Posts: 2105
Loc: Edinburgh
Re: Which b/w film is best in humidity? [Re: Matt_Hunt]
      #477023 - 07/05/2007 20:57

Japan can get pretty humid, but I didn't have any problems with Neopan. It obviously could be a lot more humid where you are going though.

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hhmr



Reged: 21/04/2005
Posts: 302
Loc: London
Re: Which b/w film is best in humidity? [Re: Matt_Hunt]
      #477088 - 08/05/2007 09:07

Quote:

HiI am off to Singapore and Vietnam in 2 weeks and am wondering what film to take.......Is there a slow-medium ISO b/w film that is particularly suited or that is non suitable to heat and humidity?..............




Hi,

I worked for 2 or 3 years in Borneo in the 1960s. For B&W I used mostly Tri-X, when I could get it, rated it at 800 and had it developed accordingly. I found it quite surprising how dark some of my subjects were (in the forest, interiors). Most of the other films I used seemed to work OK too so, given that Tri-X has changed a bit over the years anyway, I should just use something that you already like using and bear in mind you'll sometimes need a fairly fast film.

Although I had some colour positive film spoiled by damp and so stopped using it, I never had any damp marks on my B&W negatives. After the first year I had a rather large cleaning bill for lens and camera body so took to keeping them in a very large cocoa tin with a fist sized bage of silica gel to keep them company. This worked fine and the silica gel got dried out in a frying pan at intervals. The snag was that the camera didn't get used as much as it did when it lived round my neck. I still have my negs and there has been no deterioration over time so you probably don't need to worry if you find a reliable outfit to develop them. I still have the camera (purely mechanical) and use it a lot. More recently, holidays in the wet tropics with slightly electronic SLRs haven't caused me any problems.

Henry


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robc
old hand


Reged: 05/01/2006
Posts: 1021
Loc: London
Re: Which b/w film is best in humidity? [Re: hhmr]
      #477535 - 09/05/2007 02:21

Hi Matt

I spent 6 months in India in the lead up to monsoon and I had absolutely no problems with any of the films in the humidity (90%+ at times!) and I had stacks of the stuff.

With me I had: -
- Velvia 100f
- Provia 400f
- Ilford HP5
- Ilford Delta 100, 400 and 3200
- Kodak Tri-X
- Fuji Neopan 1600
- Fuji Press Superia 800
- Fuji Reala 100


Here's a couple of tips:
- Take silica gel packs (available even at Jessops) and keep a few in your bag with the film.
- Keep all the film canisters.
- Make sure you have a fridge in your room to store film (or ask at the hotel desk). Store all film in here and just take what you need out.
- If you have an air-conditioned room, keep your camera in a zip-lock plastic bag when in your room - if you do not this will cause condensation when you go out into the heat so everything fogs up and you risk moisture forming on delicate camera parts.
- Watch out for monkeys! They will grab stuff out of your camera bag if you leave it open and then run up a huge tree with rolls of exposed film if you are not careful!!

As for developing film, of course you can do it over there - have a hunt on the internet for pro togs based in those countries and find out which labs they trust so you can use them. But if you have concerns (as I always do!) I store the exposed film in the fridge and then ship it back via Fed Ex / DSL - a respected courier. Number your films as you use them and stick all the odd numbered ones in one package, and the even numbered films in another. If you are not going for long enough to warrant couriers, just keep em in the fridge and develop when you get home - I had some slide film going in and out of fridges and stupidly hot train carriages for the best part of four months and no colour shifts occured by the time I got home and developed them.


Have a fantastic time (v. jealous) - am sure it will be a photographers paradise.


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Neal
member


Reged: 19/06/2006
Posts: 149
Loc: Oxfordshire, UK
Re: Which b/w film is best in humidity? [Re: Matt_Hunt]
      #512928 - 18/07/2007 15:31

we travelled thailand for 3 weeks and shot Kodak Tri-x and Fuji Velvia. Never had a problem with any fogging, etc etc. Keep it in the fridge if you have one where you're staying. dont worry about x-ray machines too, aslong as it doesnt go through the checked in luggage you'll be fine.....we must have had them scanned 15-20 times with no ill effect. Just dont use 1600 or 3200 film as they will fog. Tri=x can be pushed to 1600 if needed anyway.

neal


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