Best Way to Use the Final Stock of Fuji FP3000B? Party!

I have a beautiful old Polaroid 250 instant camera. This is a pack film camera, which uses FP3000B or FP100C pack film from Fuji. While the FP100C is still being produced (fingers crossed for the future!), FP3000B has been discontinued. That's really too bad. FP100C is 100 speed color instant film, while FP3000B is 3000 speed (!) black and white. Neither of these films can cover for the other.

 

Anyway, I'm not going to get down about the fact that no new FP3000B is being made. I have a few packs left, and plan to use them well.

 

Last night, I used two packs of FP3000B at my company's holiday party. Knowing that it would be pretty dark at the party, and understanding that Polaroid cameras have relatively slow lenses, it was clear that flash was going to be necessary. So, I put the Polaroid camera on a flash bracket, on which I mounted a modern Nikon SB600 flash. Using a cable that I cobbled together from an old Polaroid flash bulb mount and an accessory hot shoe, I got the whole contraption to work. Testing it out ahead of time, I found that full power manual flash from the SB600 works very well with FP3000B at about 5-10 feet distance. Perfect for the party.

 

Now, this is harsh, direct light. That's the look I decided to go for, since the theme of the party was "sock hop," reminiscent of the days when someone would have photographed it with instant film and a big, bright, direct flash bulb. I got exactly what I wanted. Here are the results.

 

 

I can't think of a better way to use up what's left of this awesome black and white instant film.

 

People loved posing for me, and especially seeing the results. My catch phrase was "by the time your eyesight recovers from the flash, the print will be ready."

 

Fun.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

Fun Snaps With Polaroid 250, Bounced Flash, FP3000 Pack Film

I have a newly-serviced Polaroid 250, which is one of the high end models, with Zeiss finder and a metal body. I've been playing with bounced flash (my Nikon SB600, for which I made a sync cable out of an accessory hot shoe cable and the terminal from the original Polaroid flash). I have found that setting the flash to manual, 1/2 power, pointed at the ceiling gives a good exposure for a close up subject when the camera is loaded with Fujifilm FP3000B black and white film and the camera is set for asa75 film with flash.

 

Coming home tonight, I saw my daughter sitting on the couch in her American flag socks, and just had to get a couple of pictures. I made her get up and pose on the stairs for me. Here's the best exposure of four:

 

And here's a slightly strange one, which is the result of two failed exposures where the flash didn't fire, plus a third good one, where it did:

 

 

Something about these old Polaroids. Somehow, the weirder the result, the better.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

Instant Photography Today

Winter 2014 (kind of looks like Winter 2015), by Reed A. George

Polaroid 103, Fuji FP3000B Pack Film

 

I'm still having some fun with instant photography. This was one area I'd stayed out of for several years, but am now in, and really enjoying it. My entry was the Polaroid 103 that my parents sent to me. I converted it to use AAA batteries, found Fuji pack film, and started shooting. Lots of fun.

 

Then, I went to the Film Photography Project's Walking Workshop last spring, where I was introduced to the new Fujifilm Instax Neo Mini. I now have one, along with the wireless Instax printer. These are fun, but they're really just party toys. The images are nice, but quite small.

 

Next, my friend Dennis Gallus sold (nearly gave) me his Mamiya Universal Press (MUP) outfit. I added a pack film back, and now I have a very capable, high quality instant imaging system, complete with full manual control and interchangeable lenses. Awesome.

 

And now, I've picked up a higher grade Polaroid (the Model 250), complete with several hard-to-find accessories, including the portrait kit, closeup kit, remote release, and timer. That camera is on its way to Seattle for a shutter replacement. What makes the 250 higher quality than my 103? All metal body, Zeiss finder, tripod mount, some exposure control. All pretty nice.

 

I was reading about the current state of instant photography. It's not all good. The worst news is that the venerable Fujifilm FP3000B is discontinued. Still available at this point at twice its normal price or more, but no longer being manufactured. That leaves only FP100C, which is great color film, but no B&W option. The Impossible Project is a great development, making new instant films with a reconditioned Polaroid factory, but the prices are high, and the offering incomplete. $3 per shot is an awful lot. I find myself hoping that they'll make pack film in the future, but I'm not looking forward to the cost.

 

(Click Here) to read a review of the state of instant photography on polaroidland.net.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

Found Another Mamiya Universal User - and Review

Image Source: http://snapitseeit.com/camera-review-mamiya-universal/

 

A few months back, my medium format shooting capability was significantly expanded when my friend Dennis Gallus sold me his lovely Mamiya Universal Press (MUP) camera kit.

 

I've been searching for other users of the MUP online, and well, there aren't very many of us left. I recently found this review of using the MUP with instant film on one of my favorite new sites, Snap It | See It.

(Click Here) to read the review, which also remarks on using the MUP with flash, something I have yet to try.

 

I've been distracted from the MUP recently, with several other new-to-me cameras. I've simply got to get more hours in the week(end)s to shoot the MUP.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

RoidWeek #2, 2014 - This Week!

I just found out about this. RoidWeek, which is a celebration of instant photography, starts today and goes through Friday. The event welcomes any instant film shots, but not digital facsimiles of them. They don't have to be Polaroid.

 

I read about it on Snap It | See It. (Click Here) to see the post. Inside, you'll find a link to the flickr page where you can submit images.

 

Importantly, images need to be taken this week, and the "week" is only five days, this Monday through Friday.

 

I'm going to have to load up my Polaroid (or Polaroid back for my MUP) and get some weekday shots to post.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

Mamiya Press Universal and Fuji FP3000B

I'm continuing to enjoy shooting instant pictures with my new Mamiya Universal. Here's a shot I made with Fuji's black and white iso 3000 pack film. I used the standard 100mm f3.5 Mamiya Sekor lens for this one.

 

Cropped, From Scanned Print

 

And, for reference, here's what the whole image looks like, scanned from the paper negative:

 

From the Paper Negative

 

I really need to photograph the Universal camera so that I can share all the details of what's included. It's a big heavy beast, but has a lot of interesting features.

 

I've received my first online scans from film I shot in the Universal, and am really impressed with the image quality. As soon as my film returns home from The Darkroom (thedarkroom.com), I'll make high resolution scans of a few images and share them as well.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

Fuji Instant Pack Film FP3000B, Negative and Positive,and Mamiya Press Universal

My very good friend Dennis recently sold me his Mamiya Universal kit. Initially, I was not interested, as the Universal is an enormous and heavy medium format kit. More on that later. I'll post some images of the kit and why I now really find that I like it.

Well, one of the things that came with the kit was a Polaroid back. Unfortunately, it is designed for Polaroid 80 series film, which is no longer available. About a week of trolling ebay yielded a very nice replacement, which allows use of Fuji pack film. Currently there are two film options in this format - color at iso 100, and black and white (FP3000B) at iso 3000. How's that for a range?

Unfortunately, the FP3000B film has been discontinued. There are still stocks of it around, but at 2.5-3X the original cost. I have a few packs, but probably won't be able to buy more.

Here's a shot of my wife, made with the Universal, 150mm f5.6 lens, and FP3000B:

Scanned from Print

I was quite pleased when I saw this appear as I peeled the backing paper away. It's quite interesting to get a really sharp image with great optics on instant film. My old Polaroid camera just doesn't stand comparison.

Both types of pack film produce negatives in the process, but of very different types. The 100 speed color film negatives must be removed from the backing and bleached, producing a transparent negative. FP3000B produces a paper negative, which you simply have to protect and allow to dry in the dark (or near dark). Here's what the negative from the print above looks like:

Paper Negative, Fuji FP3000B Instant Pack Film

 

If you take the dry negative and scan it on a flatbed scanner (I use an Epson V750), you get something like the image above. Invert the tones and flip the image horizontally in Photoshop, and you get this:

 

Positive from Scanned Negative

 

Pretty cool, huh? The scan from the negative is sharper than the original print, but also shows grain. I love the slightly uncontrollable factors like the edge patterns and occasional black dots. This feels like real photography to me.

 

One note - you'll notice lens vignetting on instant prints from the Mamiya Universal. It's designed for maximum size images of 6x9 on 120 film. The pack film image is larger than that. Reportedly, the Mamiya 75mm and 127mm lenses don't vignette on pack film. I don't have either, so can't say for sure.

 

Having shot a few rolls of film in the Universal, I'm anxiously awaiting an email from The Darkroom, notifying me that the film I sent in last week is processed and scans are posted. Based on the instant results, I'm expecting some amazing image quality from the normal medium format film I've shot.

 

More to come from the Mamiya Universal!

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

Need great film processing? (Click Here) to visit The Darkroom. They're the best in the business.

More Fun With the Fujifilm Neo Instant Camera, and a Review

 

Hair, by Reed A. George

Fujifilm Instax Mini Neo 90

 

A couple of weeks back, I posted about the Fujifilm Instax Neo camera that I'd just bought. (Click Here) to see that post, which includes several images.

 

I've gotten more interested in instant photography lately. I really like the Fuji pack films which fit many Polaroid cameras, including my 103. (Click Here) to read about that camera. However, one can only guess that these films are not long for this world. In fact, discontinuation of one of the two types, Fujifilm's black and white FP3000B, has already been announced. FP100C is still being made, but who knows for how long.

 

So, probably the most attractive thing about the new Fujifilm Instax Mini Neo is that there's a good chance this film will be around for a while. Fuji's doing a good job of introducing new cameras, and even some with creative controls like the Neo, so hopefully that will keep the market strong.

 

(Click Here) to read a nice review of the Instax Mini Neo on SnapItSeeIt.com.

 

For not too much money, the Neo is really a nice, fun little camera. Buy yours through my Amazon link below!

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

 

Nick DeMarco Shoots Mamiya Universal and Fuji Pack Film

Nick and His Mamiya Universal Press Camera

Image Source: http://rangefinderchronicles.blogspot.com/2014/07/my-mamiya-universal-first-shots-with.html

 

Nick DeMarco runs the blog "Rangefinder Chronicles." He's a serious Leica user, and shares results made with both old Barnack screwmount and M film cameras.

 

Now, Nick's doing something different. He's picked up a Mamiya Universal (medium format press camera, shoots 6x9 images), with a Polaroid back. It takes the Fuji pack film, just like my old Polaroid does.

 

(Click Here) to see a post about my Polaroid.

 

There's just something about instant print photography. Even for my teenager, who is growing up in the digital age, her and her friends love to watch an instant print come into being. In fact, I've been considering the new Fujifilm Instax Neo as my next instant shooter (see Amazon link below). It's styled in the Fujifilm rangefinder motif, and has some good creative controls. It also uses the more modern Instax film, which I hope will be around a while. The black and white pack film from Fuji (FP3000B) is discontinued.

 

Nick shares several great images he made with his new Universal.

(Click Here) to see them on his blog Rangefinder Chronicles.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

Polaroid in the Forest - Black and White

I've written about my Polaroid 103 instant camera before. (Click Here) to read about it.

 

I recently took the Polaroid and a new pack of FP3000B film out into the forest on a hike. I planned on using it just to quickly check out some compositions, which I would later shoot with the Graflex Speed Graphic 4x5 camera I carried with me. I never ended up using the Speed Graphic, but did get a few images with the Polaroid before I ruined a $15 pack of film (more on that in a minute).

 

Here are three images I captured that I think are worth sharing:

 

 

This film is pretty interesting. At iso 3000, you get extremely deep depth of field when shooting outdoors. the prints are a little larger than 3" x 4" in size, and look quite sharp at that size. I scanned the prints, and at any size larger, they don't look so sharp. I'm not sure if that's because the originals aren't so sharp, or if my scanner's focus isn't exactly right for this type of scanning (reflective, as opposed to scanning negatives in transmission mode).

 

(Click Here) to read about how this film is being discontinued by Fujifilm. I sure hate to see it go.

 

Back to ruining a pack of this stuff, I have had this happen twice now. After you expose the film, you pull a small tab of paper from the side of the camera, which feeds a larger, stronger paper tab between the rollers in the camera. The rollers distribute the developer chemicals over the image as you pull it out. Well, that first small piece of paper tore, leaving no tab to pull. I simply stopped, put the camera away and decided to work on it in the dark at home. Unfortunately, that failed and I ended up exposing the rest of the pack. I'm not exactly sure how to avoid this in the future, but with the film going away (and up in price), I sure don't want it to happen again.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

 

First Snow - Shot With Low Tech Wonder, Polaroid 103

 

Snow is Coming Down, by Reed A. George

Polaroid 103, Fujifilm FP-3000B Instant Film

 

As I write this, it's December 8, 2013, and we're having our first winter storm of the year. Being a self-respecting photographer, I couldn't just sit at home and finish scanning film (which is also on my list for today). So, I packed up a few cameras and drove out to the local wildlife reserve. Here's the only shot I made with the Polaroid 103 today. You can see the snow streaking down. I increased contrast in Lightroom (after scanning the print). I think it came out pretty darned good.

 

This was shot on the endangered Fujifilm FP-3000B instant black and white film. (Click Here) to see an earlier post about Fuji's plans to do away with this film. I sure hope they can be convinced to change their minds, but I am sure the market's small.

 

As will all things, they can't last forever. I am glad that I got the chance to use this excellent film, and enjoyed the result today.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

Perhaps if you buy some film for that old pack film camera you've got sitting around, Fuji will keep making it for a while. Here's a link: