[LargeFormat] B&W film of the 40s

[Les Newcomer]

a friend of mine found his Kodak pamphlet of '41 and another from '45.  
It corroborates Richard's assessment that Tri-x was around in sheets, 
but not packs.   It also says the ASA speed was 200 not 800.  During 
this time Kodak gave their speed testing a 1 stop margin of error.  In 
the 50s  they rescinded the fudge factor and all Kodak films gained a 
stop in speed.

so it comes down to

Tri-x in sheets

Plus-x or Super XX or Super Panchro in packs.

Thanks to all.
On Wednesday, May 28, 2003, at 06:24  PM, Richard Knoppow wrote:

>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Les Newcomer" <LNPhoto@twmi.rr.com>
> To: "f32" <largeformat@f32.net>
> Sent: Wednesday, May 28, 2003 1:48 PM
> Subject: [LargeFormat] B&W film of the 40s
>
>
>> It's 1943,  6 months ago you back at home trying to figure
> out where to
>> take your sweetheart next Friday.
>>
>> But your in the war now.  You're part of a Signal Corps
> Photographic
>> Unit.
>>
>> Uncle Sam gave you free training, a colt 45 side arm, and
> a Speed
>> Graphic.
>>
>> Just what kind of film is in that camera right now?  Pack
> film, for
>> sure, but it won't be Tri-x would it?
>>
>> Might it be ortho?  Hey the flyboys use that stuff to cut
> through the
>> haze, but would ground troops use it?
>>
>>
>>
>   It would have been virtually any of the commercially
> available film stocks of the time. Tri-X was not available
> in roll or packs but was as sheet film. The Kodak speed was
> 800, about equivalent to ISO 400!
>   For general use in press type coverage packs of Plus-X or
> sheets of Super Panchro Press would probably be the choice
>   Ortho film is not useful for haze cutting, in fact its the
> opposite since it has no red sensitivity. It was very
> commonly used for press work because it gave better details
> of faces when used with flash-on-the-camera lighting and
> because it can be processed under a red safelight.
>   I.R. film was available and many others.
>   Ansco made similar films but at the time Tri-X was the
> fastest.
>   Kodak speeds were measured using a system similar to that
> adopted by the ASA about 1944, however, it has no safety
> factor. Equivalent ISO speeds are about half the Kodak
> speed. Tri-X rated by the then common Weston system was 160
> but Weston speeds include about a 2x safety factor. While
> this film was pretty fast it was also very grainy compared
> to later Tri-X.
>   Many of these films were still made when I was in
> highschool. I used a lot of Super Panchro Press, Type B
> (there was once also a Type-A), and Super Ortho Press, all
> shot in a Speed Graphic belonging to one of my teachers.
> ---
> Richard Knoppow
> Los Angeles, CA, USA
> dickburk@ix.netcom.com
>
>
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