Astrum Svema FN-64 Photos, Developers, and Review

Astrum Svema FN-64 Photos, Developers, and Review | All About Film

Рет қаралды 501

Күн бұрын

Astrum FN-64 35mm film hails from the mid-1900s Russian Svema film emulsion formulations. The film provides a look and feel highly reminiscent of that era and geography and the image character it delivers would be as at home photographing a family vacation as it would be documenting the remnants of Soviet-era brutalist architecture.
When Russia increased the scope and scale of their war on Ukraine in 2022, I picked up ten rolls of each of the two Astrum stocks I could get for this and the 200-ISO stock video later this year. As the Ukrainian people have proven to be resilient, so, too, has Astrum shown itself to hold up well. Astrum films are a unique offering in the film space as their image look is unlike anything else on the market. Right now, however, I’ve been unable to find out if the factory or business still exist. At minimum, in the U.S., I’ve not found anyone selling it and the Lomo film made in partnership with Astrum Ukraine in 2023 is no longer available, either. It is my sincere hope that Astrum survives and that, in some years when the war in Ukraine has resolved, that Astrum can return to operation. In the meantime, my hope is that this, and the forthcoming Astrum 200 video, will help shine a light on this film and, if it is still around, encourage photographers to look for it with a keen eye to embrace the unique look Svema Astrum FN-64 provides.
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Video Index:
0:00 - Intro and Paranol S 1+50
1:21 - Astrum Svema FN-64 Tips and Tricks and Rodinal 1+50
2:40 - Astrum Svema FN-64 Developed in HC-110 1+31 (Dilution B)
4:08 - Astrum Svema FN-64 Developed in D-76 1+3
5:00 - Astrum Svema FN-64 Developed in D-76 Stock
6:25 - Astrum Svema FN-64 Image Characteristics and XTOL 1+1
8:36 - Astrum Svema FN-64 Review and XTOL Stock
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Пікірлер: 21

@jumbosilverette 2 ай бұрын

HC110 was one of my favorites in the day. Glad it still performs.

@DavidHancock 2 ай бұрын

HC-110 is a favorite developer for me, too.

@TheStockwell 2 ай бұрын

Thank you, Mr. Hancock, for educating us about this film - and warning us about it, as well. 😏 The weather's getting better. I'm looking forward to taking my cameras out into the wilds of Vermont and trying out some of the films you've been reviewing during the winter. Dig this: I'm building an 1830s style camera obscura in a noble - and probably frustrating - attempt to go full Nicéphore Niépce. We're approaching the 200th anniversary of the oldest known photograph. I think that demands I stock up on Bitumen of Judea and lavender oil. Best wishes from Vermont 🍁

@DavidHancock 2 ай бұрын

Thank you and that sounds like a great project! In a lot of key ways, the future of analog photography is definitely the past and as long as photographers keep exploring the roots of photography then there's hope that analog techniques will survive in the future.

@TheStockwell 2 ай бұрын

@@DavidHancock Traditional photography (you know: REAL photography) isn't going away. Like AI images which only make real paintings more fascinating and desirable, you can't replace the value or experience of a photograph given to a person - a photograph they can hang on a wall and share with others. I have a friend who's well off. He enjoys it when people come to his house and say, "Holy cow, these are real Ansel Adams photographs. They are so amazing and beautiful when you see the actual thing in front of you." . . . and it's people like you who not only keep the fire burning; you turn it into a Gosh darn outdoor barbeque - and invite everyone to drop by. Dang! Suddenly I'm hungry . . . for photography! 😋 Have a safe and interesting week/weekend.

@DenisLevchenko 3 күн бұрын

Can you do ColorPlus next pelase?

@DavidHancock 3 күн бұрын

It won't be next, nor could I say when I think it will arrive, but I have started taking photos with the film. These videos have a very long lead time so it just takes a bit to get them made.

@vyacheslavb079 2 ай бұрын

Svema was not russian, but Soviet and then Ukrainian film. Now Astrum is packing different inconsistent quality materials, most probably of Chinese origin.

@DavidHancock 2 ай бұрын

Good point on the Soviet vs. Russian distinction and my mistake on that.

@jackplissken5328 2 ай бұрын

@@DavidHancockfair David, and cheers from Ukraine 🤝

@mitay7216 2 ай бұрын

Компания Свема упразднена в 2004 , производство пленки прекратилось еще раньше. На территории бывшего СССР сейчас пленку производит только Тасма. И это довольно специфичная аэрофотопленка .

@mikesmith-po8nd 2 ай бұрын

Translation: "The Svema company was abolished in 2004; film production ceased even earlier. In the territory of the former USSR, only Tasma now produces film. And this is a rather specific aerial film." That prompts a couple questions: Where is Svema film coming from? Is it NOS that is just now being released? I'm going to see if I can find out anything about Tasma film.

@mikesmith-po8nd 2 ай бұрын

Update: Tasma (Russia) has two aerial films. It also has a film that they describe as being used for "microfilming". It's available in 35mm, but their website doesn't say if it's sprocketed for a standard 35mm camera. I wonder if these are at least some of the " mystery " films that the re-spoolers are selling?

@mitay7216 2 ай бұрын

@@mikesmith-po8nd I bought a reeled Tasma 25, a very thin film, it’s inconvenient to tuck into the tank. It works in the Soviet Union, but I don’t know if it’s even possible in the modern ones. and when dry it curls into a tube. And it costs almost as much as shanghai gp3.

@DavidHancock 2 ай бұрын

My understanding was, and this could be wrong, that Astrum had either some production capacity or agreements with another producer to make film using the old Soviet-era emulsion formulae. But this, and Astrum writ large, films are hard to find clear and convincing information about online. I've heard it's Tasma, ORWO, and Chinese-made and don't have a clear idea of which, if any, are true.

@mitay7216 2 ай бұрын

@@DavidHancock Most likely this is an old Soviet film, with a different sticker. A film reel with a flip-up lid, they don’t make those from the USSR anymore.