Zeiss Ikon Contessa LKE

Zeiss Ikon Contessa LKE

Zeiss Ikon Contessa LKE

This is a fairly simple compact camera along the lines of Zeiss Ikon's other Ikonta derivatives, the Contina family.  It is small enough to fit comfortably in one hand - 115mm wide by 85mm tall by 35 mm thick (75 mm thick including the lens).  It takes 35 mm film in standard cassettes.  The Contessa range was made from 1960 until 1971 and the Contessa LKE was made from 1963 to 1965.  The name "Contessa" is a look-back to the companies that made up Zeiss Ikon in 1926 - one of which was Contessa Nettel.  This camera owes nothing to that make of camera and nothing to Contessa Nettel's designer, Dr Nagel.

This camera has a coupled light meter and a coupled rangefinder.  Both of these are visible in the viewfinder which makes using the camera easy.  The rangefinder if the usual double image in an orange spot in the middle of the field of view.  Turning the focussing ring on the end of the lens moves one image - focus is achieved when the two images are superimposed.  A nice touch is the addition of two prominent plastic lugs on the side of the focussing ring which makes it easy to find it by feel while looking through the viewfinder.   The light meter in the viewfinder is not so easy to see.  It is at the top of the viewfinder in the middle and if this part of the viewfinder is against a bright sky, it disappears completely.  Originally, I found it much easier to use the other light meter view on the top of the camera but with practice the display in the viewfinder is easier to use.  When setting the exposure, it is possible to set either the shutter speed or the aperture and then adjust the other until the meter needle centres in the window.  It is much easier to preset the shutter speed as this is merely a knurled ring - the aperture ring has two plastic lugs much as the focussing ring has and it is so much easier to find the aperture ring by feel than it is the shutter speed ring.  Both the aperture value and the shutter speed are visible at the bottom of the viewfinder - this time much more clearly than the light meter is.

The lens is about as good as they come - a Carl Zeiss Tessar.  Because of the age of this camera (1960s) it is not a Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar but a West German Carl Zeiss Opton Tessar.  Still a very good lens, though.  The serial number of the lens indicates it was made between 1965 and 1969.  As this camera was only in production until 1965, my specimen must be one of the last to be built in 1965.  The focal length is 50mm with a maximum aperture of f2.8 - so this is a vary fast lens - stopped down to f8, it is going to be superb.  The shutter is a Gautier Prontor 500 LK which is a meter-coupled Prontor with a maximum speed of 1/500 (about as fast as any leaf shutter ever will be).  The one thing that I miss on most modern lenses is the depth of field scale that was ubiquitous on lenses of this era and is present here.

The accessory shoe is a hot shoe for flash connection and there is no PC connector for cold shoe flashes (an adapter was available as an added extra to allow cold shoe flashes to be connected).  These is a frame counter around the shutter release and a window that can be moved to indicate the type of film being used.  The options are Black and white, Neg, Flash, Sun, Artificial light.

The viewfinder is central and large enough even for spectacle wearers.  There are bright-lines in the file of view with parallax marks for framing close-ups.  The film advance is a lever of the top right as was now usual for 35mm cameras.  The film rewind, however, is underneath - a lever that pops out when the rewind button is pressed.  There are no strap lugs on this camera which means it is sensible to use the every-ready case but I like to carry cameras in my pocket, so I will end up one day dropping this one.  The only other thing of note is the presence of a tripod bush in the centre of the bottom plate.

After running one roll of film through this camera, I was very pleased with this camera.  It is easy to use, fits in my jacket pocket and is a suitable camera to use as a walk-around camera (i.e. one I take with me when I am not particularly wanting to take photographs but prefer to have a camera to hand just in case).  It is not obtrusive and I have found it to be excellent for street photography.

18 September 2012:  

In the five months that I have owned this camera, this camera has grown on me.  My hands have now learnt where the controls are so I no longer have to look and think.  This probably happens quite quickly if you only use one camera but I have several that I use frequently. 

The exposure indicator is clear in the viewfinder - the arrow for the shutter speed less so.  The exposure indicator is repeated on the top plate but this is not really useful.

I have a tendency to carry cameras in my pocket and that generates two problems with this camera.  Firstly, the shutter release gets accidentally pressed.  This is easily cured by not winding the film on until immediately before pressing the shutter release.  The second problem is that the delayed action lever gets moved which means that it takes a while to take the next picture.  This is made worse by the fact that the delayed action mechanism does not work very well any more.  It grinds its way through the nominal eight seconds with numerous pauses that necessitate manual assistance.   

The rangefinder is reasonably clear in use but as I take mainly landscapes, I keep the camera focussed on the hyper-focal distance (which at f8 is twenty feet).

I really like the recessed rewind lever on the base.  This is a good two centimetres long - much longer than the rewind lever on most 35 mm cameras.  It is easy to use and fairly fast.

The only really awkward part of using this camera is setting the film speed.  As I only set this rarely (I generally use APX100 film so I only reset the film speed when I use a different film) it is not a problem.

Sample pictures:

Spurn ex-lighthouse now water tower

Staithes harbour

Olympus Trip 35

Olympus Trip 35

 These were extremely popular, simple cameras made between 1967 and 1984.  My particular specimen was made in April 1982.

The camera is small - 215mm by 170mm by 160mm - and is quite light by film camera standards.  Controls are minimal.  The user must set the film speed - ASA only, no DIN - and focus the camera.  So, not quite a point-and-shoot camera but very close to.  The ASA settings are from ASA 25 to ASA 400.

There is a light meter around the lens and the camera selects both shutter speed and aperture to suit the light levels.  There are two shutter speeds - 1/40 and 1/200.  1/40 is rather slow with most cameras but the Zuiko lens has a focal length of 40mm 1/40 is about as slow as the camera can go without evidence of camera shake.  This also presupposes that the pictures will not be enlarged much above 5x7.  Of course, there is a tripod socket so in poor light you can always attach the camera to a tripod - the shutter release is threaded for a standard cable release.  If there is insufficient light to take a picture, a red flag comes up inside the viewfinder and the shutter is locked.  This also has the added benefit of preventing you taking a roll of film with the lens cap on (don't laugh - some of us have done that with other cameras).

Available apertures are f2.8 to f22.  While the camera usually selects these, it is possible to select them manually for when using flash.  If you do, the shutter speed is set to 1/40.  For the flash, there is both a hot-shoe connection and a PC socket.  The actual aperture is square, so this camera is not going to produce particularly attractive bokeh (this is the only negative thing I have to say about this camera).

The viewfinder is quite small and has bright lines to outline the image area.  There are also smaller bright lines to show the image area when taking head-and-shoulders portraits.

The lens is a Zuiko 40mm lens of a Tessar type - four elements in three groups.  Focussing is essentially zone focussing with settings for:

1) head and shoulders

2) small groups

3) large groups

4) landscapes

If this is not accurate enough for you, then under the lens is a dual focussing scale in feet and metres.  This goes from three feet to infinity.

Inside the Olympus Trip 35

Finally, there are lugs on the sides for a neck strap and the camera comes with a wrist strap - more useful for a camera of this size.

When I bought this camera, the light seals had degenerated to a black sticky mass.  It is extremely easy to replace these with thin self-adhesive foam.

Sample pictures:



Trip AF 50

In time the excellent Trip 35 was replaced with a cheaper to make and more automatic camera - the Trip AF 50.  This is a plastic camera with a built in flash and auto-focus.  It is a well made camera but not in the same class as the original Trip 35 to which it owes nothing but the name.

Olympus Trip AF 50

Olympus OM 10

Olympus OM10 front view

Excepting my Canon EOS cameras, this is my newest camera dating from between 1970 and 1988.  It is an aperture priority automatic exposure camera.  Olympus produced a manual adapter which more of later.  At this age, the camera only offers manual focussing but as I am not a fan of automatic focussing this is no big deal.

The camera is very light suggesting it has a plastic construction and so will  not be as durable as a die cast alloy camera.  It measures 136mm wide by 83 mm high and 50mm thick and weighs just under half a kilo (so is half the weight of my trusty Zenit E!).  This camera requires batteries to work.  Luckily they are not mercury cells so will still be available.

In use, one selects the required aperture and the camera selects the shutter speed.  This shutter speed is indicated by way of a red LED in the viewfinder.  As a landscape photographer, this is the way I want to work, so this is ideal.  Available speeds are 1, 2, 4, 8, 15, 30, 60, 125, 250, 500 and 1000  (all fractions of a second).  The one second setting is actually one second or longer, according to the manual.  What I do miss that more modern cameras offer is an exposure lock by half depressing the shutter release.

Available apertures depend on the lens being used.  I would have liked my 'new' OM10 to have had an Olympus 50mm lens but it came with a Vivitar 75-205 macro zoom lens.  This lens is very well thought of but its minimum focal length is too long for most work.  I have just replaced it with a Vivitar 28-200 macro zoom which does not have quite the same reputation but seems to be at least ok.

There are three controls on the top plate -

1) B-Auto-Manual
2)Film speed (ASA 25 to 1600)
3) Off-On-Self timer-battery check

Olympus OM10 top plate

1) is normally set to Auto.  B will allow the shutter to remain open while the shutter release is depressed and manual allows the manual adapter to be used.

2) sets the film speed and also allows exposure compensation of either 1, 2 or three stops each of which is available as over or under exposure.

3) is self-explanatory.  in the off position photos can still be taken, correctly exposed, but there will be no visual indication of the shutter speed.

Also on the top plate are the shutter release, film advance lever and rewind knob.  There is also a frame counter and, around the shutter release, a collar that will take the camera out of sleep mode.

The only other control is the rewind switch which is on the front of the camera just below the shutter release.  You need to turn this 1/4 turn to dis-engage the sprockets inside the camera and allow the film to be rewound.

Below the rewind switch is a light/bleeper unit.  This sounds and lights up when the control (3) is set to battery check.  If the battery is flat or missing it neither sounds nor lights up.  It also sounds and th light flashes when the self-timer is selected.  this lasts for about twelve seconds before the shutter is released.

This camera sports a 'hot shoe' accessory shoe with three contacts.  The metal sides, centre spot (x synch) and a flash charge/auto check contact.  This last designed for using Olympus's own flash units but can be used with generic flash guns in Auto mode and the manual adapter set to 1/30 seconds.

Underneath the camera are fittings and contacts for a auto winder.  It would seem that this camera will not accept a motor-drive.

Olympus OM10 underside

The last detail I shall mention is that the shutter release is threaded for  a standard cable release.

                                                                                                                                                   

The Manual Adapter

manual adapter - front

Contrary to the practice with other manufacturers there is no built in way of over-riding the automatic exposure system.  To do so, you have to buy the optional manual adapter which plugs into a jack socket on then upper left front of the camera.

Manual adapter - side

To use this, you need to set the selector (1) to manual.  This over-rides the Automatic system and allows you to set the shutter speed yourself, as well as the aperture.

I cannot quite see the point of this as it is much easier to just use the Auto mode and adjust the aperture until the camera selects the shutter speed you require.














While most cameras made since the mid-1950s have very similar controls, it helps to become used to a particular camera.  I am currently on my second roll of film in my OM10 and the camera is becoming easier to use.

One thing I am getting used to is only being able to adjust the aperture, the camera taking care of the shutter speed.  mostly, I use entirely manual cameras and I am just learning not to look for the speed selector with this camera.

I am also getting used to the split-screen focussing circle in the centre of the viewfinder.  I am actually quite happy with just a plain focussing screen but the split-screen is actually faster when I remember it is there.

I am using a Vivitar 28-200mm zoom lens with this camera which is a fairly heavy lens - it completely unbalances the light-weight body of the OM10.  It is my intention to get a Zuiko 50mm lens for this camera at some point - I mostly take pictures at the normal focal length but the camera came with the Vivitar so that is what I am using at the moment.

Apart from the unbalancing effect of the heavy lens, this is a delightful camera to use.  While there is a definite "clunk" when you press the shutter release, I suspect I am sub-consciously comparing this to the whisper of the leaf shutters in the cameras I mostly use.  It is certainly a lighter action than with my Zenit E!



18 April 2013:  update.

I now have a Zuiko 50mm Auto-s lens for this camera.  It is a solidly made lens, weighing slightly more than my new Canon 50mm lens that also has auto-focus machinery in it.  Available apertures are from f1.8 to f16 and the lens focusses from 0.45m to infinity - the distance scale is marked in metres and in feet.  The focussing ring has a nice, tactile rubber finish which will make this lens easy to use by feel.

There is a button on the side of the mount that allows you to stop the lens down to see your depth of field.  The lens is entirely mechanical - the aperture settings are fed to the exposure system in the camera by a moving nudger and the diaphragm is closed just prior to exposure by a second nudger.

To be technical, it has six elements in five groups - the previous version of this lens was marked 'f Zuiko', the 'f' indicating the number of elements (a=1, b=2 etc) but this lens is just marked 'Zuiko'.  It takes 49mm threaded filters.

I shall upload some test pictures when I have some.



Sample pictures from the Olympus OM10 with a Vivitar 70-205 macro zoom lens:

Whitby Pier

Abbey over Whitby old town

Pictures taken with the Zuiko 50mm f1.8 lens:

Some evidence of vignetting, but not too much.

Westleton church, Suffolk

Westleton church, Suffolk

Westleton church, Suffolk

Canon EOS 50E

Canon EOS 50E

This is a serious amateur camera aimed at the top of the amateur (or "consumer" to be modern) market.  It contains a number of features not found on most EOS cameras.  The most significant of these is eye-controlled focussing.  More of this later.

One of the problems of modern cameras is that they are all much of a muchness and Canon's EOS range is no exception.  It seems that the desire by designers to produce something that stands out has gone.  The 50E is instantly recognisable as an EOS camera.  The basic shape and design concepts are much as in others of the range.  So, we have the facilities we expect: a choice of three focussing modes, a choice of three metering modes, five pre-sets - portrait, landscape, macro, sport and automatic - and Tv, Av, M, Dep and program.

Focussing lock is accessed by partially depressing the shutter button and exposure lock has its own button on the top right rear of the camera.  It is possible to alter this arrangement using the Custom Functions - see below.  There is a built in flash and a hot shoe for connecting Canon's Speedlite flashguns.  So far, no surprises.

EOS 50E rear view

There are six settings that can be set in the software - ISO, usually read from the cassette via the DX system - auto exposure bracketing - red eye reduction - beeper/no beeper - multiple exposures - flash exposure compensation.

In addition to the normal shutter release, there are two forms of remote shutter release.  1) a cable plugged into the jack socket at the right hand side near the bottom & 2) a zapper that can only be used from in front of the camera but will work at a significant distance.  The zapper will allow a two second delay if required.

Lenses - this is an EOS camera and will take all of Canon's EF lenses.  As this is a 35mm camera and so a full frame camera it will not take the EF-S range of lenses intended for the APS-C format digital cameras.  It is not possible to make any mistake here as the EF-S lenses will not fit into the EF bayonet fitting.

EOS 50E with flash raised

The only other feature worth mentioning is the ability to rewind a film part way through.  This might be easy on a manual camera but the EOS 50E automatically rewinds the film when the film is finished and there is no rewind crank as there is on the other 35mm cameras I describe in this blog.  I think that it is Canon's assumption that you will develop the partially used film, but if you want to finish the roll of film you have partially used, you will need to note the frame number of the last shot and take that many shots in manual mode with the lens cap on.

Eye controlled focussing.  Using this, you look at the focussing point you want to use (there are three focussing points) and press the shutter release half way.  The camera then focusses on that focussing point.  Canon take this further and by looking at the top left of the viewfinder image and then half-depressing the shutter release, you can activate the depth of field preview, albeit in a dark (very dark at f22!) image.  Personally, I prefer to have depth of field figures printed on the lens barrel alongside the focussing scale - but neither of those is at all common on modern lenses.    This eye control works better than I expected it to, particularly as I wear spectacles.  As there are only three focussing points with this camera, what eye controlled focussing really means is that you can decide to focus on the left, the right or the centre of the intended image.

Custom Functions:

1 - automatic film rewind mode (fast and noisy or slow and quite)

2 -   Film leader position after rewind leave leader out of the cassette or not)

3 - ISO film setting method (uses DX system or not)

4 - AF and AE operation (AF via shutter release, AE via button; AE via shutter release, AF via button, AF and AE via shutter release button)

5 - Self timer and mirror lock up.

6 - Second curtain synchronisation for flash

7 - AF assist beam on or off

8 - Partial metering and FE lock on centre focussing point or not

9 - Flash sync in Av mode

10 - Focussing point flashing or not

11 - Eye-controlled depth of field preview on or off.

7-5-2012:  

Some sample pictures taken on Agfa Vista plus 200 ISO print film:

The Witch and Wardrobe pub, Lincoln

Church reflected in office block, Hull

Busker, Castle Hill, Lincoln

And on Adox Silvermax film:

Lincoln cathedral

Arboretum, Lincoln

Arboretum, Lincoln

Films that are currently available in the UK for cameras

I originally wrote this article in 2012 and updated it in 2013. That is three years ago and it is now very out of date. I have completely researched the availability of photographic film in the UK from scratch and shall now present the results of that research. Although I have tried to be diligent, there may be errors here and if you see any I would appreciate knowing about them.

I am leaving the old article below in blue for interest sake. As well as information about the films, there is some peripheral information about the makers which might be of interest.

The films I list are either available in physical shops in Lincoln or are available over the Interweb in the UK. I make no comment about the situation in other countries. The lists are in two parts - first monochrome films (because I prefer them) and then colour films. I have not bothered to put them in alphabetical order, I'm afraid. You will just have to read through the lists to see if the film you want is available.

As well as the make and type of film, I am noting the sizes it is available in. This will be a selection of 16 mm, 35 mm, 120 and 110.  'bulk' refers to 35 mm film in 17 m or 30 m lengths for loading your own cassettes.

	Monochrome films
Make	film name	size
Rollei	Ortho 25	35
	80S	35		120
	400S	35		120
	Infrared 400	35		120
	RPX 100	35
	RPX 25	35
	RPX 400	35
	Superpan 200	35
Ilford	Delta 100	35	bulk	120
	Delta 400	35		120
	Delta 3200	35		120
	FP4+	35	bulk	120
	HP5+	35	bulk	120
	Pan F+	35	bulk	120
	SFX 200	35		120
	XP2	35		120
Kodak	Tri-X 320	35
	Tri-X 400	35		120
	T-max 100	35		120
	T-max 400	35		120
Fujifilm	Neopan 400CN	35		120
	Neopan Acros	35
Foma	Fomapan 100	35	bulk	120
	Fomapan Creative 200	35	bulk	120
	Fomapan 400	35	bulk	120
	Retropan 320	35
Adox	CMS 20	35		120
	CHS 100 II	35
	Silvermax 100	35
	Scala 160	35
Fotoimpex	CHM 100	35
	CHM 400	35
Kono!	Reanimated 100	35
	Rekorder 100-200	35
Kentmere	100	35
	400S	35
Agfa	APX 100	35	bulk
	APX 400	35	bulk
Rerepan	Rerepan 100	127
Bergger	BRF 400T	35
Cinestillfilm	50	35
	800	35
Spur	DSK 50	35
Lomography	Earl Grey	35		120
	Lady Grey	35		120
	Colour films
Make	film name	size
Agfa	Vista 200	35
	Vista+ 400	35
	Precisia 100	35
Rollei	CR200	35		120
	Crossbird	35		120
Kono!	125t	35
	400T	35
	400CN	35
Fujifilm	C200	35
	Pro 160NS			120
	Pro 400H	35		120
	Provia 100F	35		120
	Superia X-tra 800	35
	Superia 1600	35
	Velvia 50	35		120
	Velvia 100	35		120
	Superia 200	35
	Superia X-tra 400	35
Kodak	Colorplus 200	35
	Ektar 100	35		120
	Gold 200	35
	Gold 400	35
	Portra 160			120
	Portra 400			120
	Portra 800			120
Lomography	100	35		120
	400	35		120
	800	35		120
	X Pro 200	35
	Lobster		110
	Tiger		110
	Peacock		110
	Orca		110
	Redscale XR 50-200	35		120
	Purple XR 100-400	35	16mm	120
	X Pro slide 200			120
	Instant film
Make	film name
Fujifilm	FP100C
	Instax
Impossible	to fit Polaroid 600
	colour and monochrome

ORIGINAL ARTICLE FROM 2013

I am updating this article on 23 December 2013 with the films I can find for sale today.  Those films I mentioned in the original article that I can no longer find for sale are in blue type.  Films in black type are available.

Having purchased all these old film cameras that I am writing about, I want to use them.  In Lincoln where I live, films are much harder to buy than they were a few years ago, and much harder to get developed.  There are two places in Lincoln that will develop C41 films on the premises but for good old fashioned black and white film you either need the patience to send them away to be developed or to develop them yourself.  I develop my own 35 mm films but 120 films are beyond me and I need to send them away. If you would like to develop your own films, it is worth a look here: The Massive Development Chart

Before you can develop the films, indeed, before you can take the pictures with the film, you must first buy the film.  I thought it might be a good idea to research exactly what films are available in which sizes and exactly what you get for your money.

First, here are the makes of films currently on retail sale in the UK.  These are either available in Lincoln's shops or available via the interweb.  For Interweb purchases, I find AG Photographic to be reasonably priced and fast.  These films are variously available in 35mm, 120, 127, 110 and APS.  Those last two are not very common but a few of the films described are offered in those two formats.

1 Agfa

2 Rollei

3 Kodax

4 Ilford

5 Kentmere

6 Fujifilm

7 Adox

8 Efke
9 Foma

Some of these names will be known to everyone (Kodak, surely!) and some will be known to older photographers (Adox) and some will be new to just about everyone.  I was surprised to find that there are nine different film makers selling their products in this country.  Each of these produces a range of films so the total number of films available is still quite large - digital might well be king, but analogue photography is far from being ready to lie down and die.

I shall now give a brief list of the range for each manufacturer followed by more details on each film.

1 Agfa - APX 100, APX 400, Vista colour negative, CTprecisa reversal, APS 200 star 200 and finally Scala 200x B&W reversal.

2 Rollei - RPX 100, 80s, RPX 400, 400s, Retro 100, Inra-red, ATP, colour reversal.

3 Kodak - T-Max, Tri-X, BW400CN, Porta negative, Ektar negative, Ektachrome reversal, Elite Chrome reversal.  With Kodak's current problems, this is likely to change rapidly.

4 Ilford - FP4, HP5, Delta 100, Delta 400, Delta 3200, Pan-F, XP2, SFX 200

5 Kentmere - 100, 400

6 Fujifilm - Neopan 100, 400, 1600, 400CN, Fujicolor Pro negative, Superia negative, Velvia reversal, Astia reversal, Provia reversal, and Polaroid-type instant film.

7 Adox - CHS 25, 50, 100, ART, CMS 20, PAN 400, Orthochrmatic, Pan 25.

8 Efke - IR film

9 Foma - 100 Classic, 200 Creative, 400 Action, Formapan reversal.

Agfa.

There are two companies called Agfa (American readers may think of a third - Ansco Afga, now defunct) making photographic film.  Consumer films are made by Agfaphoto and industrial films are made by Agfa Gevaert.  While Afga Gevaert retains the rights to the name 'Agfa', it has licensed the name to Agfaphoto, but not the use of the Agfa logo.

The Agfaphoto logo is

and the Agfa Gevaert logo is

Products from both Agfa companies are available to the retail market, but only Agfaphoto products carry the name 'Agfa'.  Agfa Gevaert products are only available as re-badged products - several Rollei films are re-badged Agfa Gevaert Aviphot films.

Agfaphoto became bankrupt shortly after buying the right to the Agfa name in 2004.  Agfaphoto products currently on the market are either the remains of the stock produced in 2004 or produced by Lupus Imaging and Media under license.

Lupus are currently selling:  Agfaphoto Vista 200 and 400 ISO colour film, CT precisa slide film, APS 200 star 200 film and APX 100 & APX 400 monochrome films - and also the idiosyncratic Scala 200x black and white reversal (slide) film.

Rollei

Rollei films are not made by Rollei (which is now just a marketing name) but are re-badged products from other firms - Agfa for sure and possibly others.   

Retro 100 is actually Afga APX 100 which is also marketed under that name by Agfaphoto (see above).  It is very cheap in the UK - £1.89 for a 36 exposure film if bought in a pack of ten and gives good results.  It is the film that I use the most.

Retro 400S is made by Agfa Gevaert as Agfa Aviphot PAN400S and is intended for aerial photography for mapping purposes.  It has near IR sensitivity which reduces haze in landscape photography - it also lightens the colour of foliage.  This is made on a synthetic base rather than acetate and so needs to be loaded and unloaded in very subdued light.  This is because the synthetic base act much like fibre optics fibres and will transmit light into the cassette and cause fogging around the sprocket holes.

ATP 1.1  This is an ISO 32 film - very slow indeed.  It produces very fine grain and controllable contrast.  It is sensitive from 379 nm to 820 nm (i.e. well into the infra-red).  It is placed on the market as a replacement for Kodak's Technical Pan.  It has a very thin emulsion - which means it will scan better than standard films will.  It requires the use of a special developer - ATP DC.

Superpan 200  This is re-badged Afga Gevaert Aviphot Pan200 PE1.  It is intended for technical, industrial and aerial photography.  It has near IR sensitivity as does the Retro 400 film and behaves in much the same way apart from having half the speed.

80S  Yet another re-badged Agfa Gevaert product - Aviphot Pan 80.  Slightly IR sensitive ( 340 nm to 775 nm) and is available in 120, 127 and 35 mm sizes.

Rollei also sell a number of colour films under the Crossbird label which are reversal films to be processed with the C41 process.  I assume you could also process these with the normal reversal chemistry.

Kodak 

While this is current as I write, it is likely to change quite quickly as Kodak try to save their business.  

Kodak split their films into a consumer range and a professional range.

The consumer range consists of three films - Ultramax 400 colour negative film, Color Plus colour negative film, Gold 100 or 200 colour negative film, BW400CN black and white chromogenic film.  There is no slide film in the consumer range.  The three colour negative films are run-of-the-mill colour negative films.  The BW400CN film is also sold in Kodak's professional range and more details are available below.

The professional range has four colour films and three black and white films .

Porta films are fine grained, normally saturated negative film in three speeds - ISO 160, 400, and 800.

Kodak claims that it produces natural skin tones and has extremely fine grain.

Ektar  films are also colour negative films and Kodak claims it is the world's finest grain colour negative film.  It has "ultra-vivid colour" which means it produces colours that are over saturated.

Ektachrome  100G or 100VS films are reversal (slide) films.  The "G" variety has normal colour saturation (best for portraits) and the "VS" variety has over saturated colour saturation (aimed at landscapes).

T-MAX 100, 400, 3200 films are black and white films - claimed by Kodak to be the world's sharpest ISO 400 film and the finest grained ISO 100 film.  These are standard monochrome chemistry and hard to get developed locally.

Tri-X film seems to be the only Kodak film to be available in 120 size as well as 35mm.  It is only available as ISO 400 film.

BW400CN is a chromogenic film (chromogenic means 'makes colours') that is developed in colour C41 colour film chemistry but produces a monochrome image. This means that most towns will have at least one shop that can develop it on-site and usually within an hour.

Chromogenic films have no grain in the accepted sense as the image is formed in a dye cloud.

Ilford Photo

Ilford has suffered the same fate as Agfa.  As film usage has dropped off the consumer division division has been sold off with the original company continuing to make professional films.

As Agfa's consumer division became Agfa Photo, Ilford's consumer division is now Ilford Photo.   Ilford Photo now belongs to Harman technology and seems to be in fine fettle.  They produce a range of ten films - one sold as Kentmere - all of which are monochrome films.  Some of these have a venerable heritage (FP4, HP5 have been around a long time) and others are newer.  If you want colour Ilford films, you can't.  Ilford used to produce colour films but no longer do.  (confusingly, both Ilford Photo and Ilford Imaging produce a range of papers called "Galerie".  In the case of Ilford Photo, these are silver halide papers and with Ilford Imaging they are inkjet papers.)

I shall present the films in the order that Ilford Photo do in their brochure.

Pan F plus  is a slow - ISO 50 - film with very fine grain.  Available as 35mm and 120.

FP4 is a standard medium speed - ISO 125 - tolerant film.  It is very hard to go wrong with FP4 and it is probably the classic monochrome film.  Available as 35mm, 120 and sheets.

HP5 is a fast - ISO 400 - film which is much grainier than the last two.  It is also available in 35mm, 120 and sheets.

Delta 100 & 400 The ISO 100 version is slightly slower than FP4 and both are made with modern crystal structures which gives finer grain than traditional cubic crystals do without sacrificing speed.  Also available in 35mm, 120 and sheets.

Delta 3200 uses the same technology as the above two Delta films but is very fast - ISO 3200.  Only available in 35mm and 120.

XP2 is a ISO 400 chromogenic film (analogous to Kodak’s BW400CN film) that needs to be developed in the colour C41 process.  It is available in 35mm and 120 formats.

SFX200 is a "creative" film which has some Infra red sensitivity (cf Rollei Retro 400). It is developed in standard black and white chemistry.

OrthoPlus  This is basically a very old fashioned film as it is not sensitive to red light.  It is intended for specialist applications but could be used for a very retro (pre WWII) look.  It only seems to be available in sheet film format.

Kentmere is available in ISO 100 and ISO 400 forms and is only available as 35MM.

Fujifilm

Fujifilm still have a good range of films available.  They produce colour negative, colour reversal and black and white films.  They split their films into consumer and professional films as seems to be the fashion these days.

Consumer films:
Superia colour negative film is available in speeds of ISO 200, 400, 800 and 1600.   They only produce this film is 35mm.

Professional films:

Fujicolor is a colour negative film available in three forms.

Superia reala is a ISO 100 film available in 35mm and 120.

Superia X-tra is a press film that is only available in 120 but in several speeds.

Pro is mainly aimed at portrait photographers.  The ISO 160 film is available in 35mm, 120, and sheet film formats and the ISO 400 film is available in 35mm and 120 formats.

Fuji also make FP100C instant colour film

Fujichrome is a colour reversal film in two forms.

Velvia has ultra-high saturation, intensely vivid colours, high contrast (in Fujifilm's own words) so is not particularly natural looking.  The designer of this film once claimed he wanted to make a film that reproduced skies like people remembered them when they came back from holiday.  It is available in 35mm, 120 and sheet film formats.

Provia is also claimed to give vivid colours but perhaps not to the same extent as the Velvia films.  Provia films are available in 35mm, 120 and sheet film formats.

Neopan is Fujifilm's monochrome offering.  It comes in three forms.

Neopan Acros is a very fine grain medium speed (ISO 100) film  It is available in 35mm and 120 formats.

Neopan 400 is a faster film (ISO 400) which is again available in two forms.  First, the conventional form which is only available in 35mm and secondly the chromogenic form Neopan 400CN which needs to be developed in the colour C41 chemistry.  This form is available in 35mm and 120 formats.

Neopan 1600 is a very fast film only available in 35mm.

Again, Fuji kasme black and white instant film - FP3000B

Adox

Note: As of late 2012, Adox currently cannot produce some of their films due to their manufacturer in Croatia  ceasing trading.  This affects the CHS films listed below.  I am retaining the listings for  the present in case Adox resume manufacture and I shall keep an eye on the situation - I shall update this post when there is something new to add.

This is a very old firm.  It was originally set up as Fotowerke in Germany making plates from about 1860.  They started making cameras as well from the early part of the twentieth century.  In 1952 they introduced their 35mm very fine grain film.

In 1962 Adox was sold to DuPont in the USA.  DuPont licensed the film technology, but not the Adox name, to Fotokemika in Yugoslavia where the films were (are!) made under the Efke brand name.

In 1999 the Adox brand was bought by Agfa so now Adox is a German company again.  However, Agfa never used the Adox name and in 2003 it was de-registered as a trademark by the German Patent Office.

The Adox name was now taken up by different companies in the USA, Canada and Germany.  None of the current Adox companies are related to the original German Adox company.

The films listed below are are made by ( or for) Adox Fotowerke GmbH, Bad Saarow, Germany.

Details on developing Adox films in various developers can be found at: http://www.digitaltruth.com/devchart.php?Film=Adox+CHS&Developer=&mdc=Search

 The Adox range is divided into a Premium Line and an Art Series.  First the Premium Line.

Premium Line consists of two films with a third film in progress.

CMS 20 is the world's finest grain film with the highest resolving power.  The resolving power of this film is stated as being 800 lines/mm which is better than most (all?) camera lenses can produce.  An example - good Canon lenses (the L series) will give around 350 lines/mm at f4.

CMS 20 needs a dedicated developer - Adotech - to work properly.

Pan 400 is a rework of Agfa's APX 400 with some small improvements.  There will be a Pan 100 film at some point, but not yet.

Art Series  These are the CHS films which are based on 1950s recipes - so very old fashioned.

Adox claims great tonal range and colour separation (its a black and white film!).  These films have a high silver content which gives richer grey scales.  The CHS in the name stands for Cubiccrystal Heterodispers Single-layer - just so you know.

Available film speeds are ASA 25, 50 and 100 (ok, should be ISO, not ASA, but if we are going to be retro . . .)

These films are coated onto a PET base so light piping can be a problem.  This is when the film base acts like an optic fibre and conducts light into the cassette or under the backing paper.  To counter this, always keep Adox cassettes and rolls in the black plastic containers they are supplied in (yes, 120 roll film from Adox is supplied in a black plastic container).

CHS 25 & 50 while this is a panchromatic film, it has a red end cut-off at 620nm so reds will come out darker than with a modern panchromatic film.  it is available as 35mm, 35 mm bulk, 120 and sheets.

CHS 100 II is more panchromatic than the ASA 25 and 50 films with a red end cut-off at around 620 nm.  This is also available as 35mm, 35mm bulk, 120 and sheets (with a wider range of sheet sizes than the ASA 25 and 50 forms).

Ortho 25 is an orthochromatic film and so not really sensitive to red light - red end cut-off is 610 nm.  This will produce a tonal range similar to that which was normal in the 1980s.  In portraits, lips and skin blemishes will be black.  In landscapes, brickwork will be darker.  This is available in 35mm, 120 and sheet.

110  Adox do not currently produce 110 film cartridges but are in the process of introducing it.  Adox say this will be a slow process and the 110 cartridges will be available towards the end of 2012 or later depending of income from other lines.

126 Until recently, Adox did produce 126 film cartridges but do not anymore.

Silvermax 100 has been recently introduced in 35mm only.

Adox  have also started making colour film. Their one offering sounds very strange - CVolour Implosion which 100 ISo and 35mm only and, according to Silverprint who retail it in the UK, "it has extra large grain, beautiful colours with bursting red and washed out blues and greens." In other words, it is a rubbish film!

Foma.

Foma is a Czech firm making four films - 100Classic, 200 Creative, 400 Action and R (reversal film. All are black and white films. 

Lomography.

Lomography are a recent addition to the world of film makers.  They are the only firm to make 110 cartridges.  Their range is currently:

Colour Tiger, Orca Black and white, Peacock - all in 110 cartridges - Earl Grey, Color Neg and Redscale (colour film) - all in 120 fcassettes - and Xpro 200 which is available in 35mm and 120.