Today I’ve decided to give you all a look at the kind of results you can expect from Rollei’s Superpan 200 black and white film in 120 format. Before we get started, you might want to check out the original review.

If you’re ready, let’s get started… 

Never satisfied

I’m never satisfied with shooting film at its box speed.  I’m simply not happy until I’ve pushed, pulled, or cross processed a film stock and seen first hand what can (or can’t) be achieved.

Ultimately an aerial reference / reconnaissance film at heart, Rollei Superpan 200 supposedly handles haze, poor light and other adverse weather conditions with ease.  So, it should yield some pretty pleasing results when pushed or pulled, right? Let’s take a look. 

Pushing Rollei Superpan 200

I’ve so far only pushed this particular stock one stop.  On both occasions, I was incredibly pleased with the results. So far, all my pushed rolls were shot on bright, sunny days with great light and opportunity to shoot lots of high contrast scenes. In fact, many of them (some featured below), have become some of my all-time favourites.

Even when pushed, this film retains so much detail and sharpness. You can click on the images to be taken to a larger version in the EMULSIVE archives. Let me know if you’d like to sample even larger scans. They’re really something special, especially the brick wall. At large sizes, it’s easy to become overwhelmed with a feeling of slow, deliberate movement.  rather unsettling, if I’m being honest! 

Infrared photography with Rollei Superpan 200

This film has increased red sensitivity and is suitable for infrared photography.  What does this mean? Well, if you have a deep red, or IR filter — something like an R72/ 720nm filter — you will be able to capture stunning images using the infrared spectrum.

IR photography allows you to use a filter (such as the R72) mentioned above, to block out the visible light spectrum and capture only IR light.  The results can be breathtaking.  Elements in your scene which reflect lots of infrared light will appear as white and those which don’t will appear as blacks.

We’ll be posting an in-depth infrared photography article sometime soon but in the meantime, a picture paints a thousand words.

As you see, there’s nothing too serious or well thought out to see here.  Just a quick roll with some test shots to see how this film performs using only the IR spectrum.  These shots were exposed at only three stops lower than box speed – ISO 25 on an ISO200 film.

Whilst the IR effect is deep in places, I speculate that shooting this film at ISO12 or even ISO6 will yield better results.  Stay tuned for a future update.

~ EM

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6 responses to “Experimenting with Rollei Superpan 200 (with bonus infrared)”

  1. Looks great. So if you only dropped 3 stops with a proper IR filter, what would you use for a dark red (B+W 091), which is normally -3 stops?

  2. Amazing review! Congratulations! I only miss the information of what developer had you use. I have some D76 and PaRodinal (the homemade Rodinal).

    1. Hi Bruno, thanks for your kind comments. For the 1-stop push, I did a Rodinal semi-stand at 1+50 / 23.c for 80 minutes with 1 minute of initial agitation and 10 seconds every 30 minutes after. I also always finish my stand and semi-stand development with a gentle 10 second agitation.
      Regards the infrared roll, that was Rodinal at 1+100 / 23.c for 09:30 with 1 minute of initial agitation and 10 seconds every one minute thereafter. Hope that helps and please do share your results!

  3. the pushed shots were of the right kind of subjects, I think. the graphic shapes goes well with the contrasty image. nice to be able to fully delve deep into details too.
    I think the film shines like this instead of in head on, full sun street shooting.
    I’m a fan of the infrared shots! specially the first alley shot (nice mix of plantlife and structures) and the last one is classic IR. gotta love the skies you get, right?

    1. I agree, I’m not sure how it well it would have worked for street photography but that’s what the next roll is for! Seems the best results for IR are at ISO12, so you definitely need a tripod!

 

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