I’ve always enjoyed using slow film so I decided to give Lomography’s Babylon 13 from the Kino line a try. This is my first roll and honestly, I’m very happy with it, the details are very good, the shadows are a bit more restrained, which is to be expected from a cine film. I like higher contrast and this proved to be perfect.
I decided to try out this film in an old quarry in Western Quebec in Mid-November. The temperature was sitting just below freezing with a fair bit of fog, once the fog started to lift I started my Babylon 13 journey. I used my trusty Lunasix light meter to measure accurately, the F80’s light meter is very good, nonetheless I wanted the best reading possible. I set it to ISO 12 and I took multiple readings mostly incident light, and few reflective readings for comparison.
I didn’t really have a plan for this shoot so I put on my 50mm f/1.4 Nikkor lens in case I really needed to open up. I also brought along my trusty Manfrotto tripod for good measure. Turns out I ended up taking most of the shots handheld. Those proved to be a bit more challenging, I ended up shooting those between 1/45 and 1/60 and was only able to stop down to f/2.8 and f/5.6 towards the end as the fog was lifting and the sun was starting to shine through. On the tripod that was a different story those were shot from f/8 to f/16.
I stayed away from any filtration, from what I had read and seen this film was already contrasty enough and it didn’t need any help in that department, that proved to be a good call, not to mention I would probably lose the capability to handhold if I added a filter factor to the equation.
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I developed the film at home in D-96, this is after all a cine film to start with and I wanted to keep that look. After a quick pre-wash, I developed for 10:30 minutes at 20 degrees. Dried as usual then scanned them. I used my Epson 4990 Photo scanner and proceeded to scan the negatives, the scans were cropped but no adjustments were made after that, I really wanted to highlight the beauty and character of this film.
The big question, would I use Babylon 13 again? Yes without a doubt, it’s just too bad it’s not available in 120 or 4×5 sheet.”
~ Alexandre
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Really great shots! The contrast is indeed great. I need to start shooting some slower speed film one of these days. Do you mind if I ask where this is? I’m in Vaudreuil-Dorion and I’d love to check it out.
HI Sacha, Thank you for the comments. Slower Speed film are great, it really forces out the creativity because of its limiting factors. This is located about 1.5km west of the 307 & 366 junction, on the 366 towards Wakefield.
Beautiful industrial photos! I also have an F80 and 50mm f/1.4D, a very compact and good-performing package. How do you like that MB-16 battery grip? Do you think it is worth getting one for my F80 or does it add too much weight and bulk?
Hi Lee, Thank you for the comment and question. I think the Grip is worth it. It adds weight helping to stabilize the camera especially helpful at slower shutter speeds. It also adds a shutter release and great ergonomics in portrait orientation. If this helps, the F80 w/Grip is still lighter then my FE2 w/Grip and my F5. I have very big hands, the additional bulk just feels right. If you have smaller hands that might be a different story. Hope this helps.