Fuji Provia 100F and Bronica ETRSi 645

 

I still have quite a few rolls of expired slide film sitting in the freezer.  

Yes, they are more expensive to have developed because they have to be sent down to Sydney but, I really love the sharpness and colour that I get from them!

I have decided that I should start using them and then post down 2-3 rolls for development at a time; saving on postage.  These films were gifted to me a few years ago and once I have gone through them, you may not be seeing slide film on my blog that often as it is quite expensive.

The film I have used here is Fuji Provia 100F in 120 format.  120 format (or medium format) is a great size film to shoot with.  When scanned at a resolution of 2400 dpi I get a file size of about 60Mb.  This is a decent size file that will make a suitably enlarged print. 

Slide film is a little bit more fussy when calculating exposure though.  It has a narrow exposure latitude when compared to negative film so the exposure calculation has to be more accurate.  For these photos I used the Light Meter App on my iPhone. Happy to say that it does a decent job as you can see.

There is a funny, slightly embarrassing story about using this film on a Bronica ETRSi 645. I was at Port Hunter in Newcastle when I realised that the frame counter wasn't registering my shots. Of course, I hadn't been counting myself; that's what the frame counter is for! Anyway, it dawned on me after a few shots that I was probably almost through the film and, on checking the frame counter, saw that it was still not through half of the roll.  I suspected a fault with the counter at first. 

As I contemplated just what might had gone wrong, I noted that the Multiple Exposure Lever was in the wrong position. The lever is on the side of the camera and, when set at the 3 o'clock position, it is possible to release the shutter any number of times without using the film wind on crank to wind the film on which, of course, is how we get multiple exposures. This will not advance the frame counter. 

I had already used the Camera and it worked fine. I think that I had inadvertently moved the lever whilst getting the camera out of the bag as I grabbed the side of it!  Anyway, lever moved into the upright position and the camera worked fine counting off the shots as I continued. I haven't put up the Multi-Exposure shots on here; they looked like a dogs breakfast (with apologies to all Dogs!)

Incidentally, using the Multiple Exposure Lever is how you can test correct shutter function without putting a film into the camera. Turning on the Multiple Exposure bypasses the film loading interlock which allows the shutter to fire and the wind on crank to function. Very handy to know if you are testing a Bronica ETR/ETRSi prior to purchase.

I did post another roll of Slide Film with this one down to Vision Image Lab in Alexandria, Sydney for development. It was a 35mm Fuji Velvia 100. More on that one in the next post!

Stay Well everyone!

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