# help with ultrafine xtreme 400 film



## Jonathan Schertzer (Dec 28, 2012)

Does anyone have any experience with this film? i bought a 100 foot roll but i think i may have gotten a bad roll because everything i shoot is just not sharp at all. I have shot many rolls of tri-x and hp5 through the same cameras i am shooting the ultra fine with but when i shoot the ultra fine everything looks as if it is completely out of focus. 

I am self developing with d76 stock solution 

Here is what i am getting:

This is some hp5 shot with a canon rebel with 500mm 1.4
Hp5 Pushed 1 stop | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Everything looks awesome and great.

now here are some shots with the ultra fine with the same camera, same lens, same dev, and same scan process.

Ultra fine film problem | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

I didn't even bother uploading the rest of the scans because they all look like this, even the ones i shot at f16 with infinity focus.

i checked other samples of the same film online and people are getting really sharp results, is it possible that i got a bad roll? is it possible for a messed up emulsion to look like this?


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## timor (Dec 28, 2012)

Ultrafine xtreme 400 in my opinion is a Kentmere 400. I shot  100' roll and never experience any problems with this film. It is a bit more contrasty than HP5, but that may depend on developer used. It's hard to tell for sure what is your problem but let start with this: your samples are scans from film or prints ? To me it looks like the negative was in a bit off position when scanned (or printed) as, unlike in pic from HP5, I can't find sharp grain.


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## unpopular (Dec 28, 2012)

There is not only no sharpness, but also no contrast. I'm wondering if the developer is bad or improperly mixed. If their is no accutance in the grain, then there would be no sharp grain visible. Were these two processed with the same batch?


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## compur (Dec 29, 2012)

Jonathan Schertzer said:


> Does anyone have any experience with this film? i bought a 100 foot roll but i think i may have gotten a bad roll because everything i shoot is just not sharp at all. I have shot many rolls of tri-x and hp5 through the same cameras i am shooting the ultra fine with but when i shoot the ultra fine everything looks as if it is completely out of focus.
> 
> I am self developing with d76 stock solution
> 
> ...



The EXIF data on both images says they were taken with a Canon 60D. Did you use a DSLR to photograph prints?

What camera & lens was used to shoot the original film?  Were the negs then printed in a darkroom and shot with the 60D?


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## BobM (Dec 29, 2012)

How did you spool the film into the cassette? Is it possible that it might have been spooled backwards? Exposing the emulsion through the film base would certainly produce considerable lack of sharpness.


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## Sw1tchFX (Dec 29, 2012)

Looks more like out of focus to me..


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## djacobox372 (Dec 29, 2012)

BobM said:


> How did you spool the film into the cassette? Is it possible that it might have been spooled backwards? Exposing the emulsion through the film base would certainly produce considerable lack of sharpness.



This,  its the only explanation that makes sense.


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## bsinmich (Dec 31, 2012)

I would also wonder if it had been Xrayed in the mail.  Those scans look like the film had also been fogged in some way.  The backward winding is also a possibility.


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## OldManJim (Nov 25, 2017)

I've used a few r​olls and found  it to be very sharp. Here are some examples: 

These were Ultrafine 400 in 120 shot with a Mamiya 645 pro tl. I have no experience with the 35m version but I wouldn't expect much difference.


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## compur (Nov 25, 2017)

Jonathan Schertzer said:


> i bought a 100 foot roll ...



Is it possible that you loaded the film into the cartridge with the emulsion on the wrong side?


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