So despite having shot film for years now, I've never actually bulk-loaded 35mm. I picked up a bulk loader for like $1 on eBay after finally deciding that I would try it out - spurned on by the discontinuation of the Arista Premium 400 film (re-branded Kodak Tri-X 400), leaving me without a very cheap 35mm film other than Foma products, which I do not like.
Anyway, I've been combing eBay for cheap 100' rolls of film, and came upon a only slightly expired roll of Plus-X film. I've heard a lot of great things about this film, along with sadness about its discontinuation. Hoping for a medium-speed film, I decided to soup a test roll in Acufine, and rate it at 200.
Turns out it might not be quite that fast, even in Acufine. The negatives were definitely thin, and at the same time were fogged slightly due to my first bulk roll popping open as I took it out of the camera. Oops! So far not a real big fan of this bulk loading thing, but after ironing out the kinks in the process I think I won't have that issue anymore.
I of course love burning film on the VSU campus, so please excuse the typical college scenes. I used my Bessa R2S and Skopar 25mm f/4, with an orange filter, and tried to find geometric shapes and a variety of light and dark tones. I think I'm going to rate the Plus-X at 125 next time and go with Acufine again. The negatives are definitely a bit on the grainy side, which is an interesting look. Not a landscape combination, but for architecture, texture studies, and the like, I think it'll be nice. Or maybe I should use XTOL? Well anyway, for reference, I souped it in Acufine for 4:30 at 70F:
And with that, I'll be signing off for the rest of the year. I'll be taking my annual trip to the Mississippi Gulf Coast, with a variety of film cameras in hand, and I'll even be visiting New Orleans this year, so there will be many photos to develop and scan in January...
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