Konica Centura 200 and VX100

[Stealth3kpl]

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I've been given 70 rolls of this stuff. Stored at room temperature. Expiry dates 1999 to 2001. Shall I give it an extra couple of stops exposure?

Pete

[CalArts 99]

Konica Chrome Centuria 200 Film Reviews - Lomography

 

Expired Konica Minolta VX 100 Super: A Film That Will Not Let You Down! - Lomography

 

If it were me, I'd use one roll at normal exposure and then process it. That would give me a standard as a starting point and then I can adjust things based on that.

[Michael Hiles]

Load a roll, and point the camera at a white or grey card or patternless surface. Focus at infinity. Ideally, meter for the basic exposure, or let the camera's meter decide. Make exposures at ASA 200, 160, 125, 100, 80, 64, 50. Record what you are doing so you know which frame is what. Have the film processed. The images will look grey. The correct ASA will be the frame that shows the equivalent of a Kodak Grey card, 18% reflection. Middle grey. That will be the working ASA for the film.

[Michael Geschlecht]

Hello Everybody,

 

Back in the old days there was a company called Kodak that made a combination color chart & stepped gray scale.

 

All you had to do back then was ignore the color chart & do a single exposure using the Zone V gray as the metering point & then develop the film & see which of the gray panels meters 18% gray.

 

Since expired film generally loses speed you might pick the Zone IV or Zone III gray to meter for 18% to begin your tests in this set of circumstances.

 

Once you find a panel on the finished print that reads as more or less 18% reflectance: Meter that panel with the same meter you tested with & adjust for the fractional stop.

 

Then simply count the stops from the square you chose to meter as 18% gray to the square that is 18% gray on the print & adjust your film speed accordingly. Making sure to includine the fraction.

 

Then do another test metering the Zone V gray on the scale as 18% reflectance gray (Zone V) & develop the film as before & print the negative.

 

The gray scale should read correctly FROM END TO END.

 

Best Regards,

 

Michael

[Richardgb]

<snip>

Back in the old days there was a company called Kodak that made a combination color chart & stepped gray scale.

<snip>

 

I think you can still get the 'Kodak' grey cards, although I don't know if it's actually Kodak who makes them. See Kodak: The Gray Card - Exposed . A search for 'Koday Gray Cards' (note US spelling) gives many results.

 

An alternative may be the X-Rite ColorChecker, which has a standard grey scale and colour patches (although this is not directly intended as a metering aid).

 

All metering of real subjects, however, can be susceptible to the photographer's personal technique and equipment, so include these in your test in addition to the greycard images. There are quite a few threads in this Forum on the subject.

 

Once you think you're close to the right exposure, you may try adjusting the development time. 'Old' film would tend to lose contrast in addition to speed, so increasing the time may be helpful (start by +10%), but again it is important to include some full-tonal-range real subjects.