Have you ever wanted to see outside of our visual spectrum? Well then maybe infrared photography is for you! While true Infrared films are long gone, these days we have a tonne of films that can, when properly filtered expose the infrared light. Among these films sits FPP Infrared B&W, the original film stock is unknown, but it does do exactly what it says on the tin, it is a film that can be shot both filtered and unfiltered and produces images that can only be described as magic! For this review, I went with a mixed approach to filtration, shooting the first roll without any filters, then moving up to a deep yellow, red, and then finally a 092 deep red filter which is not a true IR filter but close enough to see the effect.
Film Specs
Seller: Film Photography Project
Name: InfraRed B&W
Type: Panchromatic B&W with Extended Red Sensitivity
Original Film Stock: Not Disclosed
Film Base:
Film Speed: ASA-200, Latitude: +/- 1-Stop
Formats Available: 35mm, 16mm, 4×5 (Sheet)
Roll 01 – Kodak D-76
For the first roll, I shot the film unfiltered and shot at the box speed of ASA-200, developing the film in a stock dilution. The listed time is 8.5 minutes, but I went with constant rotation, and the time dropped to 7.5 minutes to account for the change in how I ran the film. The first thing I noticed is that the negatives are relatively dense. A reduction of thirty seconds would help, but it was pretty decent, as I could see details in the frame. The images scanned well, although they were either overexposed or overdeveloped. My gut is going with overdeveloped because I trust the accuracy of the FE2’s meter. Thankfully, I recovered a slight majority of the frames on the roll. And the results were far better than I expected. The contrast is a nice middle ground, with nothing too extreme. There is some grain, but nothing overly distracting. And the images are sharp, again, nothing too distracting. While these results are better than I expected, you do need to always filter this film, at least behind a pale yellow filter or underexpose it slightly to ASA-250.
Roll 02 – Ilford Ilfotec HC
For roll number two, I went and shot this behind a deep yellow filter and went with the alternative Dilution B times, but after seeing the density from the first roll, I dropped the time by thirty seconds and ran for 6.5 minutes instead of the listed 7. The negatives looked far better than the previous roll, but there was still much more density than I liked. However, I could see greater detail. The results are impressive; I was concerned about using a stronger dilution (than I usually use) with the film, but while there is a higher contrast and compressed tonal range, you are losing the blues already, even with a deep yellow filter. But I like the results; the sharpness is still there with increased visible grain, but not as bad as the D-76 roll. Would a more dilute mix improve the images? I? It would take away from the nature of the film; infrared films are high-contrast, so trying to reduce that will muddy the film.
Roll 03 – Adox Rodinal
For roll number three, I threw a red filter in front of the lens to further increase the infrared look of the film. I had a bit of help on this roll, seeing the results from a fellow film shooter before going out and exposing and developing my third roll, so I went with a 1+50 dilution to help smooth out grain and contrast, then dropped the listed development times by forty-five seconds, then adjusted down further to compensate for the constant rotation. When I got the negatives out from the tank, I was pleased with how the negatives looked: good density and certainly did not look overcooked. You can start to see the wood effect increase in these images, but the sky is not scary black. Under different, more direct lighting conditions, it would be more present. You see the sky darkening and the foliage whitening far more than the previous roll. The grain is also more present, and the sharpness could be better, but it is better than I expected with this combination. The contrast sits at a middle ground, which does and doesn’t help at that same time. A stronger contrast would be better suited here, although the payoff would be a stronger grain with a stronger mix of Rodinal. While not my favourite developer choice for the film, the filter is an excellent option.
Roll 04 – Zone Imaging 510-Pyro
I used a 092 (deep red) filter for the final roll. While not a true infrared filter, only letting light with a wavelength of 650nm or higher gives a close enough look. Then, using the ReveniLabs hot shoe meter, I set the film speed to ASA-12 to compensate for the filter factor, set the aperture to f/11 and set the focus using the depth of field marks on the lens barrel. While there’s no listed time for 510-Pyro, after comparing the D-76 times, I used the FP4+ times for this roll. It did not disappoint, as the negatives looked good coming out of the tank. While not a perfect roll, I could see many workable images. The results are stunning; you get that full-on wood effect with a dark black sky, ghostly white foliage, and the buildings standing out. The grain is still there but not as strong as the Rodinal roll, and the edge sharpness is superb. The contrast is high, but that is to be expected. The 092 filter does an excellent job giving that infrared look, although another stop of over-exposure would have improved the roll even more, getting back some of those lost shots. The one thing I did notice is that the filter caused some vignetting at the corners because of the 24mm focal length. It’s not the end of the world, but something for the future.
Final Thoughts
The first thing I noticed when I loaded the film into the camera was how thin the emulsion was, scarily thin and familiar. I’ve worked with a couple of rebadges from the FPP before, and this one certainly felt familiar. And I knew then I would not enjoy loading this film onto my reels. I did have one false start, but eventually, the film loaded fine as long as I moved slowly. The one benefit of being thin is that the film dries perfectly flat. Scanning the film was easy; it lay flat in the holder, and my V700 and Silverfast 9 SE delivered good-quality scans. The process was fast in Photoshop, and I only needed a light touch to get what I wanted. The role I thought would give me the most headache, the one shot behind the 092 filters, was the easiest to scan and edit. Is FPP BW IR a true infrared film? I cannot answer either, as I need access to a spectral sensitivity sheet and know the original stock. However, based on how well it rendered the world using a 092 filter, this film has an infrared capacity and sensitivity well into that range of the electromagnetic spectrum. Sadly, I did not have a chance to try it with a proper IR filter like the R72 for this review. You don’t need to use or invest in an expensive filter to get the most out of FPP BW IR; it works well with any contrast and near-IR filters in your kit. You can order the film from any shop, both physical and online or directly from the Film Photography Project in rolls of 24-exposure in 35mm (17 USD/Roll). Still, they also sell this for motion picture cameras in the 16mm double-perf format (70 USD/100ft). You can also get this film in 4×5 sheets which were restocked at the end of April, costing 70 USD/25 Sheets.
Further Reading
Don’t just take my word on FPP InfraRed, you can check out the reviews by other awesome camera reviewers!
Northwest Depressed – Film Photography Project BW Infrared