3M SCOTCH FILM.

It seems many years since I had 3M film in may camera although I did process a couple of films for a friend recently. The new film came as a pleasant surprise. The cassettes are metal and are D.X. coded. The ends are not fitted so that you have to wreck the cassette to remove the film, but need a firm fingernail to prise them off in the changing bag. All types use the same basic finish to the cassette but they have the ASA rating in large numbers on the side so you can hardly get them mixed up.

SENSITIVITY. Tests in varying lighting conditions from rain to bright sunlight were made and the resulting films were exposed to a good average density in all conditions. When the films were drying all 36 frames could be seen with detail in them. It was a nice change not to have to have a few black frames down the length of the film.

COLOUR. Very true. Reds are very bright, Blue sky's accurate. Greens on grass and foliage as good as anything that I have seen. All colours appear to be bright and clean without garish. Delicate pastel shades are reproduced as accurately as the bright colours.

GRAIN. So far I have tested only 100asa and 400asa types. There is no grain visible when slides are projected on to a 5ft screen with 100asa type. With 400asa film the grain is slightly in evidence but is not objectionable. There seems to be no difference in the colour balance of either type.

CHARACTERISTICS. The film back has a very clear black and white image when it is exposed after first development. On completion of the development process the back of the film is bright orange/brown. This colour is a bit of a shock when you are used to the normal blue film backing. However as the film dries it becomes transparent quite quickly. The emulsion is very tough and it is possible to eliminate drying marks by running a film squeegee down the roll before it goes for drying.

I feel that the film is extremely good and have bought a lot to take on our annual holiday. The current results have been shown to quite a lot of our members and no one was able to fault it.

DEVELOPMENT. This was a combination of Kodak with B. Wheatcroft`s modifications, and my usual Bleach, Stab., Fix and Stop baths. Reversal was by Photoflood. I feel pretty sure the film will turn out well with the Moorhouse and Kit developers. Ron Croad. C.R.C. Film sales.