ROLLEI INFRARED FILM: TEST REPORT
Independent report and analysis by Willie Jan Bons, www.foto-art.nl
 Roll 1, #1 |
 Roll 1, #2 |
 Roll 1, #3 |
 Roll 1, #4 |
 Roll 2, #1 |
 Roll 2, #2 |
 Roll 2, #3 |
 Roll 2, #4 |
 Roll 2, #5 |
 Roll 2, #6 |
 Roll 2, #7 |
[click any image to enlarge]
Equipment used:
Hasselblad 500 CM
Planar 80 CF T* 2.8
150 CF T* 4.0
Hoya Filter IR720
Scans:
Epson 3200 with Silverfast software
Adobe Photoshop CS2
Roll 1 Development:
The first roll was developed at 14.5 minutes
Developer Pyrocat HD 1:1:100, 20°C
Agitation first minute continuously
After that 1 inversion each minute.
The first roll was shot at 400 asa. I took 4 stops for the filter, so shot the film at 25 asa with filter and 400 without. The shots where taken in the wood at 2 o'clock in the afternoon. There was a little sun behind light clouds. Temperature around 23°C.
Result Roll 1
After development I saw that the shots with the filter where to light. Some shots I bracketed also at 12 asa and this was the best compared to the shot at 25. So this filter uses up 5 stops and not 4 as I pretended.
| Photo | Description |
|---|---|
| Roll 1, #1 | Shot without filter. Tone is good. No grain visible. |
| Roll 1, #2 | Is the same shot as Roll 1, #1 but now with IR720 filter.The wood effect is good visible. The tree was actual in the shadow, no direct sunlight. |
| Roll 1, #3 | Same circumstance as Roll 1, #1 |
| Roll 1, #4 | Higher contrast. The sun was shining (no clouds). |
Roll 2 Development:
The 2nd roll was developed at 14 minutes
Developer Pyrocat HD 1:1:100, 20°C
Agitation first minute continuously
After that 1 inversion each minute.
The roll was shot at 400 asa. I took 5 stops for the filter, so shot the film at 12 asa with filter and 400 without. The shots where taken at 8-10 o'clock in the morning. There was sun. Temperature around 20°C.
Result Roll 2
The overall structure of the negatives look fine. Not to dark and not to light.
| Photo | Description |
|---|---|
| Roll 2, #1 | Inside our house at 7 o'clock. |
| Roll 2, #2 | High contrast scene where fog was moving at the back of the house. |
| Roll 2, #3 | High contrast scene. About 7 stops. I think I get more out in the darkroom. |
| Roll 2, #4 | No direct sunlight onto the grass. No visible wood effect. The grass had not yet been lightened by the sun at all. |
| Roll 2, #5 | At 9.30 the light became to hard. The highlights get burned out... |
| Roll 2, #6 | Shot at 12 o'clock in our garden pond. The light was hard (direct sunlight). The lilly is almost not visible. The leaves have the same colour. |
| Roll 2, #7 | Normal shot taken with a b&w closeup filter. The leave was taken from a plant in the garden just before the shot was taken. The leave was in the sun shot around 11 o'clock. |
Conclusion
- The filter Hoya IR720 takes away about 5 stops.
- Development 14 minutes at 20°C. In Pyrocat HD 1:1:100.
- Agitation first minute, after that 1 inversion each minute.
- When putting the film into the development reel (Jobo), with other films the tape attached to the film is cut when I remove the film. But now the complete tape got off the paper and got stuck onto the film.
- After drying the film, it does not lay completely flat. Maybe after some weeks in the sheet holder.
- The grain is not visible on my 6x6 negatives. It looks very nice. The Pyrocat HD developer also helps to reduce grain.
- It scans very good on the basic settings.
- Probably when shooting in the spring or autumn the light is not that hard, or shoot when the sun is behind light clouds. I was sometimes over the edge but would like to see the wood effect.
I like the structure of the film. It does not look like a 400 asa film to me. The highlights in the negative are soft, so probably when making prints in the darkroom the quality will be even better than scanning.
Willie Jan Bons, Foto-Art 2007
Note: All results have been provided by independent testers. Scans and images have NOT been manipulated.
Click here for Rollei Infrared review on 35mmc.com