Luminous Landscape Forum
Equipment & Techniques => Beginner's Questions => Topic started by: syncrasy on June 29, 2018, 01:10:30 pm
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In a family member's slide archive (1940s-50s) I found several slides with aluminum & glass mounts and the film itself looks like a "screened" color image (dotted/grid pattern similar to a color photo in a newspaper).
Assuming these photos aren't copies of prints, what type of film is this?
(https://www.swanson-media.com/photos/identification/mystery%20slide%20film/slide1a.jpg)
(https://www.swanson-media.com/photos/identification/mystery%20slide%20film/slide2a.jpg)
Portion of scanned image (100%):
(https://www.swanson-media.com/photos/identification/mystery%20slide%20film/slide3.jpg)
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I have never seen a grain pattern like that. Looks like a halftone screen of some sort. I would guess this is a copy of an image from a magazine. Remove the piece of film from the mount and look at the rebate, the black bit around the actual image. Should be some text. A frame number most likely but often a film code and a manufacturer name.
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Martin,
The black rebate area is unmarked (no text, no numbers). My initial hypothesis also was a photo copy of a magazine photo (halftone screen). If they are copies, they are very well done (even light, focus, framing, etc), so perhaps they were made professionally. Perhaps they were publicity items (e.g., for a college). Still a mystery to me.
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I worked I a photo lab and we did a lot of copy work. Bulk film that was never intended for use outside the lab was often used. Balanced for 3200k it frequently didn’t have markings on it. I think you are most likely right. We used copy stands and ran a standard set up with lenses designed for copy work. Good consistent results were expected.
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The screen sure does look sharp in this image. I wonder if it's a repro film with a halftone screen built in? I know of b&w films like this but have never heard of a color version.
-Dave-