Who Needs Control . . Test a New Camera and Film Stock at the Same Time!

As you know, whenever any kind of test is given to determine the level of performance of an object, or person, or anything else, there is the element known as “control.”  Control is the pre-determined standard that the subject of a performance test must measure up to in order to meet a certain level of performance.  When this principal is applied to the testing of new film stocks, one level of control would be to use a camera that is familiar to the user, and where its level of performance is already known.  However, as usual, I have blown the concept of “control” completely out of the water by testing a new film stock , and a new camera (that is . . new to me) at the same time!

I recently acquired a Petri 1.9 Color Corrected Super rangefinder.  Though I love using rangefinders, I have never come across this, or any other camera made by Petri.  They were a Japanese camera manufacturer that started out in 1954 making 35mm rangefinder cameras in the general spirit of Leicas.  The quality of those early cameras was pretty good.  Later on, as the company began making SLR’s and other rangefinder models, the quality would suffer, and the Petri name would be associated accordingly.  The Petri 1.9 Color Corrected Super falls in to the earlier category, making its appearance in 1958. This smart looking rangefinder camera is equipped with a 45mm 1.9 “color corrected” lens (a marketing reference to highlight the fact that the lens elements are coated), and a leaf shutter that ranges from 1/500 to 1 second, plus B.  Other features include a cold accessory shoe, PC connection, parallax correction viewfinder with green rangefinder patch, and a self-timer.  Upon holding it in my hands, I was immediately impressed with the build quality of this camera.  The film advance worked smoothly, the exposure controls were easy to operate, and the Copal leaf shutter was very quiet.  The viewfinder was bright, and the rangefinder patch was easy to see.  I couldn’t wait to shoot with this camera, so I decided to use it to test a new film shock.  Who needs control, right?

The new film stock is the Kosmo Foto Mono 100.  My brother Kevin had given me a couple of rolls of this black and white film for Christmas, so I thought I’d put this Petri 1.9 (which I had just received back from having it serviced) to good use.  Immediately I was impressed with the packaging.  Its cool design was a nice change from the traditional packaging that we have seen for decades.  As far as the film goes, I was already aware of two things.  I knew that this film stock was actually rebranded Fomapan 100.  I also knew that it had received some less-than-stellar reviews.  But it was free film, so on a rare sunny weekend here in northwest Georgia, I decided to test both the Petri and the Kosmo Foto Mono 100.  I began with a visit to a local flea market.  Shooting this film at box speed, and using sunny 16 for my metering, I wandered through the many rolls of tables filled with merchandise and clicked away.  Since I test cameras here often, folks at this flea market are used to seeing me making photos.  The Petri operated fine and the shutter was quiet as a mouse.  It does take a bit of getting used to focusing the lens, especially if you shoot SLR’s most of the time, however, the rangefinder patch with its green background was easy to see.  I finished up my test with a photo walk in downtown Dalton.  My wife and I recently moved to a little town north of Dalton called Varnell, so it was good to have some time to walk around Dalton’s historic downtown area.  I always seem to be a little less noticeable to others when shooting with a rangefinder than with a big and noisy SLR, so it was nice to shoot with this camera as I moved around the downtown area. 

I processed the Mono 100 using D-76 diluted 1:1 at 68 degrees for 8 minutes and 45 seconds.  Again, I was impressed from the moment the film came off the reel.  The negatives had a good look to them, and the development time seemed to be right on the mark. It was when I prepared to scan the negatives that I began to see a future for more use of this film stock.  These negatives lay perfectly flat in my scanner's film holder.  This is such a huge plus, since my favorite b&w film, Kodak Tri X 400 requires me to take the extra step of winding the film backwards after processing to reduce the extreme cupping that becomes such an annoyance when trying to scan the negatives.  Seeing my images on the monitor after the scanning process drove in the winning run.  These pictures were nice and sharp with a bit warmer tone and less contrast than my other favorite b&w film, Eastman XX 5222.  The film’s latitude seems to be wide (or I’m getting really good at using sunny 16!). Even though I had heard others complain about the grain, I was very pleased with what I saw in my images. 

In a time when the release of a new film stock is a rare occurrence, I am excited to see Kosmo Foto get into the film marketing business, even if the film is rebranded from another manufacturer.  This practice has actually gone on for a long time in the film industry, so it shouldn’t be a turn off.  The way I see it, If this is what it takes to bring new film stocks to the public’s attention, then I am all for it, especially with a new generation of film photographers who might be attracted to innovative promotional techniques and eye catching packaging.  Of course, it certainly helps that the film stock is of an acceptable quality, and I certainly think this Mono 100 meets that qualification. 

So there you have it.  If you come across a Petri 1.9 Super rangefinder camera at your favorite flea market or thrift store that is in good shape and for the right price, I certainly recommend giving it a try, especially if this your first foray into shooting with 35m rangefinder cameras.  And while your at it, consider giving this Kosmo Foto Mono 100 a try as well.  This could be your next favorite black and white film.

Now go get some pictures.