Anyone tried Shanghai GP3 film?

I've heard a lot about how curly it is, which is a pain at the point of developing, a pain to dry, a pain to scan and a pain to archive. For that alone, I can't be bothered with most cheap film.
 
My delta 100 is like that though, really quite thick, and curly/pain in the ass
 
I could only tolerate curlyness for so long with Fomapan 100 - T-Max, Tri-X and Acros are all much nicer and flat, and it's a godsend as far as I'm concerned!
 
freecom2 said:
I could only tolerate curlyness for so long with Fomapan 100 - T-Max, Tri-X and Acros are all much nicer and flat, and it's a godsend as far as I'm concerned!
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You're right, the Delta does do my head in, and I've only shot two rolls out of the ten I have lol. Better get using them up!

I don't think you can go wrong with acros, tri-x and tmax to be fair, between them I can't see there's much else wanting
 
you should try 3200, its the thickest curliest pain in the arse I've ever used.

back on cheap film....I've seen a few less than complimentary comments about Shanghai film but I've never used it, you should give it a go and find out for yourself.
my default cheapo is Lucky 100, for the money its really quite good, its not delta mind, but very usable.

:)
 
Lucky 100? Hmmm I'll look into that I'd never heard of it before
 
Mahoneyd187 said:
Lucky 100? Hmmm I'll look into that I'd never heard of it before
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I cant reccomend lucky 100, i found it to be a pain to get onto the reel and was very easy to kink. It wasnt very hard wearing... all i can say is, its cheap for a reason :shake:
 
I bought 2 rolls of Fomapan to try it out, shot one and dragging my heels with the other because the 1st was such a pain to dev, I found it really thin and it didn't go on the spiral very well. I was going to try Lucky a while ago but I was looking at buying it 100 rolls at a time, the price of it meant you were getting like 10 or so rolls extra for your money but then I read that sometimes you get rolls that are inside out etc so I decided that it wasn't worth it and I stick to Tri-X now.
 
To the touch, I don't think Fomapan is significantly less thick than Acros was. However, Kodak emulsions are great, much thicker bases. I'm beginning to remember why Kodak emulsions are my go-to choices more and more.

Danny, same as before really - buy some and shoot some, make your own mind up about it. You might love it, you might hate it, but these things are also subjective - that's why there are (or have been) so many film manufacturers and a whole range of emulsions to shoot varying tastes, expectations and budgets.
 
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Are we choosing cheap film based on how easy/hard it is to get on a reel or something ??.....or whether it produces a decent neg:shrug:
Never had any specific problems with loading a particular film that wasn't cured with a little practice.
Scanning curly films does present problems though sometimes..
 
Weird, I find that Ilford Delta 100 and HP5+ nice and flat while Neopan 400 a right pain to uncurl. Had to leave it under a heavy book for a week before I could scan it!
 
FruitFlakes said:
Weird, I find that Ilford Delta 100 and HP5+ nice and flat while Neopan 400 a right pain to uncurl. Had to leave it under a heavy book for a week before I could scan it!
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Hp5 has been fine for me, but delta seems particularly curly compared to everything else I've used, tmax,trix,acros,hp5 all stay flat. No idea why it's different to your experiences....its a pain in the ass to get in the film holder that's for sure
 
I've not used GP3 but I'm currently working my way through a 12 pack of Lucky 100, like other bargain bucket films it curls like a dog turd when you try to put it in the scanner holder. I've just about got it sorted now, As long as you don't want to scan the same day as you soup it. I put the cut negs into a neg sheet and give it a little opposite curl, rolling up the neg sheet and holding in place with an elastic band for a few hours, preferably overnight. Then when you get round to scanning the negs will generally lie flat'ish for long enough to be able to get them into the holder without the need for expletives or too much :bang:

The Lucky 100 film is Ok, although I only tend to use it for camera testing, preferring Acros for stuff that matters.

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Dynax9 Lucky 100 08 by Raglansurf, on Flickr[/IMG]

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Dynax9 Lucky 100 12 by Raglansurf, on Flickr[/IMG]

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FM2n Lucky100 YF 05 by Raglansurf, on Flickr[/IMG]

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FM2n Lucky100 YF 02 by Raglansurf, on Flickr[/IMG]

Top 2 are from a Dynax 9, bottom 2 Nikon FM2n. All Lucky 100, processed by The Darkroom, scanned using Nikon Coolscan 9000, minor tweaking in Lightroom.

For a cheapy film, £2/roll, I quite like it.
 
Thanks for the input all, I'll stick to my regulars then as I'm not known for my patience lol
 
The flexibility of the base means it'll bend every which-way when you try to load it & scan it. The sticky label at the end to secure your exposed roll, isn't very sticky or even attached to the film and isn't obviously gummed at both ends. And if you've got a camera which relies on a likkle hole to see the exposure numbers on the backing paper, the numbers aren't easy to see other than in bright sunlight.

BUT...

The emulsion gives good negatives, and sometimes you're lucky and you load it on the spiral in a flash and if you keep the bit of masking tape that tapes the roll tight when you get it, you can use it to secure the exposed roll better.

I've only used this film over the last 6 months but, from what I've read, quality control seems to be on the up.

I'm planning on putting an order in for another 10 rolls!
 
offline said:
The flexibility of the base means it'll bend every which-way when you try to load it & scan it. The sticky label at the end to secure your exposed roll, isn't very sticky or even attached to the film and isn't obviously gummed at both ends. And if you've got a camera which relies on a likkle hole to see the exposure numbers on the backing paper, the numbers aren't easy to see other than in bright sunlight.

BUT...

The emulsion gives good negatives, and sometimes you're lucky and you load it on the spiral in a flash and if you keep the bit of masking tape that tapes the roll tight when you get it, you can use it to secure the exposed roll better.

I've only used this film over the last 6 months but, from what I've read, quality control seems to be on the up.

I'm planning on putting an order in for another 10 rolls!
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Are you referring to Shanghai GP3 or Lucky 100?
 
And what dev is that with, and are we talking 35mm or medium format?
 
freecom2 said:
And what dev is that with, and are we talking 35mm or medium format?
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And that's exactly the problem - one persons curly, hard to load, hard to scan nightmare might be someone elses ideal film. Unless you get a specific match on "this size of this film, in this dev, with this method, dried this way and scanned on this scanner using these scan mounting plates and this software" then frankly, you're better off just buying a couple of rolls and trying it. After all whats the worst that can happen ? You might take a few more pictures ??

FWIW, I'm with Joxby on this one - it's all about the negs produced - everything else is just technique for us to learn, and part of what makes shooting film more interesting for me than shooting digital.
 
I've shot a few rolls of GP3, its a little curly to scan and fairly grainy for a 100iso film but it does the job. I got a big batch of illford stuff recently so I've not used the GP3 much, its best suited to practice/test rolls I think. Mostly just stuck it in some Rodinal for an hour or Rollie RHS for 8 minutes(?).

http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=49248828@N06&q=gp3
 
MindofMel said:
anybody using it still? happy? recommended developers?
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I've got my first roll in at Studio 5 in Thetford right now. I've said I'll collect the dev'd negs next week but maybe I'll look in on Friday so I can scan over the weekend.

UPDATE: back from the developer and curly? I'd say more like a spring than simply curly. Blimey!!! Partway through scanning my first roll of 120 Shanghai GP3.

I'll do the rest tomorrow.

I think I've got three more rolls.
 
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