| Efke | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Maker | Fotokemika |
| Speed | 25/15°, 50/18°, 100/21°, 200/24°, 400/27° |
| Type | B&W ,photographic paper, Infrared film,color film and reversal film |
| Process | Gelatin-silver, C-41 process and E-6 process |
| Format | 35 mm, 120, 127, sheet film (various sizes) |
Efke is the brand name of photographic films, papers, and chemicals that were manufactured by Fotokemika Zagreb d.d., a company located in Samobor, Croatia.
The Efke films are black-and-white films with high silver content and as a result give a large exposure latitude and high quality grayscale reproduction when compared with modern films. The Efke 25, 50 and 100 products were made using the ADOX formulas that were first introduced in the 1950s.
Efke also made an infrared film sold as Efke IR820, a color film branded as "efkecolor" in ISO speeds of 100/400 (1986-1992), spektar 100/200/400 (~1992-2009) [1] and HG100 (~1996-?) as well as a 100 ISO color reversal film called "efkechrome" (1982-1999). [2]
Color Efke films are very rare and information is almost impossible to find due to the color film being discontinued rather quickly compared to Efke's other product lines.
The black and white Efke films are more forgiving of exposure variations than modern tabular crystal films. The nature of the product also allows large, grain free, enlargements to be made from negatives.
Efke black and white films were coated in one layer, unlike most other films which are coated in multiple layers. This makes the film thinner and the emulsion more easily damaged, especially when still wet after development. A hardening fixer can be used to help protect the emulsion. The film base is also thinner and more transparent, making inspection of the negative easier. However it can also make the film curl more easily.
Efke was the only manufacturer making 127 format film between 1995, when Kodak discontinued the format, and 2006, when a Canadian company also began making 127. [3]
Efke's Infrared Film, sold under the brand name Efke IR820 was the only infrared film manufactured that has good IR sensitivity beyond 750 nm extending out to 820 nm. In the past other films such as Kodak's HIE offered this but have recently been discontinued and are no longer made.
Fotokemika ceased all production on 30 August 2012. [4]
As a result of the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s and the subsequent privatization process of the company, its equipment and Real Estate were sold to western companies and many of its workers laid off during the 90s and 2000s, which ultimately led the company to its bankruptcy.
For a short while after its closing the company existed as a distributor of medical films and materials made by other manufacturers.
There have been efforts [5] to save the Fotokemika heritage.
In late 2020 Croatian photographer Silvester Kolbas organized an exhibition about efke, the company Fotokemika Zagreb d.d and its heritage at the Museum of Technology "Nikola Tesla", Zagreb, called "Fotokemika" [6] showcasing old equipment and products, that were left behind in the abandoned factory facilities of Fotokemika Zagreb d.d, as well as photos taken with expired efke black and white film.
135 film, more popularly referred to as 35 mm film or 35 mm, is a format of photographic film with a film gauge of 35 mm (1.4 in) loaded into a standardized type of magazine for use in 135 film cameras.
127 is a roll film format for still photography introduced by Kodak in 1912.
Advanced Photo System (APS) is a film format for consumer still photography first marketed in 1996 and discontinued in 2011. It was sold by various manufacturers under several brand names, including Eastman Kodak (Advantix), FujiFilm (Nexia), Agfa (Futura) and Konica (Centuria). Development was led by Kodak starting in the mid-1980s.
Kodachrome is the brand name for a color reversal film introduced by Eastman Kodak in 1935. It was one of the first successful color materials and was used for both cinematography and still photography. For many years, Kodachrome was widely used for professional color photography, especially for images intended for publication in print media.
Color photography is photography that uses media capable of capturing and reproducing colors. By contrast, black-and-white or gray-monochrome photography records only a single channel of luminance (brightness) and uses media capable only of showing shades of gray.
C-41 is a chromogenic color print film developing process introduced by Kodak in 1972, superseding the C-22 process. C-41, also known as CN-16 by Fuji, CNK-4 by Konica, and AP-70 by AGFA, is the most popular film process in use, with most, if not all photofinishing labs devoting at least one machine to this development process.
Instant film is a type of photographic film that was introduced by Polaroid Corporation to produce a visible image within minutes or seconds of the photograph's exposure. The film contains the chemicals needed for developing and fixing the photograph, and the camera exposes and initiates the developing process after a photo has been taken.
In infrared photography, the photographic film or image sensor used is sensitive to infrared light. The part of the spectrum used is referred to as near-infrared to distinguish it from far-infrared, which is the domain of thermal imaging. Wavelengths used for photography range from about 700 nm to about 900 nm. Film is usually sensitive to visible light too, so an infrared-passing filter is used; this lets infrared (IR) light pass through to the camera, but blocks all or most of the visible light spectrum; these filters thus look black (opaque) or deep red.
A panchromatic emulsion is a type of photographic emulsion that is sensitive to all wavelengths of visible light, and produces a monochrome photograph—typically black and white. Most modern commercially available film is panchromatic, and the technology is usually contrasted with earlier methods that cannot register all wavelengths, especially orthochromatic film.
Technical Pan is an almost panchromatic black-and-white film that was produced by Kodak. While it can reproduce the visible light spectrum, it leans to the red, and so unfiltered outdoor shots render blues, most notably the sky, with additional darkening and reds with some lightening. It was generally used as a very slow film, rated at EI 25 or even 16, although it could be rated at up to EI 320 with a distinct loss of tonal range and a bunching of shadow and highlight detail. This film has unmatched fine grain, especially when rated at a low speed, and makes excellent enlargements while preserving fine details. Kodak stopped selling it in 2004. It has not been replaced by a film with its characteristics. Although some of its particularities were unique and no emulsion in actual production could replace it, its resolution capabilities were surpassed by another film by ADOX, CMS 20 II.
The ADOX brand for photographic purposes has been used by three different companies since its original conception over one hundred fifty years ago. ADOX was originally a brand name used by the German company, Fotowerke Dr. C. Schleussner GmbH of Frankfurt am Main, the world's first photographic materials manufacturer. In 1962 the Schleussner family sold its photographic holdings to DuPont, an American company. DuPont used the brand for its subsidiary, Sterling Diagnostic Imaging for X-ray films. In 1999, Sterling was bought by the German company Agfa. Agfa did not use the brand and allowed its registration to lapse in 2003. Fotoimpex of Berlin, Germany, a company founded in 1992 to import photographic films and papers from former eastern Europe immediately registered the brand and today ADOX is a brand of black and white films, photographic papers and photochemistry produced by ADOX Fotowerke GmbH based in Bad Saarow near Berlin.
A Super 8mm camera is a motion picture camera specifically manufactured to use the Super 8mm motion picture format. Super 8mm film cameras were first manufactured in 1965 by Kodak for their newly introduced amateur film format, which replaced the Standard 8 mm film format. Manufacture continued until the rise in popularity of video cameras in the mid-1970s. In 2014 the first new Super 8mm camera in 30 years was introduced by the Danish company Logmar Camera Solutions. Most other cameras readily available are from the 1960s through the 1980s.
Polaroid Type 55 film is a black-and-white peel-apart Polaroid film that yields both a positive print and a negative image that can be used to create enlargements.
Fujicolor Superia is a Fujifilm brand of daylight balanced colour negative film introduced ca.1998 primarily aimed at the consumer market, but was also sold in a professional 'press' variant. A key feature at launch was the '4th' cyan colour layer designed to provide improved colour reproduction under fluorescent lighting. Its Kodak equivalent is the Kodacolor Gold/Ultramax line.
Kodak Professional T-MAX Film is a continuous tone, panchromatic, tabular-grain black and white negative film originally developed and manufactured by Eastman Kodak since 1986. It is still manufactured by Eastman Kodak but distributed and marketed by Kodak Alaris, as with other products under Kodak Professional banner.
Photographic film is a strip or sheet of transparent film base coated on one side with a gelatin emulsion containing microscopically small light-sensitive silver halide crystals. The sizes and other characteristics of the crystals determine the sensitivity, contrast, and resolution of the film. Film is typically segmented in frames, that give rise to separate photographs.
Neopan was originally a family of black-and-white films from Japanese manufacturer Fujifilm for both professional and amateur use. The range now only comprises one film; Neopan ACROS 100 II, a traditional silver halide black and white film re-launched in 2019 and currently sold worldwide.