Astrophotography Films
by Tim Printy

It has been sometime since I talked about films for astrophotography.  Lately, I
have been disappointed in the FUJI 800G film.  This is mainly due to changes in
the emulsion to the "Plus" category.  While the film still is good for galaxies,
it's red response is less than acceptable compared to other films.  I have
recently been scanning the Internet and found an excellent page on
astrophotography by Jerry Lodigruss.  Here, he reports some tests he has been
doing.  About a year ago, I recommended Kodak PPF as a film for photography but I
was pretty satisified with the 800G.  Now, PPF is THE film of choice.  PPF can be
found at Colonial Photo and Hobby as well as Harmon's.  Even unhyperred, this
film beats 800G for red response beyond about 5-10 minutes.  Hyperred, this film
is excellent.  I am sure Kodak is trying to change this film as we speak to once
again rob amateurs of a wonderful film of astrophotography (FUJI has done this
two or three times in past years).  Also, Kodak has a new film out that really
looks very good.  It is called Ektapress Multispeed and comes in two speeds.  The
first is PJM and is ISO 400.  The other is PJM-2 and is ISO 640.  The PJM-2 was
tested by Jerry and its red response was excellent.  This could be the film of
choice.  Both Colonial Photo and Harmons should start to carry this film in the
near future, if not already.  Take a look and I hope to test a roll soon.