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WHAT TO USE
Comet West was a wonderful sight in the predawn sky back in 1976. But fast, fine-grain, colornegative films werent available then. The only
color emulsions that had a chance of capturing
the comets glory were slide films such as Kodak
High Speed Ektachrome and Fujichrome 100.
Times have changed. Almost any of todays
high-speed, color-negative films should produce
decent photographs of bright comets like HaleBopp. An informal poll of veteran astroimagers
points to Fujicolor Super G 800 Plus as one of
the best and most versatile emulsions currently
available. This film performs well whether it is
exposed at the focus of a guided SchmidtCassegrain or with an ordinary camera having a
50-millimeter lens on a stationary tripod. The
Super G 800 Pluss off-the-shelf capability allows it to be used without gas hypersensitization,
though hypering is recommended for long exposures. Its grain is much closer to those of ISO400 films than to the ISO 1600s.
The Super G 800 Plus will easily record bluish
objects, like Comet Hyakutake, as well as the
yellowish dust tail expected from Comet HaleBopp. Its fast speed makes it perfect for composing artistic shots of a bright comet looming over
faintly illuminated foreground subjects (see the
June 1996 cover). Seasoned astrophotographers
Michael Stecker and Bob Yen gave the Super G
800 Plus high marks during their Hyakutake sessions from dark-sky sites.
Another top choice is Kodaks new, slower
speed, color-negative Pro 400 (PPF) film. According to veteran astroimager Tony Hallas, the Pro
Astrophotographers usually prefer slow, finegrain films for the wide-field, deep-sky shots that
Schmidt cameras produce. Owing to their fast optical systems (usually f/2 or faster), exposures of
only a few minutes are needed even with moderate-speed emulsions. Films rated at ISO 100 to
400 are commonly used with Schmidts.
The incredible image quality and resolution of
Kodaks Ektapress 100 color-negative film made
it seem like a perfect choice for Schmidt photography as Comet Hyakutake drew close to Earth
early last March. However, after exposing several frames of Ektapress 100 with my 8-inch f/1.5
Schmidt, I was surprised to see that all the bright
stars on the prints were red! Alpha Librae appeared even redder than Antares (see the May
1996 cover). Although the contrast and grain of
the images were good, those red- colored stars
couldnt be corrected in the darkroom. The same
effect happened when I later tried Fujicolors
Super G 100 and Super HG 100 more beautiful negatives with red stars! In fact, the brighter
the star, the redder it appeared.
According to a customer-service representative
at Kodaks Rochester headquarters, the red stars
may be caused by halation or spreading of the
light within this particular films emulsion layers.
(This seems reasonable because I have seen sim-
FILM AVAILABILITY
Kodaks Tech Pan 2415 can be found at most
large camera stores and comes in 150-foot bulk
rolls and 36-exposure cassettes. Tech Pan emulsions in 120, 4-by-5-inch, and larger formats are
usually available in stores catering to professional photographers. Astronomy dealers like Lumicon of Livermore, California, sell prehypered 2415
in 36- exposure rolls for $11.95 each.
The Fujicolor Super G 800 Plus comes only in
35-mm, 36-exposure rolls. It is sold in 20-roll
press packs, each costing more than $100, but
many stores sell individual rolls. Considering the
duration of Comet Hale-Bopps apparition, a 20roll pack might not be enough!
Kodaks Ektachrome P1600 also comes in 35mm only. Small stores may not carry this film but
larger ones should have several rolls in their
freezers. The Pro 400 comes in 35-mm, 120-, and
220-formats, while the PJM-2, which was released late last year, is available only in 35-mm.
Dramatic photographs of Hale-Bopp are within the capability of almost all amateurs, even if
they have never imaged a comet before. Virtually
all present-day, high-speed color films, coupled
with modern cameras and lenses, can easily produce pictures rivaling those taken of Comet West
more than two decades ago. If the brief but spectacular appearance of Comet Hyakutake was indeed a dress rehearsal, 1997 may feature yet another great comet. A treasure trove of portraits
could carry us over through another 20-year
comet drought.
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