Charles Baldeck , Jul 13, 2000; 02:31 p.m.
I've been photographing weddings for about 5 years now, and I'm
thinking of using 70mm film for weddings. I've acquired some
Hasselblad equipment; an ELM body, a 70mm back, the RM2 prism and
some empty 70mm cassettes. As I see it, the main advantage of doing
it this way is that I'd be able to cover a whole wedding with a
couple of loaded 70mm backs and avoid either buying a lot of
(expensive) A24 Hasselblad backs, or the too-frequent reloading of 1
or 2 backs, which always seem to run out of film at an inopportune
time and location.
The B&H website shows Kodak Portra 160 NC available in 70mm
cassettes, and the Portra 400NC available in 100-ft. rolls. These
two films would meet my requirements. A friend has a 70mm bulk
loader I could borrow (he has never used 70mm film) and I've had
enough experience in bulk loading 35mm film, that I am confident I
could load the 70mm cassettes OK.
But I have the nagging feeling that I may be missing some key
element; if this is such a great idea, how come nobody else seems to
be doing it? For one thing, no wedding photographer I've been able
to talk to has ever used 70mm film. I inquired of my regular lab
today (Buckeye Color Lab, in Canton, Ohio) and they can process 70mm
film, but they told me they can only do contact proofing or "flow
proofing" or enlarged proofs to 4x5 (not 5x5). Is there a problem
finding a lab to process and make standard 5x5 proofs from 70mm?
After processing, I'd have a square negative just like any other, and
could tape it to the crop cards in the normal way.
Do any wedding photographers actually use 70mm film? It would
seem to be idal for weddings, but I cannot find any photographer who
is doing this. What am I missing? Any suggestions would be
appreciated.
Charles Baldeck
kevin kolosky 
, Jul 13, 2000; 03:05 p.m.
Chuck
many years ago I used 70mm film with a hasselblad elm just as you suggest. I stopped using the elm when people complained that it made too much noise during the ceremony.
As for the 70 mm film you are correst. It is great as far has not having to change backs. But as you point out, most people don't want to go to the hassle of loading it which takes time, and the special handling of getting it processed (making sure you get your cassettes back) But the MAIN thing you have to remember is that when you use 70 mm film you increase your risk. Hell, I don't even use 220 film anymore. If something happens to a 22o roll you lose 24 photographs.
If something happens to that 70mm roll of film how many do you lose.whereas if something happens to one of my 12 exposure rolls I only lose 12. The risk is very small, but it is there.
So again, the main two things are the inconvienience of loading and processing, and the risk of losing alot of photographs if something goes wrong with the entire roll.
Kevin
Jerry Litynski 
, Jul 13, 2000; 04:15 p.m.
Plus a couple of other items to consider:
1. The lab will be responsible only for replacement film if they
screw up the 70mm run.
2. Most labs do not have a 70mm carrier to give you the 5x5 print
you are looking for: that is why they will produce the 4x5 print
(probably.)
Good luck...
Wayne Crider , Jul 13, 2000; 11:53 p.m.
My local pro lab doesn't mess with 70mm anymore and didn't know anybody who did. I think this size is becoming more a do-it-yourself situation. I do know that there are a few labs that will develop it, but do you want to ship it away? IF Hassleblad takes inserts use them instead and leave the 70mm to play with. BTW, Roland Elliot, one of the guys on photonet uses 70mm and is starting to sell reels and tanks for it. Do a 70mm search or look up his name. Jobo does have them but they retail at more than $300.
Roger Urban , Dec 20, 2000; 03:24 p.m.
Pro labs in Chicago process 70mm film. Last time I checked with Gamma labs around the time Photobition bought them, price was $1/foot for processing.
I'm surprised 70mm isn't used more often. There are several MF cameras that have 70mm backs. It is perfect for weddings, and also very handy for some sporting events. You can live without it in the studio. I have seen some tremendous deals for 70mm film.
If I was doing weddings again - which I hate to do..."Hey Roge, I want you to shoot my wedding. How much?" "$10,000" "Ten thousand dollars?!?!" .... I'd definitly use 70mm, no doubt about it.
Wish the contax 645 had a 70mm back for it, as then I'd get even more shots per roll, with convenient auto-focusing Zeiss lenses.
