Svema Foto 64 (120, 64 iso) User-Review

17

The Mysterious Svema from Ukraine: I bought the expired Black & White 120 film from eBay last year because of its Retro Pop Art influenced packaging. I popped them in my trusty Holga, shot in a bright day and what a surprise after I developed the film!

The patches of white dots on the grainy pictures were probably due to the film been expired (1992). But They added textures and retro feel to the photos and it sure looked as if they were a blast from the past! Very unique and cool!

Svema (Ukrainian: Свема) is a registered trade mark and former name ("NPO “Svema”) of the Shostka Chemical Plant, located in Shostka, Sumy Oblast, Ukraine. It was founded in 1931 in then Ukrainian SSR.

“Svema” used to be the major photographic film manufacturer in the USSR, but their film lost market share in former Soviet countries to imported products during the late 1990s. They made black-and-white photographic film, photographic paper as well as B&W and colour cine film until 2000. Svema products were known among enthusiasts as an easy and sturdy product for beginners in home film development and printing.

Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svema

written by lawypop on 2010-04-27 #gear #bw #review #film-review #black-white #120-film #ukraine #holga-gn #svema

17 Comments

  1. stijn_b
    stijn_b ·

    Cool effect indeed. I've never heard of the film, great review and great shots!

  2. paramir
    paramir ·

    amazing gallery! the added texture is just perfect... it is nice to get lucky with an expired film... :)

  3. dogma
    dogma ·

    Yeee this oldy film rocks! you can still find some of them in the seas of Internet :))

  4. stouf
    stouf ·

    Never heard of it... Crazy grain !

  5. wil6ka
    wil6ka ·

    tschernobyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyl - this film has been exposed to radioactivity! ;)

  6. grad
    grad ·

    Pure Soviet Retro

  7. amsyarhilman
    amsyarhilman ·

    Love the effect !

  8. rodex
    rodex ·

    Loved the grain. Awesome

  9. mcrstar
    mcrstar ·

    svema and tasma forever! I have around 30 items lying in the refrigerator and don't know what to do with its :)

  10. azurblue
    azurblue ·

    Very special effects ! Wow !

  11. vicuna
    vicuna ·

    Superb shots! And the white dots give all the shots a fantastic texture and light, almost looks like double expositions with a starlight background! I guess this can be the next Film review of the week... :)))

  12. lawypop
    lawypop ·

    Thanks guys for your fantastic comments! Expired film do have their charm :)
    @vicuna : thanks for encouraging words!

  13. pith
    pith ·

    I wish I had few rolls of film, produced in USSR: Svema, Tasma, Orwo... hope to find it somewhere in my city :(

  14. mikahsupageek
    mikahsupageek ·

    amazing result !

  15. ipdegirl
    ipdegirl ·

    great pictures! i love the grainy, dotty effect. thanks for sharing your results. BTW--loving the Delaware shirt in the first shot. it's my home state!

  16. lawypop
    lawypop ·

    @pith: i tried my luck online :P
    @mikahsupageek : thanks!
    @ipdegirl: thankyou! haha i bought the tee in Barcelona some years ago :P

  17. norayr
    norayr ·

    how did you shoot it? as iso 64? as iso 8? thank you.

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