My Pentacon Six TL shoots its first rolls of infrared film

I already have one dedicated infrared camera – my black Nikon Df was converted to a full-spectrum infrared shooter some time ago, and it works like a charm.

And I’ve also had some reasonable success with my new-to-me Pentacon Six TL medium-format film camera, it’s handled slide film and print film and B&W film like a champ.

Now for the big test. I need this Pentacon Six to handle anything I throw at it. And I mean anything. I need it to also shoot in infrared.

And to do that, I picked up some rolls of an infrared aerial film called AGFA Aviphot Pro 200. It’s a panchromatic B&W film that can be used in infrared photography when one attaches an R72 filter to the lens. Here’s the technical specs at this link.

So let’s give this a try. I ordered a pro-pack of AGFA Aviphot Pan 200 from an eBay seller in Mexico, and let’s see what this stuff can do.

Sunday morning, walking around Washington Park in downtown Albany, just after sunrise. Show me what you can do.

Yow. First shot out of the camera and I capture this? Scuse me while I dust off my shoulders.

Let’s go over to the lake at Washington Park. I should be able to snag a nice shot or two at that location.

Okay … I’m exposing this at 1/2 a second with an f-stop of f/8, and I’m just getting a tinge of grain in the sky. Not a crisis. Let’s try again.

Okay then. I can definitely work with this. The Pentacon Six TL just passed another test. It can handle infrared shooting. No light leaks or misfires.

Chuck likes. Chuck likes a lot.

Let’s keep going with this little beast, shall we? 😀