Monochrome enthusiasts will welcome the news of the reintroduction of ILFORD SFX 200 infrared film. Available from March 2007, ILFORD SFX 200 is a special red-filtered film perfect for landscapes, mountainscapes and similar subjects. “The revival of ILFORD SFX 200 film will enable those specialists who concentrate on outdoor photography to achieve a remarkable degree of control over their images,” commented ILFORD PHOTO marketing director Howard Hopwood. ILFORD SFX 200 is available in special value promotional packs which contain three rolls of 36x135 film plus an ILFORD COKIN P red filter.

Update: Ilford have also launched a competition called White Light, White Heat, which invites all amateur photographers to demonstrate their creative usage of ILFORD SFX 200 film.

ILFORD PHOTO Press Release

Monochrome enthusiasts will welcome the news of the reintroduction of ILFORD SFX 200 infrared film - the unique medium for adding incredible definition and texture control to outdoor black-and-white photography.

Black-and-white goes red

Underlining its commitment to the world of black-and-white photography, ILFORD PHOTO is in the process of reintroducing various specialist films. Leading this movement, and available from March 2007, is the much admired ILFORD SFX 200 infrared film.

ILFORD SFX 200 is a special red-filtered film perfect for landscapes, mountainscapes and similar subjects due to its ability to add high definition to green foliage, cloud formations and open skies, especially when combined with the ILFORD SFX 200 Cokin ‘P’ series mounted red filter. It is also popular with architectural photographers due to its characteristic for emphasising contrasting textures.

A medium speed panchromatic film, ILFORD SFX 200 is available in 35mm and 120 roll film. It has long been a favourite with specialist photographers, but was not continued when the company went through a corporate reorganisation in 2005. Because of its sensitivity, the film will be produced in small quantities on a ‘made on demand’ basis to ensure that it is always fresh and fully active.

“We have always been aware that the black-and-white market incorporates many photographers who revel in pushing the abilities of their film to the maximum in order to attain extreme results,” says ILFORD PHOTO marketing director Howard Hopwood.

“The revival of ILFORD SFX 200 film will enable those specialists who concentrate on outdoor photography to achieve a remarkable degree of control over their images, utilising all types of weather conditions to produce their ultimate visual concepts.”

A major user of ILFORD SFX 200 is professional photographer Dave Butcher (www.davebutcher.net ): “Most of my photography is with Ilford FP4+ 120 film,” he says “however, I use SFX for the striking effects it produces when foliage is producing infrared (in the Spring and Summer when the sun shines!). Unlike some infrared film, it can be handled in daylight with no special precautions, so it is very easy to use in the mountains where I spend much of my time.

“Another good reason to reach for the SFX is when there is a strong heat haze. It’s difficult to take big views on days like these with normal films like FP4+, but SFX with an infrared filter cuts through the haze and lets you get a shot of the view you can’t even see with the naked eye!”

ILFORD SFX 200 is available in special value promotional packs which contain three rolls of 36x135 film plus an ILFORD COKIN P red filter.

An ILFORD SFX 200 print competition is planned to encourage photographers to experience the versatility of this film, and to put their artistic talents to the test. Full details will be announced shortly.

A full technical data sheet on the ILFORD SFX 200 film can be downloaded from www.ilfordphoto.com

ILFORD PHOTO Press Release

To mark the relaunch of its amazing extended red sensitivity film, ILFORD SFX 200, ILFORD PHOTO has announced an international print competition to challenge the talents and abilities of enthusiast black-and-white photographers.

White Light,
White Heat
ILFORD PHOTO has launched a new competition called White Light, White Heat which invites all amateur photographers to demonstrate their creative usage of ILFORD SFX 200 film.

Widely used by professional photographers to achieve remarkable and highly innovative effects with dramatic and unusual tonal reproduction, while also avoiding ‘white out’ when photographing in conditions of heat haze, ILFORD SFX 200 is now available from ILFORD PHOTO stockists in 35mm and 120 formats.

This unique ISO200/24ºC black-and-white film offers the creative photographer opportunities not available with conventional monochrome films. This is due to its advanced emulsion with extended red sensitivity which allows the use of filters ranging from yellow to deep red to create outstanding contrast and textural effects.

ILFORD SFX 200 has been reintroduced by ILFORD PHOTO after an absence from the company’s film catalogue, and is being launched with a special value promotional pack of three rolls of 35mm ILFORD SFX 200 plus an ILFORD Cokin ‘P’ filter.

The ILFORD SFX 200 competition offers a first prize of a professionally framed print of the winning image plus £200 of ILFORD PHOTO products. The second and third place winners will receive £100 and £50 of ILFORD PHOTO products respectively.

For more information on the fabulous ILFORD SFX 200 film, visit www.ilfordphoto.com and for rules and entry form for the ILFORD SFX 200 competition, log onto www.ilfordphoto.com/sfx

ILFORD PHOTO Press Release

Professional photographer Dave Butcher has a lifetime’s experience of using and understanding ILFORD black-and-white film. He is recognised as one of the world’s leading exponents of black-and-white landscape photography, so when he advocates the use of a particular type of film, he is speaking from practical application and highly rated professional assessment.

ILFORD SFX
at the peak
Dave Butcher has long been a keen user of ILFORD SFX 200 film, and welcomes the return of this remarkable product as ILFORD PHOTO announces its re-introduction to the company’s portfolio of leading black-and-white films.

“I especially like to use SFX 200 for the striking effects it produces when foliage is producing infrared in the spring and summer when the sun shines,” he says. “Unlike some infrared film, it can be handled in daylight with no special precautions, so it is very easy to use in the mountains where I spend much of my time.”

Butcher finds that the best effects are produced with a special filter (the ILFORD Cokin ‘P’ filter) which cuts off virtually all of the visible light and so makes the exposure with just infrared light.

“Without the filter, the film behaves much as ILFORD HP5+ film would if you rated it at ISO200,” he explains. “However, with the filter it gives an effect similar to using two filters at the same time: a deep red filter to darken skies and increase contrast with clouds etc. and a green filter to lighten any green foliage which gives off infrared light. A good example is seen in my mountain shot of Kinderscout from Cracken Edge.

“The filter needs an extra four stops of exposure, and the uncertainty in the amount of infrared around at any one time needs a further one or two stops. It is best to take several shots at different exposures to make sure you have a suitable negative to print. A tripod is essential as long exposure times are necessary - the effective film speed after filtering and bracketing is around ISO10 for infrared shots!

“If using an SLR camera, the composition must be fixed before putting the filter on the lens. A rangefinder camera, such as the Mamiya 7 which I use, is perfect because you compose the picture without needing to look through the lens.

“Foliage gives off infrared when the sun shines, and it can be surprising how little sunshine is needed to make for striking pictures. Conifer trees give off very little infrared, but deciduous trees such as willows, silver birch, beech and aspens, are excellent, as are brackens and grasses.

“You can see this in the ‘Punt and Clare Bridge’ shot with the willow trees, and in the ‘Lone Tree’ image where a beech tree and grasses show a similar effect.

“ILFORD SFX 200 can also give surprising effects; the shot in ‘Lota Corrie, Isle of Skye’ contains no trees but lots of heather and rocks. The SFX version shows a strong infrared lightening across the corrie which wasn’t picked up by the ILFORD FP4+ exposures. It presumably comes from lichen or plants that are localised across the Corrie and would normally go unnoticed, but it really lifts the photograph.

“Another good reason to reach for the SFX is when there is a strong heat haze. It’s difficult to take big views on days like these with normal films like FP4+. However, SFX 200 with an infrared filter cuts through the haze and lets you get a shot of the view that you can’t even see with the naked eye! The view of ‘Ingleborough from Whernside’ is an example of this.

“To see the full infra-red effect on prints, using high contrast processing is essential. On ILFORD Multigrade papers this usually means grades 4 to 5. Printing at these grades allows more graphic images to be produced: dark tree trunks and light leaves can be especially striking, such as the ‘Lone Tree’ and ‘Notre Dame’ shots.

“For landscapes with a degree of sunshine, ILFORD SFX 200 can produce fantastic images which are still realistic and believable. I leave the more extreme infrared films from other manufacturers alone as they often produce almost surreal images, and that isn’t what I want.

“All in all, ILFORD SFX 200 is the perfect film for pulling out the infrared element of any image, and really controlling the influence of light on everything we see. That, surely, is the very essence of true photography.”

For samples of Dave Butcher’s work, visit www.davebutcher.net and for information on ILFORD SFX 200 and other fine films in the ILFORD PHOTO stable, visit www.ilfordphoto.com

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