Bluefire® high-resolution film and chemistry
| Bluefire® Police™
is an ultra-high-resolution 35mm film and developer combination, originally formulated for
surveillance photography, identification, and documentation. It can be enlarged beyond
the resolution limits of your lenses without losing detail to grain.
Scientists, engineers, and technologists value it for the extremes of magnification it makes possible. However, unlike traditional high-resolution films, it has a beautiful, long panchromatic gray scale and biting clarity. |
| Noted authority Geoffrey Crawley reviewed Bluefire Police in the July 11, 2005 issue of Amateur Photographer, Great Britain's weekly photo magazine, and called it "...an exciting new b&w material capable of outstanding image quality, especially in the definition of the finest detail." |
| Your "Police film" works well with Contax CZ lenses. The coating and sharpness seem to do the film well. Kalispell, Montana |
Ordering information :
Orders placed on this page are directed to our on-line retail affiliate,
The Frugal Photographer, and are shipped from Nampa, Idaho. |
 Bluefire Police 135-24 35mm film, EI 80 Process in Bluefire HR Developer for pictorial photography, or Bluefire Micro for high-contrast photography (developers sold separately, below).
35-24, 24-exposure for use in standard 35mm cameras. Set your camera manually to ISO 80 for pictorial use, or ISO 100 for high-contrast technical photography. An excellent upgrade from Efke 25 or Agfa's discontinued AgfaPan APX25, with similar contrast but much finer microstructure and significantly more speed. Less grain than T-Max 100 and Delta 100, and with different image qualities. Can also be processed for pictorial use in POTA, Formulary TD-3, Kodak Technidol, Maco LP Supergrain, and similar ultra-low contrast developers (effective film speed may be lower with these developers). For high contrast, process in Kodak D-19 or Bluefire Micro. Rescue old, yellowed photographs by copying them onto Bluefire Police through a blue filter, which blocks yellow light. Kodak
Technical Pan is no longer being manufactured. |
6-roll Trial Pack: 6 rolls with pre-mixed liquid developer concentrate, 144 images total.
Buy in bulk and save 12 roll carton (buy developer separately):
Item: BP1352412
Bluefire HR developer
Item:
BHR1L
Item:
1022-500
Prices are in $US. For currency conversion, click here.
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per roll
per 12 rolls
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Bluefire™ HR Developer Concentrate for pictorial photography |
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Use this developer to process Bluefire Police film exposed at EI 80, for pictorial photography. The resulting image has a full and rich gray scale and extremely high resolution. Images can be enlarged beyond the resolution limits of your lenses without loss of detail to grain. Compatible with any stop bath and any ordinary photographic fixer. For complete instructions click here (requires Adobe Acrobat reader). Also gives excellent results with most microfilms, and high-contrast 35mm document films. This developer produces extremely low contrast when used to develop ordinary black and white films that have been conventionally exposed. The 30-ml sample size has been pre-mixed for your convenience and will process two rolls of film. The 500-ml package is shipped as a pre-mixed liquid concentrate in a collapsible pouch bag. You can easily squeeze it to exclude air as you withdraw the concentrate, which prolongs its shelf life after opening. It will process 33 rolls of film. The 1-litre (approximately 1 US quart) package is shipped as dry powder. Mix it with hot tap water to make concentrate sufficient for processing 66 rolls of film. Add 15ml of concentrate to 235ml of water to make 250 ml (approx. 8-1/2 oz) of working solution, to process one roll of 35mm film. Use the working solution once and then discard. Compatible with all ordinary stop baths and fixers. To order on-line, click the Add To Cart button. When you finish shopping, you can choose from several shipping methods. You can pay on-line with VISA/MasterCard, or PayPal. Or you can print out your order and mail it to us with your personal check or money order. |
Sample size Bluefire HR
liquid developer concentrate
Mix with hot tap water to make 1 litre of concentrate (processes 66 rolls) Item: BHR1L: 
Bluefire HR liquid
concentrate Item: 1022-500: 
Prices are in $US |
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Should you choose dry powder or liquid? Shelf life: dry powder in its sealed package has an almost indefinite shelf life. Once mixed with water, its shelf life can be as short as a few days unless it is sealed away from contact with air. Properly sealed and refrigerated, it can be stored for several months, perhaps as long as a year or two, depending on the quality of your tap water. Liquid concentrate should be used within one year of purchase, to be absolutely safe, but should have a shelf life of at least two years. Convenience: dry powder must be mixed in hot water, and can require prolonged stirring. Liquid concentrate is used directly from the pouch bag, which can then be squeezed to exclude air and re-sealed. Shipping restrictions: dry powder can be shipped safely by any means. Liquid concentrate is not hazardous, but since it is a liquid it may face shipping restrictions, depending on your destination. Shipping cost: Liquid is much heavier than dry powder and shipping costs are proportionately higher.
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| Bluefire Micro Developer for high-contrast document photography | |
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Item: BMI1L
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| Feature | Benefit|
| Extremely fine grain | Negatives can be enlarged to extreme sizes without image degradation due to grain. In general, you will be able to enlarge a 35mm negative to a degree beyond the power of your camera and enlarger lenses to resolve detail, and still not lose detail to grain. Grain is usually not apparent until 50x enlargement, and remains inconspicuous even on enlargements at 4' x 6' (1.2 x 2 m). |
| High resolution | The film resolves extreme image detail. All images have an upper limit to resolution — with Bluefire Police, that upper limit is a function of the lenses used, and not of the film. |
| Thin emulsion | The photosensitive emulsion is approximately half the thickness of ordinary films, yet contains the same amount of silver. The thin emulsion results in less internal light scatter, which improves sharpness. High silver density yields images rich in tonal values when correctly exposed and processed. |
| Clear base | Shadow and highlight microstructure remain apparent at high degrees of enlargement. Clear light-dark transitions at the edge of microstructural elements enhances the subjective impression of clarity and sharpness. |
| Anti-halation dye undercoat | The pink anti-halation layer stops light from reflecting back into the emulsion from the film base during exposure, which contributes to this film's remarkable sharpness. It is washed out in processing, leaving a harmless pink color in your fixer. When completely fixed, the film base is completely clear. |
| Dual purpose | When exposed at EI 100 and processed in high-contrast
chemistry, such as Kodak D-19 or Bluefire Micro, it yields grainless high-contrast images and is especially suited to use in
libraries and in the field by researchers and genealogists for materials
which cannot be photocopied. It is in regular use as a technical film,
recording image elements as small as ten microns wide (a micron is
1/1000 of a millimeter).
When exposed at 80 and processed in Bluefire HR developer, it yields continuous-tone pictorial images with a rich gray scale, and is especially suited to surveillance, engineering and research documentation, and art photography. |
| Panchromatic | Bluefire Police records approximately the same portion of the visible spectrum that is seen by the human eye. It has normal panchromatic sensitivity to all colors, including red, so that its effective speed is not changed by exposure in outdoor shade (which is deficient in red wavelengths) or in normal indoor room lighting (which can be either too red or not red enough). |
| Available with an optimized developer | Bluefire HR liquid developer concentrate gives pictorial graduation and full film speed when paired with Bluefire Police. You can also process Bluefire Police in POTA, Formulary TD-3, Maco LP Supergrain, Kodak Technidol, and similar low-contrast developers. |
