8mm Forum: Polavision revival , IMPOSSIBLE ???

This is topic Polavision revival , IMPOSSIBLE ??? in forum 8mm Forum at 8mm Forum.

To visit this topic, use this URL:
https://8mmforum.film-tech.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=010076

Posted by Alex Garcia (Member # 4080) on July 06, 2015, 05:01 PM:

I have a full old Polavision equipment , all this are in some incredible conditions, seems new and works great. Try to shoot multiple cartridges expired in 1983! But it seems impossible to get any type of image with these old cartridges ... and it is not problem of the film emulsion, I happened to cut a small part and process it as a negative bw (the results were acceptable images, taking into account the expiration of material).

It seems that the chemistry inside the polavision cartridges, over the years it returns to a more solid state ...
The final conclusion is that the chemistry inside the cartridge Polavision, fails to fall on the film, and does not handle any reaction with the film.

I tried to warm the cartridge Polavision with a hair dryer, but I still have not achieved anything .....

Does anyone have another idea?

Maybe my cartridges were not well preserved over the years, has anyone recently gotten results , visible images with Polavision expired cartridges ? (I've seen cartridges sell with more advanced dates, 1987, 89 ...) but I not if I get the same results ... nothing visible [Frown]

Another question I have is if someone around here has some of these cartridges for sale. I only have two units more, and I would like to continue experimenting with this ...

Posted by Scott Alexander (Member # 6306) on January 29, 2018, 06:04 PM:

Alex! I share the same dream, and yesterday I tried shooting two rolls of Polavision! They had expiration dates of July 1979. I acquired a working camera and a working projector for the big experiment.
We had a lot of fun running around in front of the camera. We tried one roll outside and one roll inside. BUT... we got no exposure of any kind. When we played it back, it just looked like clear leader, with little specks on it. I was disappointed, though I knew in advance that film that expired 39 years ago was probably doomed! My assumption is that the chemicals just dried up.
The only odd observation is that the "developing time" was much longer than the manual said it should be. The film went back and forth a few times, playing and rewinding, before the lamp decided to turn on and do playback.
Am I the last person alive who will try to shoot Polavision?
Best, Scott

UBB.classic^TM 6.3.1.2