Kodak Verichrome Pan type 122

Type 122 is one of the largest roll films introduced by Kodak in 1903 and manufactured till 1970 or 1971. This type of film was used in Folding Kodak and Brownie cameras 3 and 3A. Ensign produced a number of 3¼ folding cameras from simple Popular and Ensign models to advanced de Luxe. ICA and Contessa-Nettel manufactured Nixe A and Cocarette 522/17 cameras, respectively. The production was continued by Zeiss Ikon after the companies were merged in 1926.

Initially, the film was designed for 10 exposures, but later the length was reduced to accommodate 6 frames, which is the case with Kodak Verichrome Pan.

Anton Orlov of The Photo Palace Bus has a blog post on shooting Kodak 3A using expired Kodak Verichrome Pan film. Anton had one of the last rolls produced in this format which had the expiration date of December 1972. There is a photo in his blog of the roll with the sticker advising the user that the manufacturing of type 122 film will be discontinued in 1970. James Harr went as far as making his own 122 type film by slicing aerographic film into appropriate width and cutting the backing out of light-tight polymer sheet material.

Developing type 122 film introduces some challenges. I am not aware of any developing tanks or spools produced in the last 60 years that would support this format. It is not clear if Verichrome Pan would be compatible with the earlier Kodak Daylight Film Developing Tanks as this system was designed for films that were attached to the backing paper on both ends allowing it to be taut emulsion side out on the reel with a light-tight apron.

I ended up adapting a standard reel for Paterson Tank with the help of some plumbing supplies from the local hardware store. It looked similar to the one in Anton's blog, except the reducing insert for the larger diameter half of the reel was made out of a PVC pipe coupler without sacrificing a second reel. A second PVC coupler was cut to act as a spacer between the two parts of the standard reel. A hose clamp on the centre column kept this contraption together.

The film was developed in HC-110 dilution B for 6 minutes at 18 °C. Four out of six frames were exposed, the rest of the roll was unused. The content of the images does not provide any clues as to when the film was shot. Judging by its condition it must be sometime in the 60s.