Maco IR 820c

Hans O. Mahn started distributing photographic materials out of Stapelfeld near Hamburg in 1971, and Macophot was the trading brand they put on infrared and specialty films that other coaters made for them. The IR 820c was made for Maco by Fotokemika in Croatia, the factory that also coated Efke film. When that arrangement ended and Fotokemika reorganized, the 820c went with it. The Efke IR 820 that Freestyle distributed afterward was the same coating under a different label.

The headline number is 820. Sensitivity extends to roughly 850 nanometers, well past the panchromatic range and into actual infrared territory. Most current films called infrared top out around 750 nm, including Rollei Infrared 400 and Ilford SFX 200. The 820c reaches further than either, though Kodak's long-gone HIE went further still at roughly 900 nm. With a Hoya R72 filter you get strong Wood effect on foliage, deep black skies, and the kind of haze reduction landscape shooters chase. Heliopan's 715 nm pushes it harder still.

Rate it at ISO 3 to 6 with an R72 filter. Without a filter, around ISO 100 in daylight, though the entire point of the film is the filter work. The original 820c had an anti-halation backing that kept point sources clean; the AURA variant skipped it deliberately, trading sharpness for the glowing halos some IR shooters prefer. Develop in ID-11, Rodinal, or Moersch EFG. Avoid high-acutance recipes.

Format availability is the bad news. The Maco-branded coating has not been made since the Fotokemika cooperation ended. Retailers list it sporadically, mostly old 2007 stock at prices that reflect scarcity. Modern IR shooters generally reach for Rollei Infrared 400 or Ilford SFX 200, both closer to 720 nm and needing shorter exposures.

Reciprocity exponent is 1.31. Zone Light Meter applies the correction past one second. A 30-second meter reading lands at about 90 seconds at the negative. With an R72 filter cutting exposure by six to eight stops, you cross that threshold the moment you step outside on anything but the brightest noon, so the correction matters on almost every frame.