Rollei Retro 80S

Retro 80S started life as aerial surveillance film and that origin is legible in every frame. The base is clear PET rather than the standard gray or brown acetate; the anti-halation layer is a removable dye coating rather than silver backing, which means the film scans with unusually high acutance and without the gray-base density that shows up in most conventional negatives when you scan them.

The extended red sensitivity is the other defining trait. The spectral response runs well past where standard panchromatic film cuts off, into territory that used to require a proper infrared stock. In practice this means that blue skies go dark gray in prints without any filtration at all. Add a yellow or orange filter and skies go nearly black. Add an R72 deep red filter and you are into partial infrared territory, with foliage lightening noticeably and open shadows acquiring a luminous quality.

Rating is 80 ISO in box speed, though shooters who want the maximum sky effect with filtration often rate it at 50 and develop normally. The grain is moderate and sharp-edged, consistent with the aerial heritage; Rodinal brings it out with more texture, while finer-grain developers like Perceptol or XTOL soften the structure somewhat.

This is a 35mm and 120 film. There is no sheet film version, which limits its use in large-format landscape work where it would otherwise have obvious appeal.

The reciprocity exponent is 1.31, and long exposures at dusk or in IR-filter situations come up often with this film. Zone Light Meter handles the correction from one second onward. If you are using an R72 filter, your effective EV loss is typically 4 to 5 stops depending on the light source, so the exposure times landing in reciprocity territory are common.