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Orthochromatic film is a type of photographic film that is sensitive to all colors of light except red. This means it can capture tones of blue, green, and yellow, but not red. While initially used for general photography, its primary applications now include photographing phosphor screens, such as those on cathode-ray tubes, and other situations where green sensitivity is needed but red sensitivity is not.12

Initially, photographic emulsions were only sensitive to ultraviolet and blue light. Sensitizing dyes were later added to extend sensitivity across the visible spectrum, leading to panchromatic films that record colors as gray tones corresponding to their visual brightness. Orthochromatic films, while not as comprehensive as panchromatic films, were an improvement over non-color-sensitized emulsions.1

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