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until I sell one of the kids so I can afford a Phase One 100mp digital back, I'm stuck with my trusty 4x5 ;)

my process is currently digital after developing; I process my 120 & 4x5 film (C41 and B&W) with a CPP2 system and then wet scan with a V800
From then on it's Capture One and Photoshop and then...

care to elaborate?

Whats the general consensus on the shelf life of flexicolor chemistry? (i.e. in practice, not from the spec sheet)

I'm specifically interested in decanted unmixed chemicals.
I'm storing in 1L...

yeah, unfortunately the developer is $13.99 but the shipping is $74, plus: "May require additional shipping fees after order is placed."

Good news if we're going in the right direction - alas still no availability on the core chemicals though: i.e. Kodak flexicolor developer & bleach replenishers etc

Hi
Thanks for all your comments. I hope you dont mind me asking some further advice?

I think I may have found a source for the kodak flexicolor chemicals (rather than the blix kits) and this is...

Hi Thomas

unfortunately I cant seem to get hold of C41 liquid kits in Canada. B&H dont ship the replenishers. So it's powder blix kits only

wow thanks Rob, thats a really cool link.

now I need to find out what Ammonium Bromide is, and if I can use:

HEXADECYLTRIMETHYL AMMONIUM BROMIDE
CETYLDIMETHYLETHYL AMMONIUM BROMIDE ...

I wish this thread would get back to us finding solutions for getting chemistry if you're unable to walk into B&H personally.

Its very disappointing to be able to buy starter but not the...

I'm curious if I decide to take a trip to NYC, if I can pick up C-41 chemicals from B&H and drive back over the border to Canada without too many problems at customs.

(not that I fancy driving to...

Thanks
I am assuming you have separate bleech and fix then?

I cannot get hold of flexicolor in Toronto (without paying hundreds of dollars in shipping) so I am limited to the press kits with...

for a $13 bottle of developer starter sent to canada:

UPS Worldwide Express $75.58
UPS Worldwide Expedited $70.33
UPS Worldwide Express Plus $134.24
UPS Saver $75.94

I'm moving to a new house in Jan, where I plan on building myself a dedicated darkroom. Will happily document the build (and am on the lookout for any tips/thoughts/comments but didnt want to hijack...

thanks

by shelf life, do you mean storing after you've mixed them?

Because of the difficulty in getting hold of the kits, I was tempted to buy up a few, and then mix 1/2 or a 1/3 of the powders...

thanks all
I'll try Argentix

Are we limited to those unicolor press kits these days?

I am a low volume 4x5 shooter; maybe 10 exposures a month, at the moment. But I expect that to increase in the new year.
I have a Jobo CPP2 with lift and expert drum - this works brilliantly for the...

Hi
B&H seem to be 'pick up only' now on C41 and E6 chemicals, and I cant be bothered to drive to NYC from Toronto

I can get B&W powders from a store downtown, but they dont do colour kits.
does...

Thank you for that Bruce, I appreciate such a comprehensive reply.

Thanks all
I'm going to take another shot and print that out at the max I can at home (a3+) and see what it looks like and go from there

thanks
do you have any suggestions?

Hi

I am beginning with LF and trying to work out whether I am expecting too much from my LF camera/films, or if there is a failure in my process, with regards to focus and detail.
I am thinking...

thanks
unfortunately I don't have any other lenses. I only got a 90mm because I wanted to go for big landscape work on LF, I use MF for everything else.

and a closeup:

I used Ilford delta 100, and f/8
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thanks Jim

I tried a ruler test (not sure if I did it right) although the sun has blown out the top 1/2 of the ruler - I wanted to get it in a bright environment to maximise my GG view

I...

am I expecting too much from my images/film/camera ? I was expecting to resolve a lot more detail , particularly in the rocks and trees than I appear to be getting

so I went out to do a quick test this morning - no need to crit the image, it was a guesstimate exposure :)
This is the full frame:
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and here you can see far, mid and mid/close crops, they...

what would be the reason to go for a finer grit?

I only used the 400 grit but saw others went to 600 or even 800

would this impact on the brightness of the screen or is it just going to affect...

I took some measurements with the lens out. From the ground glass to the lens board, and then the same measurement with a burnt negative in a holder. The film is 2mm further back from the lens than...

I was disappointed with the stock GG on my Shen Hao, and given that I've had focusing problems, adding a fresnel between it and the lens wasnt appealing.
So I looked into creating my own GG in the...

Thanks for your comments I will try and answer them

I am not using a fresnel at all - only the GG
The ground side is facing the lens
I am using a mixture of film holders, Lisco Regal, RITEWAY...

thanks Jac
are there any walk through of aerial focusing? I've been searching but can only find vague referencing to the process, drilling holes, using thin wire etc. Nothing comprehensive

Thats a very good point. All the talk of tolerances yet people have been getting sharp images for many years before I came alone with my fat fingers.

I did another loupe test last night, and found...

thanks all, I'll recheck my focusing and try a B&W test with a ruler to check the neg/GG alignment

any suggestions on a good loupe?

The loupe is pretty cheap/basic

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/798855-REG/Kalt_NP10158_8x_AGFA_Style_Loupe.html

Hi
I'm having a bit of trouble with soft images.

I'm using a Shen Hao 4 x5 with a 90mm rodenstock lens. I have a good solid tripod and am focusing with a loupe on the standard GG

I focus with...

you're not wrong. I remember waiting for the sunrise watching my coffee go solid and saw ice forming up the legs of my tripod before my eyes. It was like a scene from The Day after Tomorrow.

I shared these over on LuLa and really doing this kind of stuff what what made me think about LF and getting detail
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a reasonable suggestion :)

sourcing the grit/compound seems a little tricky here, so was just considering alternatives