Ilford DDX Delta 100

[ian Humphrey]

Hi
Im new to 5x4 photography and was wondering if anyone out there had any experience on Ilford Delta 100 rated at 100 iso in DDX 20 oc
I have used this combination many time before with roll and 35mm film but not with sheet film.
Has anyone got anyl times for N+1 N+2 N-1 N-2 etc
I understand this is the beauty of sheet film as each shot can be metered for the zones .
Am i right in thinking that you meter for the shadow detail and develope for the highlights .
Any Info please Ian

[ic-racer]

You can also try developing all negatives to a nominal contrast and printing with multigrade paper. That way each negative can still be open to multiple interpretations after being processed.

[limnidytis]

I don't use this film in 4x5 but I tested it once under the BTZS paradigm. Developed in tubes with DDX 1+6 at 68F, N was iso 100, 6:20, N+1 was iso 125, 12:00. The 4:00 time didn't quite reach N-1, but was about N-0.85 at iso of 80. Hope this helps, you mileage will surely vary.

[ian Humphrey]

Hi ic -racer
What if the the highlights are outside the seven EV stops and are blown out

[Mark Barendt]

Hi ic -racer
What if the the highlights are outside the seven EV stops and are blown out

Adjusting paper grade, adjusts how many stops from the scene/how much of the negative can be "straight" printed. Softer paper can print a wider range, more stops from the scene.

The other way to get at the highlight detail on the negative is to "burn" in the sky.

[Jim Andrada]

If there were only 7 EV of range for most B&W film we'd all be in trouble. As Mark pointed out in the previous post, the trick in all this is that film has more latitude than paper.

[ic-racer]

Hi ic -racer
What if the the highlights are outside the seven EV stops and are blown out

If highlights fall off the shoulder then the negative is ruined by overexposure. If one is not including light sources in a composition, There are probably very few cases where the range of light values falling on a LF film plane will exceed the tonal range of that film.

[ian Humphrey]

Hi I know there are more than seven stops. What concerns me is the detail between highlights with first signs of texture & blacks with the first sign of detail . IE zones 3 to 7 so if your highlights fall outside this what development time do you give to pull the highlights back into the range .
I have been told that you can give - 10 of dev time per stop as a rule of thumb .
IE 12 min normal time at 20 oc woluld be -1min 12 sec = 10min 48 sec for N-1
Has anyone else tried this please let me know
Thanks Ian

[Mark Barendt]

Yes, many of us have and do this. It's not as scientific as you might think. This is a very subjective thing in that "how far you specifically want to take it" is not something any of the rest of us can say.

This is something you need to practice and experiment with to see what works for you. And I mean clear to the paper and really trying to find the limits.

If you haven't yet, you might read "The Negative" by Adams. Just keep in mind that paper has changed since his days, modern VC papers render much of what Adams needed to do moot in many, if not most cases.

[ian Humphrey]

Thanks Mark
I will give it a go this weekend. Shoot three shots of the same subject with highlights outside the zone by one stop . Then develope them at diferent times N N-.5 N-1 Hopefully this will give me a bench mark.
Hope to see witch time give me the perfect negative .
Ian