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Thread: Which 4x5 B&W films capable of N+/-2 or greater?

  1. #1

    Join Date
    Mar 1999
    Posts
    10

    Which 4x5 B&W films capable of N+/-2 or greater?

    Tapping the collective wisdom of the large format world....

    Ansel Adams comments several times in The Negative that contemporary, thin emuls ion films lend themselves easily neither to heavy expansion/contraction, nor to contrast control processes that rely on developer absorbtion into a thick emulsi on (e.g., water bath, two soln. development). So, what currently available film and developer combinations can you vouch for going to true N+-2, 3, or 4 (as op posed to a situation where the change in slope isn't pronounced, and you're esse ntially pushing the whole characteristic curve up/left)? Is it common to vary de veloper concentration, holding time constant, to get there? Call it impatience, but I don't particularly look forward to standing in a pitch black room for 20+ minutes(!)

    I've heard many good and bad things about T-MAX, depending on whether you call i ts behavior "sensitive to zone system controls," to paraphrase Kodak's technical literature, or simply erratic and difficult to make consistent, as others have regarding its development time/temp/technique sensitivity. I'd be particularly i nterested in responses from past or current users of TMX and TMY. Any opionions on Tri-X Pan Professional? And out of curiosity, is the TXT that's currently ava ilable even the same formulation that Ansel used?

    Thanks for your help,

    Rick

  2. #2

    Join Date
    May 1998
    Posts
    218

    Which 4x5 B&W films capable of N+/-2 or greater?

    In my experience, changing the development time always does change the slope rather than merely shifting the curve. It changes the contrast, with little effect on toe speed.

    I have now standardised on Delta 100 or 400 for 5x4, with Paterson FX39 developer (not available in the USA?), giving contrast indexes of about 0.46 to 0.71. For various reasons, I don't use Adams's N+x descriptions, but I suppose this translates to about N-1 to N+2. I haven't experimented sufficiently to find the maximum contrast.

    I might be strange, but I enjoy spending 20 minutes in the dark rocking dishes, and vary the time rather than temperature or dilution. I have a Jobo, but I don't use it.

    I've never used T-Max in LF, but I have shot a few hundred rolls in 35mm. Even with hand-development, I had no problems with consistency. Consistent development gave me consistent negatives. However, I now prefer the tonality of Delta.

  3. #3

    Which 4x5 B&W films capable of N+/-2 or greater?

    HP5+ will go +/-2N in PMK. Tech Pan will go -2N in dilute Technidol, and + as much as you want in D76/HC110/Dektol. High Speed Infrared has a strong S-shaped curve, so you can vary contrast with exposure fairly easily (and it responds well to changes in developer for different levels of contrast as well).

  4. #4

    Which 4x5 B&W films capable of N+/-2 or greater?

    I think if you have always been picky and exact with your development techniques, then you will have no problems with a film like tmax. I have had no problems getting N+2 out of tmx100 and I don't think it would be a problem getting even more.

    Remember, you can always selenium intensify the negative (yes the negative) to get even more contrast.

  5. #5

    Join Date
    Dec 1997
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    Baraboo, Wisconsin
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    7,697

    Which 4x5 B&W films capable of N+/-2 or greater?

    As others have said, T Max films work well as long as everything remains constant (time, temp, agitation, etc.) Since you talk about standing for 20 minutes in the dark, I assume that you are developing in trays. I've never tried trays but in my darkroom it would be difficult to keep temperatures constant for 20 minutes session after session. With roll film in tanks I found that unless I keep the tank in a water bath at around 64 degrees, the temperature of the developer in the tank increases from 68 degrees to 72 - 75 degrees in the course of eleven minutes. With 4x5 film I use the BTZS tubes in the BTZS water tray and this keeps the developer temperature constant and has the side benefit of permitting the processing to be done in room light.
    Brian Ellis
    Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you do criticize them you'll be
    a mile away and you'll have their shoes.

  6. #6

    Which 4x5 B&W films capable of N+/-2 or greater?

    Brian,

    For trays I place them on wire platforms (usually used for cooling pie plates or pans etc. --just don't tell my wife where they are!) Then these are placed into print trays with water of the proper temp running through them, this seems to work nicely.

  7. #7

    Which 4x5 B&W films capable of N+/-2 or greater?

    I have found T-Max emulsions quite soft and scratch easily if great care is not taken when processed in a tray. I also don't see as much of a value shift as I would like at N+1 and N+2 with the T-Max. I have long had a favorite film for black and white work, Kodak Super XX, which while still available, is quite hard to find, except through the mail. When processed in HC-110 (Dilution B)this film gives wonderfully consistent results with a very long tonal scale. It responds well to both expansion and contraction developing.

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