Greg,
On the FP4+ not enough density for Pt printing: try PyrocatHD. I actually use HP5+ for 8*10 , process it in Xtol, and if I feel the image would work in pure Platinum I bleach the negative and re-develop in PyrocatHD. Prints fine for pure Pt, albeit sloooow (aprox. expose for 1 hour...).
best,
Cor
Has anyone contacted Freestyle about providing Aristu.edu in whole plate size?
We have just started using our whole plate Seneca now that we have the 5X7 back made and obtained 5 whole plate film holders off this forum. Currently using Xray film. I have developed a couple of sheets in a Orbital developer in which we added some of those bubbles to the bottom as was suggested here as well.
Your original entry is so complete and factual as to be a bit intimidating. I've gotten lazy and careless in my old age. But I do love the format. (and a whole bunch of others too) I cut my film from old Kodak long rolls of 9.5 inch aerial recon film. This stuff used to show up on ebay once in a while when that industry was all going digital, but I suppose it's all getting a bit long in the tooth now. I have a bunch in the freezer and hope to use it for as long as I'm around. That means ultimately every sheet I shoot has been cut on all 4 edges. A LOT of handling and . . . it shows. But I can't make the jump from maybe 38 cents a shot to $6 bucks, so I live within those means.
I'll assume you've read Sandy King's articles about Pyro-Catechol on Ed Buffaloe's site. Easy to mix. Easy to use. Dead cheap. And it gives me the desired range, although, I just eyeball it. Worth a look. I mix the Part A and Part B and it sits in old liter pop bottles for a year at a time, and never lets me down.
I originally got interested because I stumbled onto a large box of old film holders in a junk store years ago. All of them 1910's and '20's Eastman's. 6.5X8.5 film, and 7X11 film. Since then I've added Agfa and even some Burke and James to the mix and they all mix and match pretty well.
My camera is a rather banged up Eastman 2D 8X10. Years ago on Ebay a fellow was selling an original Eastman Kodak of Great Britain Ltd. reducing back from 810 2D to full plate. So one camera can do either format very well.
For no particular good reason, I load 125 asa film in the 8X10 backs and 32 asa Panatomic in the full plate. Easy to keep track that way. Plus the Panatomic just explodes. Wish it was available.
Sadly, I'm in old Ford mode these days and the camera stuff is languishing. Haven't made a serious print in a couple of years. But that doesn't mean I won't come back to it. Check my web pages when you're bored. I've been fairly prolific over a long - ish period.
To nitpick, wholeplate Ilford via the annual special order program comes in at around $4.00. Still a lot more than 38 cents, but also slightly less than Ilford 8x10 per sheet.Originally Posted by Jim Galli
Arista EDU is Foma brand film that's re-branded (and cheaper than Foma, probably because it's bought in bulk) so because whole plate is a specialized format that isn't shot as much, it'd highly unlikely that freestyle would financially benefit from carrying it and it would probably not cost any different than the Foma offering. Best to go with Ilford, their quality control and reciprocity rates are much better than Foma/Arista EDU.
Yes 8 am aware of that and do shoot both Atista and Ilford products in 4X5 and 5X7 and have a box of FP4 in WP. Choice is good though
One entry in WP format contact prints is to put WP frame-lines or corner indicators on an 8x10 ground glass then mask ?cut? the 8x10 neg down after developing. There are more 8x10 cameras and way more 8x10 holders, too. Avoids cutting film in the dark.
BTW cutting film in the dark is easier with Xray film, you can have dim red lights on. My favorite is Ektascan B/RA from zzmedical but cxsonline has other kinds. These cost something like 90 and 40 cents a sheet delivered in 8x10.
14x17 Xray would yield 4 sheets of WP with 3 cuts. Similar to 2 5x7s from 1 8x10 takes 3 cuts.
Rotatrim is probably the best tool for this but I can't afford one yet and regular guillotine cutters can be used with dim red lights with proper stop blocks and care to keep the moving blade firmly against the stationary one at the same time keeping the film from moving.
Admittedly, this approach does leave you carrying around a bigger 8x10 camera and bigger holders and using marginally more processing chemicals.
And, having all that 14x17 film around will probably make you wish you had 14x17 ULF camera to use w/o the hassle of all the cutting of film.
Some initial info on 2 additional lenses I just purchased:
90mm f/14 Berthiot Paris Perigraphic No 2 Serie VIa. Couldn't pass up on this "buy-it-now" optic in truly mint condition. Stops down to f/56 with its dial aperture ring. Educational guess is that it has 100+ degrees coverage. Corners go dark with a rather sharp cut off. This really doesn't bother me all that much and cost me less than 1/10 the cost of a Schneider 90mm f/5.6 Super-Angulon XL. Not worth putting in a shutter, so will use it closed down with a "dark slide" shutter.
Scovillle Mfg. Co Waterbury lens. Again price paid was too good to pass up. No specs on it in the Vade Mecum and Google searches turned up essentially empty. Has a front wheel aperture control, f/15 maximum aperture and stops down to f/60. Proved out to be a single double meniscus lens behind the aperture wheel. Focal length approximately 250mm give or take a handful of mms. When I received the very simple lens, I really thought "why did I buy this?"... one element in a very rudimentary brass lens mount. Rotating aperture control though was a plus. Turns out the lens had superb Bokeh, actually for me much preferred to the Bokeh of a Petzval optic. Seems to easily cover 8x10 and may even cover 11x14!!!! which would so totally please me. Will use this optic mounted in front of an adapted Sinar Copal shutter... a Rube Goldberg contraption but it just works. I think I really hit it big with this optic.
Greg
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks