Ian, you might try looking atKodak grey card usage"] this post on APUG.
Look at the densities mentioned then compare them to the image you posted. It should be helpful.
Ian
Ian, you might try looking atKodak grey card usage"] this post on APUG.
Look at the densities mentioned then compare them to the image you posted. It should be helpful.
Ian
Thanks for the link, had a quick look but it looks heavy going, might need to revisit this one tomorrow.Originally Posted by IanG
To pick up on some comments about the negative I posted been over-devloped.
I think I have finally managed to develop some test negatives to reach my personal EI which is giving me around 0.1 above the film's base and fog reading.
With regard to the over development, I used the times from the Big Dev chart ( I appreciate these are only a guide)
As I have no darkroom and all my work is outputted digitally, how would I go about trying to find out the correct development time to give me a density of say Zone VIII.
Would this theory work or am i way off track?
Spot meter an even lit surface and open up 3 stops (zone III)
Develop the film normally according to say the Big dev chart and measure the density.
Keep repeating the exercise and lowering the development time by 10% until the measured density is around 2.29 which I understand to be Zone 8
Yes that post is heavy reading but to make it more simple just look at the last image/graph and see the 8 density it's only around 1.5 any greater may print/scan as white.
Because you're scanning you can use slightly flatter negatives than I'd prefer for darkroom printing which gives you a touch more latitude. My experience is that these Big/Massive development charts are wildly inaccurate and unreliable. Go for manufacturers data sheets instead they are far better and will get you in the ball park and closer to the optimal EI/Dev time you need.
I think you'd be better to get some help - save yourself a lot of film, time and testing. I'd volunteer but I'm about 90mins drive but you're welcome if you have the time.
Ian
Ian, for silver gelatin printing Zone VIII density should be around 1.25 above fb+f. (2.29 is way too much for sg printing.) But you aren't printing that way. I'd try a negative with about 1/3 stop more exposure developed 25% less of a good test scene. Scan and see if it gives you what you want.
“You often feel tired, not because you've done too much, but because you've done too little of what sparks a light in you.”
― Alexander Den Heijer, Nothing You Don't Already Know
Well... IMHO a negative, more than well exposed/developed.... it has to be well exposed/developed to get the result you want.
If you are to scan the negative, get it adjusted with Photoshop, and then you are to send it to a lightjet/lambda then the priority is to capture the maximum detail, tonality can be adjusted very well with Photoshop.
If you are to make great genuine optical darkroom prints then very dense areas will need special work to make detail appear, burning or masking (CRM, SCIM, etc). So better if your max densities are fom 1.2D to 1.6D, IMHO.
BTZS calibration of paper will show if your negative is easy to print or it will need a lot of extra work.
You might find this article helpful: Testing B&W Film with the Zone System
As the article suggests (and as pointed out by Peter in this discussion) an Epson scanner has a fairly wide dynamic range: we don't necessarily want to develop our negatives to match it, since additional development increases grain.
Even simpler: why not shoot at 1/2 the box speed and develop for standard times ? I'd be surprised if that doesn't get you what you are looking for. After a lot of fiddling with both Zone System and BTZS, that's where I arrived, and I'm not the only one.
Thanks Ian. Is that 90 mins South of me in Yorkshire
Thanks Ken, book marked these for reading tonight
Approx, depending on traffic. I'm just under 20 miles SW of Birmingham.
I've always done all my testing using 35mm or 120 film, these days the emulsions are essentially the same that cuts costs and also make it far easier. So when testing Fomapan 100 I used a couple of rolls of 120. The first to establish optimal EI, the second to fine tune developing time.
Ian
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks