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Thread: Beginners first Thread 4x5 film

  1. #11

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    Re: Beginners first Thread 4x5 film

    Thank you both for your kind words , they are really helpful, i really need to take this step by step, i have a fuji gx680, thats kind of a mediumformat camera with large format possibilities, so some experience is there

    i will try ti exerceise all the movement i need to do in the dark with some test sheets in the light , i hope i can show a result soon

    thank you all for your input, really nice forum here on the darkside with kind people

  2. #12
    Light Guru's Avatar
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    You don't need to build a full light tight room. Changing tents work well. This is the one I use.
    http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...g_Room_25.html

    A previous post mentioned the BTSZ tubes, I looked into those myself but decided against them because you must change chemicals in the dark as the cap does not have a way to add or empty chemicals.

    I settled on using a unicolor drum tank and motor base for processing. it lets me process up to 4 sheets of 4x5 at a time.
    http://www.largeformatphotography.info/unicolor/

    Using the same changing tent I load the unicolor drum with exposed film And the rest is all done in the light.

    As for chemicals many photo stores still cary unmixed Kodak chemicals. The photo store in my local mall even has packages to mix D76.

    Best of luck to you.
    Zak Baker
    zakbaker.photo

    "Sometimes I do get to places just when God's ready to have somebody click the shutter."
    Ansel Adams

  3. #13

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    Re: Beginners first Thread 4x5 film

    Surprised it took this long before someone mentioned change tents!

  4. #14

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    Re: Beginners first Thread 4x5 film

    thanks light guru for your tips, they are more than welcome , great,

    i have two questions on my mind, when i am doing it all in these black changer bags, arent these bags prone to dust, cause you cant see what youre doing in this back and they can collect dust inside?

    If i would like to send my exposed films to the lab, what would be the best way to pack them up for traveling?, do i need to send my filmholder to the lab?

    Strange questions, but for me as a beginner, i really need to figure it out

    thank you guys so far!!!

  5. #15

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    Re: Beginners first Thread 4x5 film

    Try not to be too worried about loading film in the dark. It seems daunting at first but you quickly get the hang of it. I reached a point where I could load about 20 holders in about 15-20 minutes but the first few times it probably took almost that much time to load one holder. The main thing to watch for is inserting the film into the slots where the dark slide goes instead of where the film is supposed to go. Unfortunately it's possible to put the dark slide back in the holder even after doing that, without realizing what you've done. You discover the problem only when you're in the field photographing and the film is ruined when it pops out of the holder as you re-insert the dark slide after making a photograph.

    With respect to the BTZS tubes that someone else mentioned, I used them for years and liked them a lot. I never quite understood why more people don't use them instead of the far more expensive and far more space-hogging Jobo system. Jobo is great for volume users because you can process more film in one run than the 6 sheets that are typical of the BTZS tubes. And the fact that it's motorized allows you to do other things for a few minutes while the film is being processed. But the BTZS tubes cost less, use far less chemistry, take up less space, and allow you to process different sheets for different times in the same run. There's been a lot written about them here over the years, you should be able to find plenty of information by typing "BTZS tubes" or something like that in the search button.

    I hate changing tents. Before I had a dedicated darkroom I sat on the floor of a closet at night and loaded film that way rather than using a changing tent. I'd avoid them if at all possible unless you like dust magnets that cause your hands and arms to get sweaty and make you feel like you're in a strait jacket. Obviously just a personal preference kind of thing, others like them fine.
    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. #16

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    Re: Beginners first Thread 4x5 film

    Well if you buy a box of film, pull out one sheet (in the dark) put the rest of the film back in the black envelope and close the box, you can then practice loading your sheet film holders in daylight. If the sheet film holders are not new, I'd load both sides of each film holder to make sure they are ok. Then go into the bathroom, turn out the lights, and practice in the dark. If it has a window you can tape a black trash bag over it. I always load mine so the light colored side is out to tell me it is unexposed. Then after shooting, I put the dark side of the slide pointing out to show it is exposed. I hope this helps a little

  7. #17

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    Re: Beginners first Thread 4x5 film

    I forgot to add that when the notches in the film are in the upper right hand side of the film, the emulsion side of the film is facing you. When you pull out that first sheet of film to practice with, you'll see the notch.

  8. #18
    Andrew L
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    Re: Beginners first Thread 4x5 film

    Brian: Thanks for mentioning those BTZS tubes. It seems extremely interesting. I haven't been doing large format for long, maybe a year or a little more, and I had never heard of them during that time. I checked up on it and noticed that they have some youtube videos demonstrating processing for 5 or 6 sheets of film. Of course, the film has to be loaded into the tubes in complete darkness, and I'm not sure how the caps work, but I think you do them in darkness, but I noticed that at the end of the developing time, he takes the cap off in "dim roomlight" and places it in the stop bath tub, and then takes the un-fixed film out of the tube in that same dim roomlight and puts it into the fix on hangers. He explained that you're mostly safe after the film has gone through the full developing time...it just seems dangerous even though he said he's never had a problem with even 400 speed film.

    I'll have to check out these tubes some more, but I don't have a sink like he does. I've been using trays.

  9. #19
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    Re: Beginners first Thread 4x5 film

    I've loaded film in bags, changing tents, closets, and darkrooms.

    Bags are terrible, because the top of the bag is always laying on what your are doing and getting in the way, and every time you lift your arms, the stuff laid out on the bottom of the bag gets overturned and confused. The other options solve that problem. Using a tent is not bad, and I do not find that dust is a worse problem with a tent than in a closet or darkroom. I do vacuum out my tent regularly, though, using a vacuum attachment with a soft brush on it.

    Loading film becomes a ritual. You'll develop a habit about how you lay it out, and what process you undertake. I always put the film box here, the stack of holders there, the filled holders next to that, the brush right there, and so on. This is true no matter where I'm doing it, and the problem with a bag is that it prevents such consistency. My holders go into the dark with the slides dark-side-out (usually, I'm removing film from them and reloading them in the same operation). One side is smooth and the other side has a row of bumps so you can tell which side it out. I pull the dark slide not quite all the way out, and with my left thumb hold open the hinge. I use the brush (a 2" camel-hair brush--mine is branded "Kodak" but Delta sells them now) to wipe down the holder, and both sides of the dark slide, being careful to wipe slowly and aiming the stroke down and away from the holder so that I don't stir the dust into the air. With my right hand I pick up one sheet so that the notches are in the upper right, and then slide the film down past my left thumb, through the hinge and into the holder. I then use the brush to wipe down the surface of the film, fold over the hinge, feel that it is sitting completely flush (which it won't if the film is in the wrong slot). I then pull out the dark slide, reverse it so the white side will be out, and slide it back in all the way. I turn it over and load the second sheet, and then set it in the "loaded" stack.

    When removing the film, recognize that there is a slight depression machined into the holder at the visible edge when the hinge is open. This gives you a place to slide a fingernail under the film edge so you can grasp the edge and pull it out.

    Rehearse with dead film (processed or unprocessed doesn't matter--I have a stack of messed-up exposures that I use). Be as meticulous during practice as with fresh film. Practicing sloppiness will just habitualize it.

    Rick "large format requires meticulous consistency and a calm, quality-driven attitude" Denney

  10. #20

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    Re: Beginners first Thread 4x5 film

    Don't worry if the first sheets get scratched or dusty. Once you get the hang of it you will get cleaner negatives.

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