New to LF Questions

[appletree]

Hi all,
So a few questions. Testing out the Mod54 negative holder for my Patterson tank. Any suggestions to practice this without my nice and brand new HP5+ film. Perhaps find someone to send me expired sheets or wasted/ruined negatives?

And I have been using D76 for a few years now. I will be honest, I sort of get lazy and often either use an entire batch back to back (1:1) or end up waiting past 6 months and dump half a batch out. So, I unfortunately seem to develop in waves. Stockpile 20 rolls and then develop them in a week or two.

Should I continue using D76, or try another developer as I venture into LF. I see Pyrocat and many others mentioned often, Rodinal..I think?
I have used Mirophen to develop some Delta 3200, but for the most part been a one trick pony since a) didn't want to waste a lot of chemicals and b) it was easier (to me) to just have one set standard.

If I am to develop 6 shots at a time in the tank (or less), then what if I only end up with x amount of film holders. Do I just unload the holders (obviously in the dark) and keep the exposed shots in a film/paper box in the fridge until I develop. Perhaps multiple boxes in the event I need to push/pull various shots?

I guess I will have to either notch or mark my holders in the event I need to push/pull. I think I read/printed information on this from the homepage...tons of great information.

Hmm, I think that is the main questions I have for now. Thanks for any advice/help.

Regards,
Austin


Edit: Mainly, just any specific questions/advice regarding LF itself. I am fairly confident I have developing, washing, fixing, etc. Only if I can every full get rid of drying spots that occasionally pop up (even when I use 2-3 drops of photo-flo) on my negatives.

[fishbulb]

Hi all,
So a few questions. Testing out the Mod54 negative holder for my Patterson tank. Any suggestions to practice this without my nice and brand new HP5+ film. Perhaps find someone to send me expired sheets or wasted/ruined negatives?

If you have a lab in your area that processes 4x5, they may be able to give you some ruined negatives to practice with.

Otherwise, just take a couple shots around the house that you might like, but it wouldn't be a huge loss if you wrecked them, and then follow the instructions and develop them. Mod54 is easy with two sheets and gets progressively more vulnerable to mistakes (loading the film in the wrong notches, i.e. two sheets per notch) as you try and fit more film in there. So if you're worried, start slow and develop one sheet on each side. Almost impossible to mess that up.


Should I continue using D76, or try another developer as I venture into LF. I see Pyrocat and many others mentioned often, Rodinal..I think?

I use D76 for my Ilford negatives (Delta 100, HP4, HP5) and it works fine. But I'm not really picky about developer. A lot of people here do seem to use those two.




If I am to develop 6 shots at a time in the tank (or less), then what if I only end up with x amount of film holders. Do I just unload the holders (obviously in the dark) and keep the exposed shots in a film/paper box in the fridge until I develop. Perhaps multiple boxes in the event I need to push/pull various shots?

You can buy more film holders (try to find a big lot of them on eBay or the forum here). I bought a lot of 30 fidelity elites for $150 on eBay recently. I think I have around 40 total.

Or yeah, just store the exposed, undeveloped negatives in a light-tight box in the fridge. Ideally a used 4x5 film box with the bag inside, same way your film came from the factory.

[appletree]

Cool, thanks for the heads up. I have a good relationship with the lab (they do all my color work, and I rent their darkroom to do my printing), so I will ask them.

Good to know, I will keep using D76 for now and see if I feel like changing it up at some point/doing more research on the pros/cons of these other options.

And maybe I don't need to be picky on buying Toyo or similar holders, just whatever is cheap, clean, and light-tight.

[Jmarmck]

Can't help much with the Mod54.

I used D-76 for a good while but like you I kept wasting it. I now use HC-110 in a one shot dilution of roughly 1:63 (dilution H) mixed straight from the syrup. I like this method better. It is lest wasteful.

As for exposed film, I put it in an empty film box. I also keep the foil packages so it goes in those too. I will put those in what I call Visqueen bags. Kept in the fridge till ready.

I use the Riteway holders. No reason other that I like them better. Seem more durable. But they are often in poorer condition. The prices average about $4 per holder. I have about 50 holders almost all Riteway.

[Liquid Artist]

I develop my film when I have 3 or 4 sheets shot, so I use up my developer before it's shot. I find this easier than spending all day developing film.

As for film holders, some people swear by Toyo saying they're the most consistent. However I've had good luck with cheapies purchased on this board.
I have 25 4x5 film holders, and feel this is plenty for me.
However I have 14 5x7 film holders, and feel I need more.

[Jon Shiu]

Hi, I can send some expired film if you send a private message with your address.

Jon

[appletree]

Thank you all for the advice and help! Much appreciated.

Regards,
Austin

[Randy]

I used D-76 for many years, and loved the results, but got tired of dumping un used mix down the drain. HC-110 is more economical as the concentrate will last a very, very long time - I do what Marty suggested - mix 1:63 and dump when done.
I have recently tried Arista Premium film developer and am getting results similar to HC-110 but the dilution is not as week (have to use more concentrate to get similar results) so I don't know if it will be much of a cost savings, and I don't know how long the concentrate will last in an opened, partially full bottle. I am tempted to split it up in many smaller full bottles.

[RodinalDuchamp]

As a fellow LF "noob" I'd like to pass along some information o have found out painstakingly along the way.

I have a nikor stainless tank, I have tried the taco method, and though I have not used the mod54 I would now have some apprehension.

From my experience standard agitation methods in a developing canister *may* cause uneven development as the developer speeds up to pass through certain parts of the film holder causing overdevelopment in these areas. I do not know of that's the case wit the mod 54 but its something to watch for.

I have done a fair amount of stand developing both with and without success. I am just sharing this with you as a reference as I don't know if you intend to stand at some point. The key is to agitate more than normal, I have my schedule nailed to one inversion every 15 minutes for even development.

Lastly I would highly recommend trying tray development as I have had very consistent results since switching to this time honored technique. Finding a dark room may be a bit difficult but in my opinion its very much so worth the trouble.

Also D76 works great and there is a ton of info/times/charts available for use with almost all films. Rodinal is also good though I'd say slightly less well documented.

Good luck!

[RSalles]

Hi,

For practice purposes and for tests of any sort I recommend Shanghai GP-3 4X5 B&W film. It gives you similar results as the old Pan-F and it's cheap - payed 18 bucks with free shipping from HK for each 25 sheet box last year. When the film offered by John ends you'll have another option.

Everybody seems to agree about HC-110 and so do I, but let's not forget Rodinal, incredibly affordable with excellent results too,

Cheers,

Renato

[Ian Gordon Bilson]

I would recommend you check out Xtol,replenished, for your developer. Kodak claim better sharpness,finer grain,and box speed,compared to HC110. And very economical,since you re-use your developer,rather than dumping a tankful after one use.

[Ian Gordon Bilson]

And Shanghai is nice film (in 4x5 ) - the only minor player film I could recommend.

[appletree]

Thank you all again for the sound advice. I do already have film though. I purchased some HP5, box of 25 sheets. Just didn't want to burn 3 sheets needlessly. Although I stopped at my lab yesterday afternoon, yet to no avail. Went across the street to the camera shop and they sold me an old box of Verichrome (never even heard of the stuff...sounds like Kodachrome). It expired in 1959! I paid a whole $2. I was happy!

I will practice loading tonight.

I will look into HC-110 and Rodinal. I'm not bothered by the waste so much, just the fact that sometimes I have to make a whole new batch because it's been too long since I developed. And making a batch of D76 is pretty time consuming. But yes, wasting chemicals and a bit of money is never a great thing.

[Peter Lewin]

Appletree: HC-110 is a very standard developer for 4x5 (a bit grainy for 35mm IMHO), is liquid so pretty easy to use, and seems to last forever as a syrup, so it meets your requirements well. I currently use Pyrocat-HD, which I like a lot, but it is harder to find than HC-110, for a beginner HC-110 is just an easier choice. I have not found one developer I like equally across all formats, I still prefer D76 1:1 for 35mm, but Pyrocat for medium and large format.

I normally unload any used film from holders into empty film boxes at the end of the day, and re-load the holders; I have never bothered to keep the exposed film in the fridge, since my exposed film rarely stays undeveloped for more than a couple of weeks (at most a month if I've been exposing film on vacation and won't develop until I'm back home). I would suggest three empty boxes, one labeled "normal," one "plus one", and one "minus one" for push and pull. When I'm in the field, I keep some small "post-its" with me, and if a sheet or holder needs special processing, I just stick a post-it on the slide when I'm done, telling me whether I need to over- or under-develop, and then unload into the appropriate box.

[fishbulb]

If you really want to conserve chemicals, the BTZS tubes for 4x5 are probably the least wasteful developing method, and usually provide very even development. But I still use a Yankee daylight tank for most of my developing because I can develop 12 negatives at once. The downside is it uses about 1.8L of chemicals, versus 12 negatives with the BTZS Tubes would be only 0.7L - 60% less chemistry! But, only 6 at once instead of 12. Mod54 is similar to most tanks - 2L to process12 negatives (1L for six). People have different preferences depending on their priorities - speed of developing, consistency of developing, efficiency of chemical usage, etc. All methods have their pros and cons, and learning curves.

[appletree]

Understood. Thank you gents for the information. Very helpful. I will check out HC-110 for my LF work, looks like B&H carries it...too bad my big order just arrived a few days ago from them. No worries though, it will be a few months before I am developing 4x5. About 20 rolls of 120 I need to develop though.

Just agreed to buy a nice used tripod today, so still getting everything together for my LF venture.

Edit: B&H can't ship HC-110. In a few months if I decide to give it a shot, I will search how you guys get it. :)

[RodinalDuchamp]

Freestyle photo is the only place that ships rodinal so I would start with them.

[TXFZ1]

Camera Co-op on Durham also carries HC-110.

[Jmarmck]

Freestyle photo is the only place that ships rodinal so I would start with them.
They ship HC-110 as well.

[appletree]

Camera Co-op on Durham also carries HC-110.

Hey, I was there yesterday. I frequent it often since it is near AZ photo lab. Thank you though for the heads up, I will have to check...although they have not been keeping much chemicals in stock. I noticed yesterday that had 0 film. Supposedly they are in between orders and might be moving locations soon.