litho film

[robert fallis]

I bought some aphs premium litho by mistake, I usually use ilford ortho, as I'm into retro
photography, and wanted to produce the effect of the old ilford ortho film, so I made a numer of test exposures using the sunny 16 rule and came up with an asa of 10, that's developing the film for 280secs at 75 degrees in 1+9 ultrafin. the lens is an old prewar voigtlander, and the exposure of 1/10 at f16.

bob

[Rob_5419]

Thanks for sharing Robert.

Why didn't you use an 81B/C blue filter to simulate the look of the old film then? There seems to be too much of a panchromatic response here to look ortho- orthodox.

Still looks like you could've gone for an ISO around 3-6 instead of 10. Maybe.

The film doesn't seem as fine grained as what I'm used to from ortho film (I use Ortholith). Have you tried Maco Genius film too. Thanks for the times too. I'm trying to get into Ultrafin since Rodinal/Perceptol are pretty much all I've ever used.

[robert fallis]

Rob,
never thought of using a blue filter, will get one and try, I think my scanner does not do justice to the print, the processed image is much softer,
I've tried Maco genius thats the film I normally use, and it is finely grained, I'ved used both ultrafin and ultrafin plus, as developers but I prefer ultrafin, I seem to get a better blue-black with it,
I also use tetnal eukobrom paper developer which I also use for the processing the maco genius film, I like to tray develop and watch the image appear.

bob

[John Kasaian]

One nice thing about APHS is that it is easy to develop by inspection---use a red safe light.

[Rob_5419]

Bob,

is it the Voigtlander lens which is soft then, or the film which is not plane with the imaging axis?

I wonder if the emulsion of this is soft - I can see your fingermarks - looks like ring and index finger on the left hand side ;)

Tetenal chemicals are fantastic - I'm just discovering them and will have to try the Eukobrom. I hear it doesn't last long. I'm also using a slot processor - I don't get to watch very much develop at all :(

Maco Ort25c is incredibly fine grained - much finer than Ilford's Ortho Plus which is rated at 125 ISO? It's not my favourite copy film either and is too fast to use with barrel lenses. Guess that's why I like the slow stuff.

[robert fallis]

Rob,
I think you may be right, I have only one film holder that the film fits, and looking at the image it is not sharp, the attached image is taken on shanghai pan film at the same time, it focus is much sharper, I'm going to trim the aphs film to fit my riteway holders and see if I get a sharrper image, one of the things I like about it is the short development time compared with the 8.5 mins of the pan film, your right about the finger prints, but I think thats just my carlessness

bob

[Rob_5419]

Robert,

Both images don't look particularly sharp - is it possibly your scanning method or is the negative definitely soft? I guess it is the alignment of the film plane sitting off, if you're finding the same issue with small apertures and different films. What size is the film holder you're using?

if you're getting streaking marks/fingermarks etc on your film, you might like to try pre-washing in 20C plain tap water for a few minutes. I find this allows me to use a gentle agitation cycle and less finger marks too. It also means that because agitation is slower, the contrast control of the development cycle is better.

[robert fallis]

Rob.
I'm using riteway 5x4, the aphs film is a little over spec and will not fit in them, it's about a sixteenth over size. so I've trimed some down tonight, and fitted it in the riteway holders, so will do some test shots tomorrow, to check focus. etc . I've also changed my lens board
and put the wollensak lens back in, my camera is home made, so there is a possabilty that the film plane is a little out

[Jim Noel]

Rob.
I'm using riteway 5x4, the aphs film is a little over spec and will not fit in them, it's about a sixteenth over size. so I've trimed some down tonight, and fitted it in the riteway holders, so will do some test shots tomorrow, to check focus. etc . I've also changed my lens board
and put the wollensak lens back in, my camera is home made, so there is a possabilty that the film plane is a little out

That is odd. I have used APHS in Riteway holders off and on for years and never had a problem with the size. I also use APHS 8x10 in my regular holders and do not have a problem.
This is by far the sharpest film I use.

[robert fallis]

Jim ,
Ive checked it again, it is a sixteenth over size, I've got a MMP holder and it won't fit that , still it's easy enough to trim the edge, and I'm retired so I've all the time in the world.

Bob

[Rob_5419]

Hi Robert -

if it was the film size crimping inside the Riteway holder, at least the edges or the centre should be in focus. I guess you're going to do a fresnel lens test on your film plane to work out if the film and the fresnel are in correct alignment.

Jim's right- the lith film is incredibly sharp (contrast and ultra-fine grain both help to give that impression) and if it isn't the film plane, then maybe camera shake?

I'm retired too! But I feel like I'm running out of time everyday....which is why I'm up on the internet after midnight here...

[robert fallis]

rob,
carefully measured everything last night, and all seems to be alright, the film and glass appear to be in the same plane, I also checked the focus this morning using a lens and it appears ok too. the ground glass screen is not fine enough under the lens. so will grind a finer one and see if that helps.
when the film sits in the holder it bulges out in the middle, but triming it allows it sit flat,
will expose some film today and see what happen
bob

[robert fallis]

Rob

this is this mornings print, its at 1/10 at f16. it is in focus so it looks as if the wooden holder I used for the Aphs film was a little oversize, most of the depth of field appears to be in fount of the plane of focus the (the gate) so tha next thing to explore is the f32 stop on the camera in a better landscape than my back garden. with a little less wind.
thanks for your help

bob

[robert fallis]

the print is in focus looks like my scanner is a little bit out, like me to old?

[Rob_5419]

Hi Robert,

It never surprises me when the weakest link in my workflow is digital ;)

The scanner issue isn't something I know anything of to be any help with. Certainly the image of the bicycle wheel and gate in the garden is sharper looking than the previous two (but still not quite crisp).

Tones are definitely mid-tone so your Tetenal development is working a treat. I'll have to try it out shortly. Good to see you're moving forward with this ;)