Arista APHS Premium Halftone Supreme Ortho Litho Film

[jon.oman]

Since it has been a long time since I last worked with LF, I was thinking of using this ortho film developed on Rodinal 1:150 to get a full range of tones. I figure I can burn through a number of sheets with low cost.

I noticed that Freestyle carries a 4x5 size that is actually 3.9x4.9. I assume that this will fit a standard sheet film holder, whereas the full 4x5 inch version would be a bit too large.

Now, my question is about the 8x10 inch version of this film. How well does it fit into a standard 8x10 sheet film holder. For those who use this film, do you have any problems with flatness? Since it is a little too large for the holder, will it bulge in the middle, or sides? If so, how do you handle this?

Thanks,

Jon Oman

[Drew Wiley]

This type of film is intentionally thinner than regular camera films. Therefore it will not
stay particularly flat in a convential filmholder - it will tend to sag or bulge. I sometimes use it as a highlight masking film in a registered contact frame.

[erie patsellis]

Ultrafineonline.com has a 7 mil lith film, pretty inexpensively as well. I use it quite frequently for lens testing and non critical work, or to get a different (ortho) look.

[Jim Galli]

Fits in my 810 holders perfectly. Lies flat. I have a page here (http://tonopahpictures.0catch.com/FreestyleAPHS/SomeNewAPHS072206.html) with a link to another page that has a formula I've worked out for Rodinal that adds a couple of restrainers to further throttle the contrast. Good luck with it.

[Andrew O'Neill]

APHS 8x10 fits holders perfectly. I like developing it in Dave Soemarko's LC-1B, which can be mixed from scratch.

[jon.oman]

Thank you everyone for the feedback! I'll give it a try in a few weeks. Life keeps getting in the way, and I have not had time to finish the new darkroom.

Jon

[dsphotog]

I know you all are aware of this , he he....... Don't use your red lens filter!
David Silva

[Drew Wiley]

The exact Ortho wavelength sensitivity of APHS seems to vary from batch to batch.
As noted above, don't use red filters; but how blue vs. green sensitive it is requires
testing if you're going to use a green filter to affect blue skies,etc.

[John MacManus]

Hi Jon
I hope I’m not too late with my 2c worth. I have been using APHS for just a short while to tame some DIY lenses that I have. Similar to your plans I also use Rodinal 1:150, one shot. I rate the APHS at ISO 6 and develop for 7m, constant agitation in a tray for the first minute, and then once/min. I use the 5X7 size in a regular film-holder and it stays flat [I hope to get the 4X5 size soon]. I monitor development with a red flashlight, but have had no need to change development time. There is no top-right nick in the film and I don’t know if the emulsion is towards the lens, but it is so thin that I don’t think it will matter … try to be consistent in orientation.

Today, I had the chemicals arrive for the Galli recipe to restrain Rodinal development of APHS. I hope to compare in the next few weeks. I can keep you posted if you’re interested.

Overall, I am very happy with APHS for lower contrast lenses. I take duplicate shots with Efke 25 (+ ND filters) and the APHS has less shadow detail, but overall the “continuous” tone is surprising to me.

When you get your new darkroom finished, I think you’ll have great fun with this relatively inexpensive and slow-when-you-need-it film.

Best wishes … John

[Jim Galli]

I know you all are aware of this , he he....... Don't use your red lens filter!
David Silva

Sometimes it's easier to just be dumb. I always used a red lamp and it worked just fine. ?? ??

[jon.oman]

Hi Jon
I hope I’m not too late with my 2c worth. I have been using APHS for just a short while to tame some DIY lenses that I have. Similar to your plans I also use Rodinal 1:150, one shot. I rate the APHS at ISO 6 and develop for 7m, constant agitation in a tray for the first minute, and then once/min. I use the 5X7 size in a regular film-holder and it stays flat [I hope to get the 4X5 size soon]. I monitor development with a red flashlight, but have had no need to change development time. There is no top-right nick in the film and I don’t know if the emulsion is towards the lens, but it is so thin that I don’t think it will matter … try to be consistent in orientation.

Today, I had the chemicals arrive for the Galli recipe to restrain Rodinal development of APHS. I hope to compare in the next few weeks. I can keep you posted if you’re interested.

Overall, I am very happy with APHS for lower contrast lenses. I take duplicate shots with Efke 25 (+ ND filters) and the APHS has less shadow detail, but overall the “continuous” tone is surprising to me.

When you get your new darkroom finished, I think you’ll have great fun with this relatively inexpensive and slow-when-you-need-it film.

Best wishes … John


Thanks for the information John! This will help me. If I am lucky, my darkroom will be finished before the end of the month. I'm really looking forward to using it!

Jon

[Pamelageewhizz]

In reguards to film holders, at first I had the same problem. I have some 8x10s holders that I got off ebay. Some are kodak, others agfa and others are Lisco. The ortho lith from freesyle does not fit the kodak holders, the film is too big. However, it does fit the agfa and lisco very well. No idea why as the agfa and lisco also fit the 8x10 xray and hp125.