Use of X-ray film: technical discussion with example images

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Originally Posted by Barry Kirsten

I recently started using x-ray film, double sided Kodak green sensitive. The only trays big enough that I had are cat litter trays which I use satisfactorily for paper. They have a dimple in the bottom which I knew would be a problem, and it was - scratches all over the place, both sides, since I tried to give each side the same development. I'm wondering why people are talking about a piece of glass on the bottom of the tray? To me, this is an immediate source of frustration, as the sheet sticking to the glass would make flipping the film difficult, and itself a source of possible scratching from frustrated fingers. Why not conventional fluted trays, which allow some movement of developer underneath and allow easier flipping?

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Barry The sheet of glass placed in a 8x10 tray eliminated three dense lines in a traditional tray, no scratches and I rock the tray side to side then switch to rocking end to end.
The film does not stick to the glass,as a aid to pick up the film I cut all corners at 45deg which enable quite easy removing the neg from the developer.
I use Fuji HRT 1:100 rodinal as a developer.
I have been testing some Kodak R-Min x-Ray and this develops quite nicely in Rodinal 1:100 and LC 29 13mm +1000 which is giving a slightly denser neg Dev times 6-8 Minutes
Bazz with a Croweaters greeting

Attachment 160537

A few years ago I bought some Ektascan BR/A X-ray film for my 8x10 camera. The film was a little slow for my needs so I didn't end up shooting too much, but looking back at images I took years ago I am wondering what caused these lines in the photo attached. I did a pre-soak and then tray developed in HC110 1:31 but forgot what development times I used.

Could these lines be caused from too strong of a developer dilution + short development time? I'm wondering if I should have used a more diluted developer to prolong to development time in hopes of a more evenly developed negative with less density.


Any thoughts or suggestion is much appreciated! :)


BTW, has Ektascan BR/A 8x10 gone up in price over the past 2 years?

You mean the extra density along the lower edge and in the top left corner? That looks like a light leak or a non-safe darkroom light. Local overdevelopment mat play a role as well, but it mostly looks like fogging.

I'm mainly talking about the lines seen across the middle of the image. Best seen on the dress

http://www.largeformatphotography.in...8&d=1485765728

The fogging was taken care of.


edit/ added crop photo

It's really very hard to see what you mean, but I think I can see it. It looks more like mottling than like straight lines, can this be the case? If so, it would suggest uneven development.

For me this "lines" show the same structures (grass, trees) as in the negative themselves , but with a shift to the right side, somehow looking like a double exposure - and I have no idea why.

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Originally Posted by seezee

Many of those on this thread, including myself, had had good luck with this lamp. This base allows you to double your output when used with a standard spring-clip shop light. As long as you point the fixture toward the ceiling or walls, away from your trays, you shouldn't fog film. It's okay to shine directly for a short time for inspection. I have left film sitting in trays for an hour under those conditions with no noticeable harm.

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I have used that exact bulb with great results, however, be warned that the globe is held on with hot-melt glue. If you screw it into a socket that is still warm from a different bulb, the globe falls off. Mine still works fine without a globe, but might be dangerous, but I still use it. It's very bright and safe.

On the first example you show it is definitely a light leak. With my old wooden film holders I would get the same kind of result, probably the same reason for the light left side. For my 10x12 I had a big light tight sock made to cover the entire holder. I put the film holder straight into the sock and then slide it into the back of my vageeswari with the sock still on. no light leaks! With the normal regal type 4x5 holders I have taken up the practice of covering the slit the septum comes out of with a light tight material to prevent light entering

Yes the light leaks were an obvious problem which I fixed shortly after. The thing I am confused about is the artifacts that look like flickering luminosity similar to what you would see with CFL bulbs or CRT tv. I'm assuming it's a development problem since I was using HC110 dil B (dev time I forgot)


Not sure if it was because my tray is slightly bigger than 8x10...maybe I need to use an 11x14 tray? Or could it have been from just developing it like normal film and not using a sheet of glass in the tray? Maybe the dilution was too strong and my dev time was too short? I don't know about the last one but I'm not ruling it out. I was using the same LED bulb from superbrightled and bounced it off the ceiling so I doubt it was the safelight. I did do a pre-soak before development...not sure if that has any effect on ektascan br/a film.


If you look at the second photo I posted. Her hip area and mid thigh show the darker "banding" and then the top left tree branch shows the luminosity banding too.