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It's really tough to work quickly with large format photography. I have the short term memory of a squirrel as it is, never mind trying to remember the details of each exposure that I make. So I...

If you're transitioning from one film format to another you'll have to test regardless. How much you choose to test depends on what you're trying to achieve and how comfortable you are with what...

Both HP5 and Tri-X320 are great films. You won't go wrong with either. I've used them almost interchangeably. It's really a matter of preference and whether you can execute the print you wish too....

Interesting discussion everyone. My two cents:

Editions are really just a mechanism of branding. It doesn't matter what the edition/sale relationship is if the marketing and branding plan is right...

Hi Bob. The issue is relative to the mechanics of your process and the subject matter you're printing so it's not surprising that you haven't experienced any defects. That's great to know.

And...

Cooltone is definitely the more problematic of the two. I've also seen finger print marks.

That's exactly it.

For my own work I found that a 10 minute pre-wet in 20C water with rocking every minute or so followed by a 20 to 30 second drain did the trick with a 30x40 inch sheet of...

No problem. Hope it helps.

Hi everyone,

A few months ago I purchased several rolls (50" and 56") of Ilford's Classic and Cooltone papers. My practice revolves around large silver gelatin prints ranging from 30x40 to 52X70...

Having not seen them, I would guess that's also assuming that your subject matter was textured without significant areas of either large expanses of blue sky or shadow...otherwise you'll get mottling...

Hi Bob,

I should have mentioned that the testing that I do is from negatives exposed the old Ansel Adams way with bellows at infinity and the surface being within 1/10 stop luminance. I expose for...

After running through all the Pyrocat formulas I actually settled on the para aminophenol formula for divided development in tubes that I fabricated my self (5x7, 8x10, 11x14). The ridges inside the...

Sizam...sorry...not sure why this is so confusing or even a point of contention: you can't get a "feel" for what a film can do without determining its speed and development times -- and working with...

Pawlowski...I appreciate that...it really is a matter of approach and the manner in which one chooses to engage the medium. I come at it from one extreme for sure. I've always found the Zone System...

Pawlowski6132...LOL...yeah, I got that thanks...which is why I offered up what I did. The point I was getting at is: how are you supposed test and compare different new films without establishing a...

Hi Sizam. The only thing that I'd caution you about is to make sure that your testing consistently. Using a subject like a landscape or piece of architecture, the luminance of the scene can change...

"Has it occurred to anyone else that changing his current workflow might do Paul more harm than good? He's doing really nice work within (it seems to me) the margin of error of any of the systems...

I just have to ask: how is the zone system conceptually unsound? With my N+1 expansion, my threshold density increases by log .01 - log .02 (for a Zone I density of log .14) and my film speed stays...

Lots of great advice on here but I wanted to offer a few thoughts...

Using the Zone System and BTZS isn't about making "better" negatives, it's about the way you approach the medium -...

I tried doing exactly that but it never seemed to work. Aside from the timing issue, pouring the developer into the tube with the film in it prevented even introduction of the emulsion to the...

Hi Mark,

Unfortunately, processing 8x10 film with long periods of "stand" is inherently problematic no matter what developer or process you choose. I made the jump from Rodinal and HC-110 to...

...haven't read all the responses but wanted to add this:

- I've processed 4x5 Efke PL 25 in Xtol 1+3, 1+4 using minimal agitation (constant for first 1.5min then 15sec every 3min) and the negs...

Jay - I actually considered experimenting with brush development but figured that it might be difficult to be consistent in developing to a specific CI. It's a great idea though, and would warrant a...

I'm not too sure how new the 8x10 BTZS ridges are but they're entirely different than the 4x5 tubes which are just flat tubes. I suspect that only a pyro-type developer would produce the kind of...

Jim - I think that the solution is relative. When I was using Rodinal, HC-110, D-76 and Xtol I did all my processing in trays and had no issues with unevenness. Those techniques, however, haven't...

Hi Henry. I had the same issue with using too little developer. But the real problem that I've had with tray development - other than unevenness with minimal agitation - is how sensitive the emulsion...

That was my initial thought. But it looks great for continuous agitation. I never even knew that those existed. Thanks Cor.

Hi Cor,

Have you used the Paterson Orbital with other agitation schemes like minimal agitation? I'd be really curious to hear the results. Thanks for that info.

Mike

That's around what I was thinking too. I messaged Sandy and he confirmed that surfaces with ridges would cause marking. Thanks for the response Kent.

Thanks for that Kent. Which Jobo tank do you use?

I swear that the pyrocat gods hate me...

So I've been playing around with manipulating CI using divided pyrocat processed in 8x10 BTZS tubes (my negs are a zone VII exposure of an evenly...

Thanks John,

I sent Steve a PM.

Daniel - With the exception of rotary development, I've found that it isn't easy to get an even neg - as I've described it - with Pyrocat especially with minimal agitation and longer periods of...

Philippe - I don't think I'm any where near the minimum amount of chemistry, though I might be wrong as this developer seems to operate differently than others. The dilutions that I use are in my...

Hi Dan,

I've used 1:1:100 dilution for rotary and intermittent development (in tanks with hangers) and 1:1:100, 1:1:150, and 1.5:1:200 for minimal agitation (in multiple kinds of tubes, in tanks...

Hi everyone,

For the past three months I've been testing Pyrocat-HD, M, and P with FP4 (8x10). While I do get even negs when using rotary development in BTZS tubes, I can't get even negs with any...

Thanks for all this great info everyone. I really appreciate all the help.

Thanks for that Mike. I see that I was missing a few things in my thought process. I had some issues with gluing too. Nothing major.

Fred - I completely missed that 5x7 vid. I'll track that down....

Jay - I've never thought of augmenting the shape of the tube but it makes sense. Thanks for that. I've always wanted a heat gun.

Dan - Thanks for the info. I really appreciate that. My 'real' BTZS...

Kevin - That's a really interesting idea but I'm sure there's a reason why foam isn't used. I'm assuming it's because people have had enough success without foam so it hasn't been needed.

Micheal...