NEED HELP! All my negs are empty!

[jpheneger]

Hello everyone, I am fairly new to large format photography but I am experienced with studio photography (stills and portraits). I have been experimenting with large format film (4x5) and I seem to be hitting a wall. Every piece of film that I have exposed ends up clear when I develop it.

I have tried developing at home as well as sending it out - same result. Other film that I processed (shot outside) with the studio shots turned out fine. I believe that I am underexposing the image - but I am not sure how.

My setup:
Ilford FP4+ film (ISO 125)
4x5 camera w/ 210 lens.
Aperture set to f/8 (adjusted from f/11 +1 stop for bellows and exposure compensation).
Shutter speed set to 1/100.
One studio light metered (with flash meter) at f/11 (ISO 100, 1/125 sec - as close to lens settings as meter will allow).
Bellows racked out to 10 inches for focus. 0.5 stop added to aperture for bellows compensation, another 0.5 added to brighten image (intentional).
Lens approximately 6 feet from subject.

What am I doing wrong? With a film speed of ISO 125 I shouldn't have any problem exposing with a strobe at 1/100 & f/8. What am I missing? I've tried triggering the flash on both "M" and "X" settings, it doesn't seem to change the result.
I'm hoping that it's not the shutter, I'm not sure how to fix that except buying a new one.

[Jac@stafford.net]

Are there markings on the negative edges? They would be black type against clear film.

When in the studio with your lights set-up, look at the ground glass and trip the shutter. Do you see a flash through the lens?

[jpheneger]

Nope the whole negative is clear when looking at it. If I scanned it, the whole thing would be black.

[Ulophot]

Hello, and welcome! Please forgive me for asking the following, since you are clearly an experienced photographer, but LF is indeed a different world in many respects. Is it possible that you are not removing the dark slide when you expose? I'll assume that you are, but thought I'd dispense with that first. Here is what I would do:
First, with no flm in the camera, remove the lens (or aim the camera back at something light so that you can see light clearly through the open lens), open the shutter manually, and watch as you adjust the aperture, to make sure the diaphragm is moving freely. If it is, set it to full open, then close the shutter and set the shutter speed to, say, 1/2 or 1/4 second, cock and release while you watch it, to make sure it is opening and closing properly. Try the same with faster shutter speeds, including the one you're using. Naturally, you should be able to hear the shutter opening and closing as well, or at least clicking at the faster speeds.
Again, my apology if this is too obvious. If all is well with these three factors, it sounds to me as if the shutter synch is off. You can test with continuous light -- daylight or artificial -- to confirm that you are at least getting an exposure that way, thus narrowing down the problem.
Most of us have had a few trials getting into LF. I hope yours is solved quickly and easily.

[jpheneger]

Thanks for these suggestions - I've tested this camera thoroughly, and it seems to be working properly. The exposures I've made in daylight came out properly, but the ones with studio strobes are not. I need to test again with constant lights to be able to isolate the flash sync as the problem.

I'll add that I did, in fact, remove the darkslide when exposing. On one of them I nearly forgot to replace it.

[Mark Sawyer]

TThe exposures I've made in daylight came out properly, but the ones with studio strobes are not...

To make a quick check without using film, take the back off the camera and look through the lens during a flash-synched shutter firing. If you want to make it extra-obvious, point the strobe directly into the lens. You'll be able to tell whether the strobe is firing when the shutter's open.

BTW, is the shutter sync set to X for electronic strobe? If it's set to M, (for flash bulbs), that may be the problem.

[Mark Sawyer]

BTW, is the shutter sync set to X for electronic strobe? If it's set to M, (for flash bulbs), that may be the problem.

I thought I had tested the flash sync on "M" first and then "X", but when I went back to the camera it was still set on "M". Another test with the sync set to "X" and I now have a properly exposed image!

I'm always right, and I never lie...

[consummate_fritterer]

I'm always right, and I never lie...

...and ever so humble.

[Mark Sawyer]

...and ever so humble.

Hey, I'm the humblest person ever! Ain't no one as humble as me!

[Leigh]

Hey, I'm the humblest person ever! Ain't no one as humble as me!

It's easy to be humble when so many good reasons exist to do so.

- Leigh