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Thread: Stearman Press SP-810

  1. #91

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    Re: Stearman Press SP-810

    Quote Originally Posted by CreationBear View Post
    Sorry to hear that, especially when you should be stoked about a new format. In terms of daylight tanks, I've had good luck with developing two 5x7 sheets in a Patterson Orbital--no tabs to deal with, just a pair of field expedient nylon screws to serve as a kind of gate so the sheets don't overlap. (FWIW, I'm using the Orbital in conjunction with a water bath, which seems to work well with a semi-stand agitation regimen.)

    That said, given the photo you posted with lots of sky/reflected sky, it seems as if you might run into really challenging conditions more than I do--it might be worth exploring various "tube" approaches (e.g. BTZS or the "Steve Sherman" approach to semi-stand development). Both require total darkness for loading developer, but otherwise most of the process can proceed under the lights.
    Thanks for stopping by. I appreciate your insightful tips, advice and suggestions.

    It seems getting even development in a big swath of sky or similar is a challenge as the format gets bigger. I haven’t done 8x10 but I can already see how challenging it is to get uniform development in 5x7 compared to 4x5’s or 120 roll film.

    I would try the Paterson Orbital if I could find one. Everyone have had good luck with SP-810 and it seems to be a good design, except my issues with film slipping under the tabs. I am so tempted to glue some small plastic stops like screws in the bottom pan of SP-810 to prevent the 5x7 films slipping under the tabs. I do have to give up the option of using it for 8x10 in the future. Can I use standard superglue? Is there any chance of that getting attacked by the developing chemicals?

  2. #92

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    Re: Stearman Press SP-810

    Quote Originally Posted by kmallick View Post
    Thanks for stopping by. I appreciate your insightful tips, advice and suggestions.

    It seems getting even development in a big swath of sky or similar is a challenge as the format gets bigger. I haven’t done 8x10 but I can already see how challenging it is to get uniform development in 5x7 compared to 4x5’s or 120 roll film.

    I would try the Paterson Orbital if I could find one. Everyone have had good luck with SP-810 and it seems to be a good design, except my issues with film slipping under the tabs. I am so tempted to glue some small plastic stops like screws in the bottom pan of SP-810 to prevent the 5x7 films slipping under the tabs. I do have to give up the option of using it for 8x10 in the future. Can I use standard superglue? Is there any chance of that getting attacked by the developing chemicals?
    Give the guys at Stearman a call. They’re extremely helpful, willing to help, and can give you possibly the best answers since they’ve seen a lot through their customers. I’ve contacted them in the past with other type of issues, and they were a pleasure to talk to, and extremely knowledgeable about the issues people have seen with their products.

    I no longer do 5x7 so I can’t help you but I can tell you the SP-810 works great for 8x10 and 4x10 and 4x5. Never had any issues of non uniform development. With tubes, however, I’ve tried most if not all options out there and many have issues and the rest are finicky. So I would advise to persist with the SP810 and just find a solution for your tab issue. It doesn’t get better if you go to another solution, unless you go for the Jobo Expert drums, and that’s a whole new ballgame and for many an unnecessary rabbit hole IMO.

  3. #93

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    Re: Stearman Press SP-810

    Quote Originally Posted by Kiwi7475 View Post
    Give the guys at Stearman a call. They’re extremely helpful, willing to help, and can give you possibly the best answers since they’ve seen a lot through their customers. I’ve contacted them in the past with other type of issues, and they were a pleasure to talk to, and extremely knowledgeable about the issues people have seen with their products.

    I no longer do 5x7 so I can’t help you but I can tell you the SP-810 works great for 8x10 and 4x10 and 4x5. Never had any issues of non uniform development. With tubes, however, I’ve tried most if not all options out there and many have issues and the rest are finicky. So I would advise to persist with the SP810 and just find a solution for your tab issue. It doesn’t get better if you go to another solution, unless you go for the Jobo Expert drums, and that’s a whole new ballgame and for many an unnecessary rabbit hole IMO.
    I do trust that the guys at Stearman can help me with the issues and I plan to get in touch with them. I do plan to persist with SP-810 as the 5x7 sheets that I have been able to develop without the slippage and overlap issue have been very satisfactory with uniform development. The ones with any uneven development were likely caused by another sheet that partially slipped over it. I am anxious to solving the tab issue so that I can get back to processing without the anxiety of opening the lid to find the sheets entangled.

  4. #94

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    Re: Stearman Press SP-810

    Thinking of picking one of these up after standing in the dark for 15 minutes doing tray development (well ok closer to 8-10 minutes). In particular, I'm not a fan of sloshing around 510-Pyro in the dark. Curious though, I think I saw a mention of X-ray film in this thread, but I'm guessing it'd have to be single-sided? Stuff like Fuji HRU (which is double-sided) probably won't work since the tray is designed to keep the film along the bottom (and/or that side may get super scratched?). Just thought I'd ask to make sure my assumption is correct there. I only use HRU for messing around so not a big deal but still curious if anyone has attempted that.

  5. #95

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    Re: Stearman Press SP-810

    Quote Originally Posted by m00dawg View Post
    Thinking of picking one of these up after standing in the dark for 15 minutes doing tray development (well ok closer to 8-10 minutes). In particular, I'm not a fan of sloshing around 510-Pyro in the dark. Curious though, I think I saw a mention of X-ray film in this thread, but I'm guessing it'd have to be single-sided? Stuff like Fuji HRU (which is double-sided) probably won't work since the tray is designed to keep the film along the bottom (and/or that side may get super scratched?). Just thought I'd ask to make sure my assumption is correct there. I only use HRU for messing around so not a big deal but still curious if anyone has attempted that.
    I have processed about 10 sheets of HRU on the SP810 without any visible scratches or any other issues. I don’t use a glass sheet at the bottom but I’ve seen others do that just yo be safe. I get both sides perfectly developed however you need to make sure right after you pour the developer in, you rock it enough that it will slide over a layer of developer underneath, and not ‘stick’ to the bottom plastic. It’s easy to tell because as you rock it left/right, the long edges of the film hit the sides of the SP810 with a characteristic sound.

  6. #96

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    Re: Stearman Press SP-810

    Quote Originally Posted by Kiwi7475 View Post
    I have processed about 10 sheets of HRU on the SP810 without any visible scratches or any other issues.
    Same here--probably 15-20 sheets at this point. Looking at the design, you could probably fit a thin sheet of glass in there, and I'm considering getting one to try it that way, but so far the only scratches are handling scrathces (I'm still far more of a klutz with 8x10 than I am with 4x5.) The bottom of the SP810 is smoothly textured, and there are two long rectangular gaps that run the length of the tray, which I assume is to help the fluid (dev, water, fix, whatever) to get under the film.

  7. #97
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    Re: Stearman Press SP-810

    Definitely contact Tim at Stearman Press. He will want to know about any potential deformation of the lids preventing it from doing what it’s supposed to, and is the person best positioned to help you.
    Newly made large format dry plates available! Look:
    https://www.pictoriographica.com

  8. #98

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    Re: Stearman Press SP-810

    Thanks for info on HRU! That's icing on the cake then! Fantastic!!! Looking forward to giving this a go!

  9. #99

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    Re: Stearman Press SP-810

    Kmallick,
    Got your photos via direct email. Since you're nearby, the fastest solution is to swing by and pick one up.

    Tim

    Quote Originally Posted by kmallick View Post
    I do trust that the guys at Stearman can help me with the issues and I plan to get in touch with them. I do plan to persist with SP-810 as the 5x7 sheets that I have been able to develop without the slippage and overlap issue have been very satisfactory with uniform development. The ones with any uneven development were likely caused by another sheet that partially slipped over it. I am anxious to solving the tab issue so that I can get back to processing without the anxiety of opening the lid to find the sheets entangled.

  10. #100

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    Re: Stearman Press SP-810

    Thanks for the info on HRU, I'm going to have to try it.

    Tim

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