I want to give tray development of 4x5 a try and am wondering if certain films are better for this, i.e. that have a thicker base and are less likely to curl in the trays.
I've heard that Kodak 4x5 films are generally on a thicker base than Ilford films. Is that true?
Kodak and Ilford are both pretty flat/thick sheet films and are well behaved in trays. Some cheaper films may/maynot have better scratch resistance in the emulsion.
If you are cutting down big rolls of film, many times those films are thin and harder to work with.
The sheets won’t curl.
Originally Posted by Fungus
Agree none will curl
Hang to dry carefully
No fan
I dry overnight over sink
No peeking
Tin Can
I dry film in the bathroom and have a dehumidifier that can bring the humidity down to very low levels—is that good or bad for film? If it’s bad, I can leave the dehumidifier off.
Just keep the air still where you hang the film up. Dust on wet film never comes out and will ruin your negatives. Humidity doesn't matter... film takes longer to dry in high humidity, and so what? You're not on deadline for the morning edition. Of course you or someone else may want to use the bathroom...
I would suggest staying away from soft emulsion films, like Foma, until your technique is solid.
Do read up on shuffling techniques. Mine are here in a post or two somewhere if you search.
Tray processing and shuffling through the stack takes a bit of dexterity, so practice with a few scrap sheets in a tray of water while watching, then with eyes closed and, finally, with the lights out.
A pre-soak is mandatory if you are developing several sheets at once to prevent them from sticking to each other in the developer. They'll stick to each other in the water pre-soak too if you don't soak each sheet long enough before adding the next one. I like 10-15 seconds between sheets. If sheets do stick together in the pre-soak, just be patient; waiting and gently working the edges will eventually get them to separate.
I use a 5x7 Paterson tray for 4x5 film. Others like 8x10 trays. In any case, you need enough room to shuffle, but that enables the sheets to float around loose and get skewed and mixed up. Learn to keep the stack corralled in one place in the tray with your fingers when shuffling so you don't have to chase film around the tray in the dark and possibly gouge a sheet with the corner of another.
It's a learning curve, but I find tray processing, once mastered, to be the most convenient, even and most flexible method I've found.
Have fun,
Doremus
I plan to use the technique described by Ansel Adams in The Negative. I have 5x7 trays.
I’ll try to find some scrap sheets to practice with in the light before processing exposed film in the dark.
FP4 isn't quite as scratch resistant as the more expensive TMax from Kodak, but for several reasons, it is, in my opinion, the best sheet film for learning purposes. It's consistently high-quality, reasonably forgiving, and is amenable to a range of contrast control during development.
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