Hi,
I developed my first batch of 4x5 film a couple days ago, and it seems to have worked pretty well, aside from all the dust spots and some scratches near the edges of a couple negatives (which appear to be from rough handling while loading the film into the film holders).
I developed in Xtol 1:2 for 10.25 minutes. The Nikor tank is a wonder - you can fill it very quickly if you tilt it properly. I practiced filling it with water first, and even a fairly rapid flow from the sink will go right into the tank, and not run over the top of the filling area.
The negatives scanned pretty well, after I spent an hour adjusting the scanner's analog brightness, contrast, and gamma. I'm not using fancy equipment - my scanner (Epson 2480) doesn't even do 4x5, only 135 and 120 so I could only scan about 2/3 of the negative, putting the negative directly on the glass. The scanner also left lines through the image... I need a better scanner.
So it worked, but I'm not sure if I gave the negatives sufficient development. The white areas in the photos is a bit thin; it's only a medium gray in the negatives. I can see through it quite easily. Is this normal? I don't have a densitometer, or any professionally processed negative which I can compare to. Is there any simple way for me to determine if I gave it enough time in the developer?
The scanned image is attached, though you can't tell from this that the white shirt is a bit thin in the negative.
-- David
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