Reciprocity issues

[Bruce Watson]

I've been under the impression that Tmax and Delta are pretty finicky with respect to processing so I'm trying to steer clear of them.

The new TMY-2 seems to have an improved reputation for less finicky processing. I'm gearing up for it, using a 3010 tank like you. I'm going to be using XTOL 1:3, at least initially. I'll get to do some EI and normal development testing this upcoming weekend (I hope).

There have been a few recent threads here about TMY-2 and processing it. In particular Sandy King is having good success with it and his PyroCAT-HD.

I'd love to try Acros but Badger lists the loose sheets as out of stock. I have a friend in Japan and work with another Japanese person and I may see if they can get the film for me but I'm really concerned about the film being opened or x-rayed when it leaves Japan and/or arrives here in the states.

Didn't know that Badger was out of stock. Did you call Jeff Taugner at Badger? Besides being a good and efficient LF guy, he can at least tell you when they expect more. He can also probably tell you how it ships from Japan (which shipping company).

Another place to look for Acros in loose sheets is Megaperls in Japan. I've never tried it, but I've read that they'll ship to the USA. Hopefully they can ship it without it being harmed in transit.

[david mcmahon]

[QUOTE]So instead of developing at your normal time and getting the effect of N+2 development in that situation, develop for approximately your N-2 time or thereabouts. Obviously a little personal testing would help if you frequently encounter situations where reciprocity failure affects your exposure but this should give you a pretty good starting point. This only applies to non-TMax type films because as Bruce noted, those films are less affected by reciprocity failure than conventional films.[QUOTE]

I think you would also want to rate your film at a lower ISO to account for the N-2 development time.

david mcmahon

[Brian Ellis]

[QUOTE=david mcmahon;347167][QUOTE]So instead of developing at your normal time and getting the effect of N+2 development in that situation, develop for approximately your N-2 time or thereabouts. Obviously a little personal testing would help if you frequently encounter situations where reciprocity failure affects your exposure but this should give you a pretty good starting point. This only applies to non-TMax type films because as Bruce noted, those films are less affected by reciprocity failure than conventional films.

I think you would also want to rate your film at a lower ISO to account for the N-2 development time.

david mcmahon

Perhaps but I don't do that, my film speed is my film speed, determined after appropriate film speed testing. I don't change it for plus and minus development.

[Kevin Crisp]

I've been under the impression that Tmax and Delta are pretty finicky with respect to processing so I'm trying to steer clear of them.
Scott

TMAX is arguably not a good choice for a really sloppy darkroom worker. You don't sound like one of those. If you measure your temperatures, agitate consistantly, and time your development instead of guessing at it, it is as reliable as anything else, with the added convenience of doing contractions and pushes without long changes to the development times.

[Ken Lee]

TMY and TMY2 are reputed to have very long straight density/development curves. TMX and FP4 also.

I may be mistaken, but isn't a film which displays a long straight curve, the opposite of finicky ?

[Scott Kathe]

TMY and TMY2 are reputed to have very long straight density/development curves. TMX and FP4 also.

I may be mistaken, but isn't a film which displays a long straight curve, the opposite of finicky ?

I think the issue was if the temperatures were different and the agitation and timing was not consistent the results were inconsistent.

All I know is that when I tried Delta 100 with 135 years ago when I was starting out with photography the negatives were terrible. My FP4+ 135, 120 and 4x5 negatives look really good but I had a lot more experience by that time.

Scott

[Jorge Gasteazoro]

I may be mistaken, but isn't a film which displays a long straight curve, the opposite of finicky ?

The problem comes when you change the slope of the curve. Minimum changes in development can change the slope of the TMY curve, this is why people call it finicky.

[Diane Maher]

I've been under the impression that Tmax and Delta are pretty finicky with respect to processing so I'm trying to steer clear of them. I'd love to try Acros but Badger lists the loose sheets as out of stock. I have a friend in Japan and work with another Japanese person and I may see if they can get the film for me but I'm really concerned about the film being opened or x-rayed when it leaves Japan and/or arrives here in the states.

Scott

Midwest Photo may have Acros in sheet sizes in stock. I bought some 8x10 from them last year. I have also bought 8x10 Acros from Japan via the Megaperls site with no problems. The film was fine when it arrived to me.

[Scott Kathe]

If you are scanning, and you are able to "expose 2 stops less" with Silverfast, why bother worry about exact exposure? It seems like the results would be about the same as N-2 development when your output is an inkjet.

I don't want to rely on the scanner to fix my mistakes, it seems kind of sloppy to me. I don't mind doing that to recover an image but I'd like know my film well enough to be able to produce the best negative I can under different conditions. I am really torn between the traditional wet darkroom and the computer darkroom. I like to keep things simple but no matter which 'darkroom' I end up using in the long run a properly exposed and developed negative is key.

Scott