I've been using homemade developing tubes for 4x5 for nearly a year. According to Darkroom Innovations you can pull the top off at the end of developing time a nd plunge the tube into a tray of stop bath in room light. Adams however insist s in The Negative that light must not reach the film until well into fixing. I' ve often wondered about this and finally tested it with my customary film/develo per combo, HC 110 and Tri-X. I made three identical exposures. Developed the f irst one in total darkness through 4 minutes of fixing, the second as normal, (f ilm remains in tube but half submerged in stop bath while you spin it in low roo m light, then fixed for a minute or so in same manner) and the third I pulled ou t of the tube directly after development and plunged emulsion side up into a tra y of stop bath in direct sunlight. I cannot distinguish between the first two n egatives but the third is very slightly darker than the others.
If anybody else has run this test I'd be interested to hear the results. I'm go ing to ignore Adams and keep doing it the way I always have.
Erik Ryberg
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