Use of X-ray film: technical discussion with example images

[Daniel Unkefer]

Kodak 1A Grey Bullet Safelight 1 by Nokton48, on Flickr

This one is the Lowes red LED with Kodak 1A red filter. This is 6-7 feet above my film cutting area and -ZERO nada- fog with MIN-R and HRU. Bright enough to comfortably cut film with no issues whatsoever. Thanks to Jason Lane for steering me to this thingee. Not inexpensive but it works great. I think Jason uses this to coat his ASA 25 Speed dry plates. His old safelight would fog the high speed plate emulsion. So if it works for coating, it will work for loading and developing.

Kodak 1A Grey Bullet Safelight 2 by Nokton48, on Flickr

And this second one is 6-7 feet above my developer tray and again -ZERO nada- fogging of HRU, MINR, and Ilford 50 ASA Ortho. Routinely I go as long as twenty minutes in the dev tray, lifting the neg out of the cesco flat bottomed tray by the dental clips, to carefully inspect the deep shadow areas.

This is the red 3w LED from Lowes. Road tested by me.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Energetic-W...ulb/1000623747

[Daniel Unkefer]

Loading 13 6.5x9 Makina Holders HRU by Nokton48, on Flickr

I have a lot of old sheets of 6.5cmx9cm sheet film in a variety of flavors. I used a sheet of this vintage stuff to set up a "fence" for cutting the Fuji HRU XRAY with my Rototrim cutter. After I cut down a scrap sheet of HRU and test fit it, it is easy to load these dinky Makina holders. I'm doing thirteen to start and that's a good amount to carry around with my Makina II, my favorite Makina. Cool thing is I can shoot handheld, about 1/100 at f6.0 in full sun with yellow Makina filter. Plaubel used to call the Makina "The World's smallest Large Format Camera". I will agree with that

[Paul Kinzer]

I'm planning, too, to give the 660nm LEDs a try. They actually look almost identical to the LED lights my son made for our public observatory. He was ten then, and is now a 19-year-old engineering student. I'll bounce some ideas off of him and maybe make my own dimmable lighting units. Or I might order one of the assembled units linked to up-thread. I got a nice response from the seller when I wrote to them with some questions. If I make my own, it will be for two reasons: I like making my own stuff, and I'm mostly broke, so saving money is both necessary and very satisfying.

I also have a rotary cutter on the way. It's supposed to be here tomorrow. Being me, I scrounged around till I found a cheap, used one on eBay. It looks new in the photos, and you can still get new blades for it, so I'm happy.

I wouldn't be working on any of this if it weren't for all the folks here who are making such beautiful images, and sharing their experiences with all the rest of us. Thanks again!

[Sam L]

I haven't tested the Lowe's bulb so this is just a guess, but based on my experience with two other red LEDs and HR-U film, I think 1A red filter you have in front of the bulb might be important.

[Daniel Unkefer]

Basically it is 2X the concentration of red filtering. A friend called it "double-safe". I suspect that's about right.

This thingee is totally safe in my experience. No fog even at twenty minutes and fairly close exposure.

Why reinvent the wheel?

[Sam L]

I hear you about not re-inventing the wheel, but for me anyway, I don't have the safelight fixture and gel that you have. It would be convenient to have a bare bulb that just works for all of the different mediums.

[ericantonio]

I'm not re-inventing the wheels either. I just loaded 3 holders with the Fuji HR-U yesterday and I was thinking of all sorts of ways to try to develop. A lot of McGuyver stuff. But I broke down and bought 2 cesco flat bottom and 1 larger one for stop/washing trays. Can't wait. Now I'm bumming that I gave away my safelight a couple of months ago thinking "heck, I'm not printing anymore, I don't need that"

[Vaughn]

Nice site with graphs of the filters' wavelength transmissions... http://real-photographs.co.uk/wp-con...6/ti0845-1.pdf

"Double filtering" is an interesting concept. I suppose what happens is that it would just reduce the amount of safe light available -- all the unsafe wavelengths would be blocked by the first 'filter', leaving nothing for the second filter to do but block out some more of the safe wavelengths.

Edited to agree with TC's advice on tray size. I have an early beautiful 8x10 image/print (below...not on x-ray film) that someone recently re-pointed out the uneven lighting due to probable surge marks on the negative (greater development noticable on one end of the neg). Damn...still love the print, but can't sell it. I could re-mat to cover up a 1/2 on the bottom of the vertical 8x10, but damn...I dislike doing that! I'll just keep it on my wall, enjoy it, and this winter, I'll take the 11x14 to the same spot and play with the light there again! 11x14s get developed in 14x18 trays. Do it right the first time!

[Tin Can]

Some suggest developing any film in one size up tray, meaning 8X10 is developed in 11x14 tray

Helps eliminate surge

I always use one size up

I'm not re-inventing the wheels either. I just loaded 3 holders with the Fuji HR-U yesterday and I was thinking of all sorts of ways to try to develop. A lot of McGuyver stuff. But I broke down and bought 2 cesco flat bottom and 1 larger one for stop/washing trays. Can't wait. Now I'm bumming that I gave away my safelight a couple of months ago thinking "heck, I'm not printing anymore, I don't need that"

[Sam L]

That's a nice photo. Sometimes developing defects add character to art.